Pistons will have their own D-League affiliate
They'll move the Springfield Armor to Grand Rapids
The Detroit Pistons will become the third Detroit major-league franchise with a minor-league affiliate in the Grand Rapids area when an NBA Development League team moves there next season, sources confirmed to MLive.
An agreement has been reached for undisclosed local owners to purchase the Springfield (Mass.) Armor and relocate the team to Michigan's second-largest metropolitan area for the 2014-15 season, according to NBA, NBDL and local sources.
The new Grand Rapids franchise has an undisclosed multi-year affiliation agreement with the Pistons in place and the sale has met league approval, sources said.
It will play home games at The DeltaPlex Arena in Walker, a northern Grand Rapids suburb.
The Grand Rapids franchise will be locally owned and the Pistons will establish a single-franchise affiliation with it, a fast-growing trend between NBA and D-League teams, sources said.
Currently, 14 of the 17 D-League teams have single-franchise affiliations with NBA parents.
Sixteen NBA teams, including the Pistons, divvy up affiliations with the other three D-League teams. Detroit currently is one of six NBA teams sharing the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Mad Ants.
D-League teams follow one of two ownership models -- exclusive ownership by the parent NBA club, or a "hybrid" affiliation in which local ownership controls day-to-day and business operations while the parent club controls basketball operations.
The Grand Rapids franchise will follow the hybrid model, whereby the Pistons will pay players' and coaches' salaries and run basketball operations, but local owners operate autonomously in other business areas, including marketing and merchandising.
O. Cauchi
@paxer89
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