I think this is a good idea. Get these clubs affiliated with NBA organizations and develop a true minor league system. Sure, it will never be used for specific call-ups ala Major League Baseball, but it can be a place to nurture young talent until they are ready to contribute on a more consistent basis.

Imagine if guys like Gerald Green, Kedrick Brown, Patrick O’Bryant, etc., had a place to go where coaches from their own system could teach them the keys to the game. And while I think that the age limit has curbed some of the need for this, it is still prominent enough to warrant discussion. If those names are just the most prominent of recent Celtics, imagine how many more there are floating around the league?

If the NBA teams don’t own the rights of the players playing for their D-League team, why they do this? The Spurs have this hybrid relationship with the Toros, Holt owns both teams, they call-up more players than any non-tanking NBA team, but Pops Mensah-Bonsu is now playing with the Raptors and there’s nothing they can do about it.

I think teams with this relationship should have some kind of priority, the right of preference over the D-Leaguers . Or maybe two extra-spots in the roster but the obligation keep always 2 players in the D-League affiliated team.

Anyway, the biggest problem with the D-League is that they can’t compete with the European Leagues for the best talent out of the NBA, so it will never be a true minor league.