The Portland Trail Blazers would greatly benefit from hosting a G League team in Seattle.
The Portland Trail Blazers are among two NBA teams that currently do not have an affiliate team in the Gatorade League (formerly known as the NBA Development League or “D-League”). While the team has yet to make any news concerning a G League team public, there is no better time to plan for than the present.
Please note before reading any further that there hasn’t been any official news as to when the Blazers would finalize a plan to have a G League team, nor has there been any word on expanding the league back into Seattle’s thriving basketball market.
This is merely a suggestive piece that was inspired by Ridiculous Upside’s Dakota Schmidt, who wrote a piece back in July entitled “History of the Portland Trail Blazers In The G-League and Why They Don’t Have An Affiliate.”
If you haven’t read it or don’t currently have time to do so, Schmidt basically says that the Blazers once had a partnership (a “hybrid affiliation”) with the Idaho Stampede (now Salt Lake City Stars) that unfortunately left a sour taste in their mouths due to Portland and Idaho having conflicting goals when it came to running the team.
General manager Neil Olshey then decided after the 2013-14 season that the Blazers organization was better off developing players at the team’s practice facility rather than sending them down to completely foreign territory in Idaho. Considering where the team is right now, chances are he made the right call.
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The problem, however, mainly stemmed from the Blazers not having full and complete control over the Stampede, who were a hybrid affiliation rather than an actual team affiliate. This meant that while the Blazers controlled operations, the Stampede continued to control business operations.
Portland wanted a place to develop its younger players, whereas Idaho just wanted to win games and sell tickets. Anyone can see how this would be a recipe for disaster.
But now that 28 NBA teams have or are currently in the process of having their own G League affiliate, the Blazers are in great position to dive in headfirst into the G League expansion initiative. In fact, Olshey revealed in an interview with The Oregonian that while the Blazers remain skeptical, the team has given some thought to having their own G League team.
Considering that they just recently signed C.J. Wilcox to a two-way contract, it would be in Portland’s best interest to have complete control over the team with which they plan to develop Wilcox. They currently don’t, so it’s difficult trying to envision a team prioritizing Wilcox’s development.
Plus, I personally think it’d be great to have the Blazers’ G League affiliate in Seattle. Not only would this be a great experiment in terms of gauging the basketball market in Seattle, but it’s conveniently only three hours away (as opposed to the six-hour drive from Portland to Boise) and it would appease fans everywhere.
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Paul Allen, be a hero. Make it happen.