Knicks Using D-League Affiliate To Their Advantage

The New York Knicks are one of 19 NBA teams that have an affiliate in the NBA D-League. The D-League is becoming a more integral part of the NBA, as 33 percent of players in 2014-15 season spent time there. It is trending in the direction of a true minor league system like MLB has, as the league continues to grow since its inception in 2001.

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The recent trend has been NBA teams becoming affiliated with singular teams, with the Indiana Pacers becoming the most recent, purchasing the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this summer. This is something we should see more teams doing in the near future, as it gives teams a distinct advantage that is 100 percent legal. It is something the Knicks are putting to use this season, and is something that could become commonplace.

Having your own affiliate in the D-League has obvious perks for teams. For example, you can set the coaching staff so that your affiliate is running the same system that your NBA team is. It helps make the transition to the NBA easier if a player is called up, as they aren’t coming into a foreign situation; the D-League had gotten a reputation as glorified pickup games, but with NBA teams now owning their own teams that seems to be going away a little bit.

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Also, you can put your own front office in place, so there is consistency in the type of players being looked at. When you are not sharing an affiliate with another team, it also means you can control the roster and call players up at will, moving players up and down. This is where the Knicks take advantage of a loophole to convince younger players they like to choose them over another organization.

The D-League has a maximum salary cap of $25,000 that a player can make. But, if you sign an NBA deal you can double, even triple that just by signing a partially guaranteed deal that could pay players between $50,000-$70,000. That is exactly what the Knicks did, signing Travis Trice of Michigan State, Darion Atkins of Virginia and Wesley Saunders of Harvard.

They all received deals from the Knicks that were partially guaranteed with an invite to training camp. The trio are nothing more than training camp bodies, as they bring the Knicks roster total to 18 players. Unless they play out of their mind during training camp, or an injury occurs, Trice, Atkins and Saunders will more than likely be let go when NBA teams need to cut their rosters down to the maximum 15 players. But, since they have a partially guaranteed contract, they can agree to play for the Westchester Knicks and still receive that pay despite it being above the $25,000 maximum for the D-League.

This is a great move by the Knicks, as it allows them to sign and develop young players they like without having to compete against other teams for their services. By bringing them into training camp, they are technically under control of the Knicks, and will be compensated more than the maximum for D-League players. Everyone comes out happy; the Knicks get the young players they like, and the players get paid better than they would have if they pursued another route to the D-League.

Trice had played with the Miami Heat during Summer League, but will be in training camp with the Knicks. The former Michigan State guard averaged 15.3 points and 5.1 assists per game as a season, leading the Spartans to the Final Four. Atkins, standing an imposing 6-feet-8 inches tall and weighing 241 pounds, was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year while averaging 7.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Saunders was a three-time Ivy League first-team selection and averaged 16.6 points per game his senior year. He was also named Ivy League Player of the Year as a junior.

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