The Miami Heat are locked in an NBA finals battle with the San Antonio Spurs and with the series tied 1-1 after the big win in Game 2, the Heat are ready to go on the road and take another game for home court advantage and while all that is going on, news came out that the team is getting its own D-League franchise.
LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are locked in as starters for as long as they want to be there, as they can opt out over the next three seasons and while the Heat love the Big Three, they also know that most of their roster is made up of old men in names like Shane Battier, Chris Andersen, Ray Allen and Udonis Haslem and that is why its welcome news that they will be getting a D-League team. As the Big Three remain together, the franchise will have to bring in cheap talent and that usually means young talent and having a team to develop young players could help bring more championships down the line.
The Heat already owe their first round picks to the Cleveland Cavaliers this year and in 2015, which makes having a D-League team even more essential as they could bring in undrafted players and other young talent to learn and develop into solid professional ballplayers. James won't stay young forever and it appears that Wade's 31-year-old knees may have a few extra years on them than his actual age. Having the Big 3 keeps the team strapped, so that is why they are glad for this news, as the team is investing in the Sioux Falls Skyforce, according to an official release.
The release says that the Heat and the Skyforce will have a "single affiliation partnership" starting next season and that means the Heat will now be the 13th team in the league to have a one-to-one affiliation with an NBA D-League team, meaning they can work on developing players better and working with the franchise. According to the release, the team wikll adopt Heat colors and it will also allow for the main franchise to "pay for and control the NBA D-League team's basketball operations."
According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Nets, Celtics, Rockets, Knicks, Trail Blazers, Cavaliers, Warriors, Lakers, Thunder, 76ers, Spurs and Mavericks also have their own D-League affiliates and adding one to Miami will be a good positive step for the franchise. While any players coming from there to the main club is still years away, just having that pipeline to develop and stockpile talent is something the Heat should be excited for.
