MAY 15: In a press conference today, the Clippers formally announced the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, unveiling the logo for the new D-League squad (Twitter link). Here’s the full press release from the club.
MAY 9: The Clippers are closing in on unveiling an NBA Developmental League team that will be called the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, league sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.
Agua Caliente Casino Resort, which Stein notes is a prominent NBA sponsor for the Clippers, is finalizing the agreement to join the NBA’s minor league affiliate. Due to the proximity of Ontario, California (approximately 50 miles away from Los Angeles), the Clippers will have the luxury of assigning and recalling players at an accelerated pace.
After the Clippers were eliminated by the Jazz in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs last week, head coach and president of basketball operations Doc Rivers confirmed the team’s D-League aspirations.
“We will have a team, I can tell you that,” he said. “We are committed to it. The work is in.”
Once this is finalized, the NBA D-League — which will be renamed to the NBA Gatorade League next season — will soon boast 26 teams, four affiliates shy of every NBA team having a developmental team. The only team’s without an NBA D-League team — once the Clippers finalize the Agua Caliente Casino Resort deal — would be the Nuggets, Wizards, Trail Blazers, and Pelicans.
Sounds very international.
The Pelicans are adding a team soon amd the Nuggets and Blazers have large enough geographical footprints when they decide to get teams they shouldn’t have difficulty finding cities in close proximity. I am more curious about the Wizards personally because they are so close to so many different states they could have a lot more interesting options