The thought of the next Paul Pierce or Kevin Garnett playing at the Portland Expo is a nice one. It’s filled with fancy and hope and dollar signs, but it’s a notion that couldn’t be farther from reality and it could ruin an already good thing for the city of Portland.
The recently proposed idea from Oxford Plain Speedway owner Bill Ryan Jr. and former Celtics coach Jon Jennings to bring a minor league basketball affiliate of the Boston Celtics to Portland seems like a no-brainer-and in a way, it is.
Having a minor league basketball team in the state could produce some revenue and attract some fans. But there are also some real problems that would first need to be addressed before this whole money-making scheme could become a reality worth watching.
First and foremost, the NBDL isn’t what Bill Ryan and his cohort of executives make it sound like.
Chances are, the next Ray Allen isn’t going to be in what is affectionately called the D-League. In fact, I’d be willing to put money on it. The D-League is different than other minor leagues. It’s not a breeding ground for all-stars and future MVPs.
Rather, it is parking lot of former mid-major studs whose dream has yet to die or move to Europe and who, if they’re lucky, might get a chance to be a role-player at the next level.
This, of course, is a far cry from the picture that Ryan and his crew are painting. Though they are open to pointing out the relative youth of the NBDL in comparison to the minor league baseball system and that of the NHL, these men still evoke thoughts of the Shamrocks-the tentative name for the team-sending players to the “big league” as frequently as the Sea Dogs do.
And wouldn’t that be great, to see basketball’s equivalents of Jacoby Ellsbury or Jonathon Papelbon? But the fact of the matter is that it’s not going to happen.
NBA teams only carry about 15 players on the roster: a far cry from the 25 that are on MLB rosters. This means far fewer roster spots and even less opportunity for these Shamrocks to advance.
And most high-level basketball players, at least the ones that survive in the NBA, are drafted and sign long-term contracts to play at that level. They don’t float in from the D-League all that often.
The small number of roster spots available and the minute opportunity for advancement also has other consequences.
Quite frankly, the quality of basketball in the D-League is d-testable. Selfish play and shoddy team basketball are rampant. Players try to fill up the box score to impress NBA executives while sacrificing the integrity of the game.
And, aside from the quality of basketball and the actual relationship between NBDL teams and their big league affiliates, the presence of another minor league team could severely detract from the already well-established fan base of the Portland Pirates and, maybe more importantly, the amateur sport scene that is so embedded in Maine’s history.
Although it would be nice to imagine the next Larry Legend shooting hoops at the Expo and grabbing a beer in the Old Port, it seems like that’s far away and the D-League should stay out of Portland.