NBA D-League: Magic want their own D-League team, according to report

The Orlando Magic want to have their own NBA D-League affiliate "within the next several years," reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, but accomplishing that goal will be challenging.

Robbins says Orlando is seeking a "hybrid" affiliation with a D-League franchise, an agreement wherein the Magic would run and staff the D-League team's basketball operations department, while another group would own the team outright. Such an agreement would be similar to the Miami Heat's recent one with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

But the Magic want their D-League affiliate to play locally, which is a significant obstacle. The D-League doesn't have any teams in Florida, and that the three D-League teams that don't have single-affiliation arrangements with an NBA squad are unlikely to relocate to the Sunshine State.

With relocation a remote possibility, expansion could come into play. "D-League expansion is being discussed and will occur eventually," Robbins says. Dan Reed, the president of the NBA D-League, told Robbins, "it will be carefully managed and hopefully an intelligent expansion process." Reed's goal is to have one D-League team for every NBA team.

Orlando's current D-League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, plays in Indiana. Five other NBA teams are also assigned to the Mad Ants.

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