The Elephant on the Court

When is a league no longer a league? When the bigger league sucks up three of its core clubs and an expansion team. That's the situation that the venerable Continental Basketball Association finds itself in as the Dakota Wizards, Idaho Stampede,  Sioux Falls Skyforce, and expansion Colorado 14ers all bolted the 60 year old CBA for the greener pastures of the NBA D-League.

If you can afford the dues, who wouldn't want to join that club?

The D-League may still see migration from a few teams from the freewheeling ABA and the smaller IBL.

Commissioner Stern's vision of a strong development league for the CBA as a haven for younger players who don't qualify for college academically and for college players who need a year or two to mature is a sound one.

There is not really room in the limited basketball market for two AAA leagues. The CBA is putting up a brave front. They followed the defection en-masse with their own announcement:

"The CBA extends its best wishes to the departing clubs and thanks them for  their contributions to the league," said CBA Commissioner Gary Hunter. "The CBA remains a viable option for minor league franchises, players who are  seeking to develop and advance to the next level, and coaches who are seeking to enrich their careers."

Right now, the NBA doesn't restrict teams from buying the contracts of players in the other leagues.  As the D-League grows, though, and starts moving toward one-on-one affiliations between minor and major clubs, the question remains what the CBA will do for an encore? How viable will they be if the NBA shuts off the access to their benches?

The defections effectively zap the CBA of access to some of the best markets in minor basketball. They will have to pick up new teams, probably by reaching out to some of the stronger ABA and IBL markets that can draw and fit in their travel plans.

When Isaiah Thomas bought the league and  balked at selling it to Stern and the CBA for what was reported to be less than $3 million,  the CBA nearly tanked.  The owners in many of the markets who defected where some of the key players in reviving the league and brining it back to health. The defection puts the CBA in the ER on life support.

The CBA is the oldest professional basketball league continuously operating in the United States.  It may not see a 70th year, though.  If the NBA is going to power up the D-League, the CBA and the newbie leagues need to do some serious reassessment of what their role in developmental basketball is going to be, and how they are going to dovetail into the bigger picture.  Indy basketball is a hard and unstable road, as the  franchises bouncing in and out of the the ABA from year to year suggest.  Perhaps its better to be a sanctioned AA league than out of business.