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A little more than a year ago, Bobby Marks drove the 150 miles to Springfield to investigate a possible affiliation with the Armor, then got Team Prokhorov to sign on to the plan...and budget at least a quarter million dollars to run basketball operations at the Armor. It wasn't a no-brainer back then, even with the obvious advantages. The Armor was the D-League's worst team and the Nets didn't have a deep management bench.
On Sunday, the Nets completed the process, officially taking over in Springfield, becoming only the second NBA club, along with the Rockets (Rio Grande Valley Vipers), to have a "hybrid" partnership and only the fifth NBA team with a single-affiliated D-League team. The Thunder and Spurs own the Tulsa 66ers and Austin Toros, respectively. The Texas Legends are owned by Mavericks' GM Donnie Nelson. “This is an exciting time for The Nets as we head into this new partnership,” said Marks' boss, Billy King, on Sunday.
The Nets will hire a head coach, assistant coach, trainer and assistant trainer, hoping to have the head coach in place by the NBA Draft on June 23. The Armor was previously the farm team of the Knicks and 76ers as well as the Nets. Those teams will now find a new D-League club to work with.