Friday, August 15, 2008

Portland Boys and Girls Club Dinner

Basketball group waiting for go-ahead
Potential owners of a D-League team in Portland are eager to get the franchise and start work.

By JENN MENENDEZ, Staff Writer August 15, 2008

K.C. Jones was an NBA rookie in 1958 when he came to Maine for the first time.

He loaded into a car to drive from Boston to play a string of exhibitions with the Boston Celtics. He recalls getting stuck riding with Coach Red Auerbach at the wheel.

Stuck, he says, because Auerbach "just didn't drive well. So the rookies went with him."
Jones hopes to make a few new memories of Maine.

So does Jon Jennings, who brought Jones to Portland on Thursday to speak at a fund-raising dinner for the Boys and Girls Club. They are part of the ownership group trying to bring an NBA Development League team to Portland for 2009-10.

Jennings hoped to be given a franchise by the end of this summer, but is now preparing to wait until the fall while the league works on expanding east.

The 16-team league primarily operates in the Midwest and West. But league officials are trying to bring a cluster of teams to the Northeast, which would create natural rivalries and reasonable travel costs.

"The great thing from our standpoint is the NBA wants to do this right," said Jennings. "I think it's fair to say we've done everything they've required of us and we've been working our tails off to get this thing done."

The D-League president, Dan Reed, was unavailable for comment.

Ideally, Jennings said, the ownership group would have at least a year to prepare. The team is interested in being an affiliate of the Celtics, making improvements to the Portland Expo and building a fan base.

"There's an enormous amount of work to be done," said Jennings. "So all of us are hoping a decision will be made in the near future."

Jones' role, said Jennings, is likely to expand if Portland is awarded a franchise.

"We hope in the future he'll take a more sizeable role," said Jennings, a former assistant coach with the Celtics. "K.C. has been like a father to me. He brought me into the Celtics. And he was the first guy I called when I decided to do this."

The group is led by Jennings, Bill Ryan Jr., owner of Oxford Plains Speedway, and Bill Ryan Sr., chairman of the board of TD Banknorth. The group announced its intentions last winter, originally hoping it might be possible to begin operations for the 2008-09 season. That idea quickly faded, and playing in the 2009-10 season became a more realistic timetable.

In March the group ironed out a five-season lease agreement with the city to play at the Expo, which would cost $42,000 a year to start. The team would pay $250,000 for building improvements, as well as be responsible for all team operating costs at the Expo.

Jones, who wore a shiny gold NBA championship ring from 1986 on his left hand, also toted his gold medal from the 1956 Olympics to share with kids from the Boys and Girls Club.

He said he's grown to believe in the merits of the D-League -- the reason he became involved.
"They have a chance to get to the NBA," said Jones. "I think the D-League would do well here. It would give players a chance."

Staff Writer Jenn Menendez can be contacted at 791-6426 or at:
jmenendez@pressherald.com

Copyright © 2008 Blethen Maine Newspapers

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