:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/54699179/usa_today_9567655.0.jpg)
Rumors have been flying around for a while, but finally we’re getting some concrete details on the new Clippers D-League (or rather, Gatorade League) team, set to open play this upcoming season. According to a report from Marc Stein, the team is likely to be called the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario.
D-League scuttle ... hearing that the Clippers are working toward naming their new 2017-18 team thusly: Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) May 9, 2017
Agua Caliente is a longtime casino sponsor of the Clippers. Interesting for gambling association/ naming rights https://t.co/XXeub6qWYE
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) May 9, 2017
Yeah... not the greatest name. But then again, the D-League is already full of all sorts of corniness.
The Clippers setting up shop in Ontario, CA was first reported last month over at D-League Digest. NBA.com’s Scott Howard-Cooper dropped some further details a few weeks later.
If the franchise does start in 2017-18, the Clippers would push harder to have 2016 second-round pick David Michineau come to the United States to develop in their system rather than spend another season in France. At the very least, the hope is that Michineau will play in summer league in Las Vegas – a switch for the Clips after being in Orlando, Fla. – amid the feeling within the organization that Michineau has a chance to become a contributor off the bench in the backcourt, especially with his defense.
Clips Nation regulars will know that we’ve been pushing for this move for a long time, and have previously taken the Clippers to task for how they’ve utilized the D-League.
Hopefully this is the first step to joining the ranks of elite organizations like Toronto and Miami, who have consistently found and developed NBA rotation players through their minor league affiliates.