Portland Trail Blazers get G League team for 2023-24

The Portland Trail Blazers will begin operating a G League franchise in the 2023-2024 season — leaving only the Phoenix Suns without a minor league affiliate team.

The Blazers are fast-tracking a team that’ll play its home games at the University of Portland and conduct practices at the Blazers’ practice facility.

New G League affiliates typically take 18-24 months to get up and running, but owner Jody Allen wants to help the franchise’s front office prioritize player development and Blazers GM Joe Cronin will work to speed up the process and have a team for the coming season. Portland has two first-round picks and a second-rounder in the 2023 NBA draft.

“I’m excited to welcome Jody Allen and the Trail Blazers ownership group to the NBA G League family,” G League president Shareef Abdur-Rahim said in a statement. “The NBA G League continues to grow to meet the developmental demands of NBA teams, and today’s announcement is further proof of the value the league provides to the NBA every day. I can’t wait to watch the team tip off at the Chiles Center next season.”

The Blazers have been enduring the fairly cumbersome task of out-sourcing young developmental players to rival G League rivals franchises in California, including the Kings’ affiliate in Stockton and the Clippers’ affiliate in Ontario.

The NBA and NBPA agreed on adding a third two-way player to team rosters in the recent collective bargaining agreement, and that’ll add another young player to a roster that’ll need to spend significant time in the G League.

The NBA is moving closer to every team having an affiliate. The Suns sold their G League team to the Detroit Pistons in 2020, but are actively pursuing a new G League program under new owner Mat Ishbia, sources said.