Encouraging signs for Armor in franchise's second season

Jan. 17, 2011

By Chris Maza

Reminder Assistant Editor

SPRINGFIELD — If you ask owner Michael Savit, there aren't very many chinks in Springfield's Armor.

Savit told Reminder Publications in a recent interview that he liked where the Armor was heading as an organization and by extension, was very encouraged with the progress of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Developmental League (D-League) as a whole.

"I would say, looking at it, the big picture is great," Savit said. "The D-League as a whole is doing great. This year, more than ever, the NBA is using it as it is intended."

The intent of the D-League is to provide players a chance to develop their skills to make them more prepared for the NBA. Under its current format, NBA teams may send first- and second-year players down to their affiliates in order to gain more playing time and hone their skills.

In its second season in the league, Springfield is no exception to the NBA's newfound acceptance of the D-League concept. Last year, the Armor did not have a single assignment from any of its three affiliates, the New Jersey Nets, the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers. This season, they have already had two.

"My gut when I got involved in this is that the NBA was going to do this right," Savit said. "Every year it gets better and it's working. It's exactly as I'd hoped."

To this point, the biggest success for the Armor, according to Savit, was when Springfield made a bit of history with the announcement that they will enter into a hybrid affiliation with the Nets, starting at the end of this season. With hybrid affiliation, the Armor will be the Nets' sole affiliate. Most other D-League teams have more than one affiliate. The Nets will take over the bulk of the basketball operations, including roster decisions and coaching staff, much like the minor league baseball model.

"Personally, I think it's going to be huge. It's a huge win for us in so many ways," Armor General Manager Alex Schwerin said. "We can take advantage of a ton of resources and a ton of knowledge from our perspective. It's going to have a big impact on the basketball side of things. Instead of having a relationship with an NBA team, we're going to have a partnership.

"From the Nets' perspective, they're excited because they can create a bullpen of sorts at the developmental level."

The Armor have already made strides in terms of improving the quality of the play on the floor, an area where Schwerin deflected most of the credit away from himself.

"One key element that people need to understand is that while I am the general manager, [head coach] Dee [Brown] is on the forefront of learning about and deciding what kind of talent we need," Schwerin said. "The credit for the improvement goes to him. Rosters change over so frequently that it's almost impossible to create a consistent winning atmosphere, but with the year of experience he got last year, he learned about what kind of atmosphere he wanted to create and what kind of players he was looking for."

After winning seven games all of last season, the Armor had won six by the conclusion of the D-League Showcase on Jan. 10 through 13. The Armor topped the Utah Flash, then lost to the Idaho Stampede in the Showcase, which also included a slam dunk contest, which was won by Springfield's L.D. Williams.

One area where Savit hopes to see improvement is in the stands, as attendance is down this year.

"It's disappointing. I definitely thought it would be better," Savit said. "The biggest room for improvement is people have to show up. I brought a team to Springfield because I wanted to. I felt Springfield was a great place because of its great basketball heritage.

"Everything about an Armor game is all positive, nothing negative. It's great family entertainment. I feel like we're putting on a party 24 times a year, but people are missing it."

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