Woolpert saddened by state of the CBA
February 20, 2009 by Dave Thomas
YAKIMA, Wash. — Paul Woolpert’s inaugural stint in the NBDL is a far cry from his CBA debut 15 years ago, when he was part of the Sun Kings’ first championship team.
But even as losses mount with his Tulsa team this season, that situation is still far better than what his old league has experienced.
Woolpert expressed disappointment that the CBA cut its season short earlier this month, citing economic struggles, leaving its future in serious doubt.
“I think about it all the time,” he said of the league where he was part of five championships either as a head coach or assistant.
Like many longtime CBA people, Woolpert, who’s first coaching job was as an assistant with the Sun Kings in 1994-95, puts the blame squarely on Isiah Thomas, who bought the league prior to the 1999-2000 season. A year later, he reportedly turned down a purchase offer from the NBA, and the CBA then shut down midway through that next season.
That rejection by Thomas also spurred the NBA to form the D-League, which has now grown to 16 teams and supplanted the CBA as the virtually exclusive place for players to develop their skills and earn NBA call-ups.
In the previous three-plus seasons, no CBA players were called up to the NBA, after having 600 such moves prior to that when the two leagues had an official player-development agreement, first signed in 1978.
“There wouldn’t be a D-League without the Isiah Thomas fiasco,” Woolpert said. “We were the D-League. Our (logo) said we were ‘The official developmental league of the NBA.’
“It’s very, very sad.”
Filed under All, Pros
