Michael Savit, managing partner of the team's ownership group, says an NBA Development League team will begin play in Springfield, Massachusetts in the 2009-2010 season.

The team, unnamed, does not yet have a certain NBA affiliate.

Savit said it made sense to locate the team in Springfield because of the city's basketball history and proximity to Connecticut.

David Noel of the Reno Bighorns is the NBA D-League Performer of the Week for games played during the week of March 29, 2009. Noel becomes the first Bighorns player to earn the honor.

Noel led the Thunderbirds to a 1-1 record and averaged 20.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 12.0 assists. He registered his second triple-double of the season on Thursday when he scored 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists in a win over Iowa.

A 6-6 forward from North Carolina, Noel was a first-round pick (14th overall) in the 2008 NBA D-League Draft by Albuquerque, which traded him to Reno earlier this month. He is averaging 18.7 points and 5.8 rebounds this season. A former second round pick of the Milwaukee Bucks, Noel played two seasons with the Bucks and was assigned to Tulsa of the NBA D-League during the 2007-08 season.

Will Conroy of the Albuquerque Thunderbirds was today named NBA D-League Performer of the Week for games played during the week of March 16, 2009.  Conroy becomes the first player to earn the honor twice during the 2008-09 season and is also the all-time leader with a total of four Performer of the Week nods.

Conroy led the Thunderbirds to a 2-1 record this week, averaging nearly a triple-double with 25.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 12.7 assists while setting a new season high with 18 assists in Friday?s loss to Rio Grande Valley.  His scoring high from the week came on Saturday when he netted 29 points in a win over Erie.

The Charlotte Bobcats today announced they have signed Dontell Jefferson of the Utah Flash to a 10-day contract.  Jefferson becomes the 15th call-up of the 2008-09 season and the 133rd overall since the league began play in 2001.

Jefferson, a 6-4 guard out of Arkansas, has appeared in 32 games for the Flash this season and averaged 18.6 points, 5.5 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 36.7 minutes, scoring in double figures on 28 occasions, including 16 games with 20 or more points.  He scored a season-high 38 points in a win over the Fort Wayne Mad Ants on Jan. 26 and was named NBA D-League Co-Player of the Month for January after averaging 21.4 points and 6.2 assists in 11 games.

The Tulsa 66ers announced on Saturday they have acquired point guard Shaun Livingston.

Livingston, at 6 foot 7 inches, has played in 149 regular season NBA games, including 60 starts for the Los Angeles Clippers from 2004-07.

The Los Angeles Lakers today assigned Sun Yue to the team?s NBA Development League affiliate Los Angeles D-Fenders. Sun is the 28th assignment of the 2008-09 season and the first from the Lakers to the D-Fenders this season.    

Sun, a 6-9 guard from China, has appeared in 10 games with the Lakers this season, totaling six points and two assists in 28 minutes.  He made his NBA debut on Dec. 7 against the Milwaukee Bucks and scored four points on 2-of-3 shooting in five minutes.