CHICAGO, Aug. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- With the intense climate around the impending NBA lock-out this upcoming season, one independent league in America has risen to the top on NBA player recruitment. The Chicago based Premier Basketball League is close to finalizing its first contract with a current NBA player and his representatives. Although the details for the first contract have not been made public yet during the negotiations phase, the PBL's leadership is already in talks with other agents for several key players of the NBA. The contracts come on the heels of a successful "Locked-Out Draft" held by the PBL earlier this summer.
"Basketball is a tradition in America and around the world. We wanted to make sure that even in these tough lock-out times, the stars from one league have an opportunity to reach their fans through a league that isn't stuck in contract negotiations," commented Brij M. Desai, Premier Basketball League President and CEO.
With the onset of key NBA players leaving the United States to play international ball, the PBL wants to make sure they know there is a home for them right here in America. The Premier Basketball League has been on a constant rise in the media and in minor league sports after restructuring following the PBL finals this past spring. With only 20 games in the PBL season, this gives the locked-out NBA players a realistic opportunity to play side by side with the communities here domestically that foster growth for their professional careers and fan base.
"We have noticed some of the contracts the NBA players were signing internationally were for long durations of time and we are confident that our short seasons and the salaries proposed far outweigh the benefits of international ball this upcoming season," continued Desai.
The PBL announced their new regional play model this summer. Last year's PBL Champions, the Rochester RazorSharks, are joined in 2012 by the Dayton Air Strikers, Team Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Chicago Muscle, Charleston Gunners, and the Sauk Valley Predators. With 2 more teams announcing over the next few weeks, the PBL has a distinct advantage for both the fans and the owners.
"The PBL is a league for the fans. None of the teams joining our league would be there without the fans. Not only do we mandate community involvement by our franchises, we also switched to a regional play model to cut the expense down for team owners. We pride ourselves on having a fan-based, player focused, and cost effective independent basketball league here in America, and that is exactly what we are doing," finished Desai.
For more information on the PBL's NBA player recruitment, or for general PBL information please visit www.ThePBL.com. For media inquires contact Chris Foltz at chris@thepbl.com or call 312-772-4865.
SOURCE Premier Basketball League
