The D-League is supposed to provide NBA opportunities for players, coaches, executives, referees and team employees. One of its team's recent hires went way beyond that. 

Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman, a true pioneer for women in basketball as a player, coach, executive and announcer, was named head coach of the D-League team in Frisco, Texas, which has an NBA-laden front office. 

Frisco will be the D-League affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks, whose owner, Mark Cuban, has presented a number of novel approaches to the business of the NBA. 

Longtime NBA coach Del Harris will be Frisco’s general manager. Former NBA Slam Dunk champion Spud Webb is president of basketball operations. 

Lieberman played in the WNBA as recently as 2008, joining the Detroit Shock for one game at the age of 50 and setting a record in the process. She also served as coach and GM of the Shock from 1998-2001. 

TULSA SHOWS TRUE COLORS: What’s in a set of team colors? Quite possibly the ties that bind. The Tulsa 66ers have announced that their official team colors will match those of the Oklahoma City Thunder, their NBA parent club. 

That’s Thunder Blue, Thunder Navy, Thunder Yellow and Thunder Red as the colors for the 66ers. That's a lot of thunder. 

The 66ers will compete in the D-League’s Southwest Division along with Rio Grande, Maine, Albuquerque and Austin.

FROM THE TRADING BLOCK: A trio of teams were active in trades following the D-League draft. Here’s how a three-team trade between the Iowa Energy, Los Angeles D-Fenders and Idaho Stampede played out: The Stampede acquired former Creighton big man Anthony Tolliver from Iowa, Los Angeles got rookie small forward Dar Tucker from Idaho and the Energy obtained the rights to 7-foot former NBA player Earl Barron.

In another trade, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants dealt the rights to rookie forward Alade Aminu to Erie for NBA veteran forward Robert Kurz.

NINE TEAMS MAKE UP PBL: The 2010 edition of the Premier Basketball League is a mix of old and new. Maryland, Puerto Rico, Buffalo, Quebec, Halifax, Manchester, Vermont, Lawton-Fort Sill and Rochester franchises will compete during the 2010 season. 

Lawton-Fort Sill made the move over from the CBA after capturing back-to-back championships. NBA veteran Michael Ray Richardson will once again guide the Cavalry. 

The 2010 PBL season will tip off Saturday, Jan. 2. Opening weekend matchups are Maryland at Puerto Rico and Buffalo at Quebec on Saturday and Halifax at Lawton-Fort Sill, Vermont at Manchester, Maryland at Puerto Rico and Rochester at Quebec on Sunday.

GREENHAWKS INVEST IN AN ARTEST: An Artest will suit up and play in the PBL this season. The Maryland GreenHawks have announced the signing of forward Daniel Artest, the younger brother of NBA star Ron Artest. 

The 6-5, 290-pound Daniel Artest averaged 12.6 points and 7.1 rebounds and shot 54 percent from the field for the Rockford Fury in 2008. More recently, he averaged 20 points and 13 rebounds in Germany for the Saarlouis Royals.

Maryland also inked Scooter Sherrill, an N.C. State product who played in the CBA in addition to stints overseas with foreign squads in Italy, Venezuela, Poland and Iceland. 

MARYLAND TURNS TO SPON: After new hire Ryan Krueger chose to return to Lehigh University and coach at his alma mater, GreenHawks GM Adam Dantus had to make a move. Last week, he named veteran minor league coach Rob Spon as the new mentor for the GreenHawks. 

Spon will serve as head coach one season after guiding the Manchester Millrats to the PBL’s Atlantic Conference championship. Under Spon’s guidance, Manchester posted a 16-4 regular-season record. He was PBL Coach of the Month last February.  

The Maryland franchise conducted an invitation-only tryout Saturday.

DETROIT OUT FOR 2010 SEASON: PBL teams won’t be making road trips to Detroit during the 2010 season as the Panthers sit out the campaign with plans to return for the 2011 season. The franchise wants to concentrate on the finishing of the Panthers Community Center/Sports Complex in 2010. 

VALUABLE VETS: Halifax won’t be short of veteran talent when the PBL season tips off in less than two months. The Rainmen added to their veteran roster in late October, signing both Eric Crookshank and John Strickland. Crookshank and Strickland were key players for the Rainmen last season, each averaging over 20 minutes per game.

MILLER TIME: Longtime NBA center Anthony "Pig" Miller has signed with the Dallas Generals of the ABA. Miller played eight NBA seasons, logging minutes with four different teams after being selected by Golden State in the second round of the 1994 NBA draft. Following his NBA career. Miller played with Yakima of the CBA. 

MINOR LEAGUE HOOPS BACK IN ALBANY: Pro basketball fans in Albany have a new team. The Albany Legends will compete in the International Basketball League (IBL) as a first-year franchise during the 2010 season.   

NEW SPRING LEAGUE TAKING SHAPE: The Continental Basketball League (CBL) has announced its intentions to tip off a debut season in April 2010 and conclude the inaugural campaign during the last weekend of June following a single-elimination tournament. 

Veteran minor league basketball executive Dennis Truax is serving as CBL commissioner. Gary Perry has been named director of basketball operations. The CBL has announced that a minimum of seven teams will compete in the inaugural season. The Wilmington Sea Dawgs, which most recently played in the PBL, has already committed.

Steve LeMaster regularly files the Minor League Report for Pro Basketball News. You can email him at stevelemastersports@yahoo.com.