The arena, the fans and the overall feel to the Suns’ D-League team will be much more local next season.
In a transaction completed a 90-minute drive north of Phoenix, the Suns announced they had purchased the Bakersfield Jam and moved them to Prescott Valley, where the Development League franchise will be renamed the Northern Arizona Suns.
Prior to the move, Phoenix and Bakersfield had held a “hybrid” relationship in which the Suns were in charge of basketball operations while the Jam’s ownership group was responsible for operating the business aspects of the team. Now owned by Arizona’s NBA team, it was only logical to place it in the same neighborhood.