A new professional basketball team is probably headed for North Texas. The NBA Development League has targeted Frisco for an expansion franchise, perhaps for next season but more likely for the 2009-10 season.

While details still are to be worked out, several NBA executives said plans are in the works to put a team in Frisco. The ultimate goal of the D-League is to have an affiliate for every NBA team. It makes sense that Frisco would be the Mavericks' farm team.

Frisco makes sense for many reasons. It is a populous area that already has proved it will support minor league sports. The Frisco RoughRiders have been a successful Double-A team for several seasons. They are an affiliate of the Rangers.

Frisco also is home to FC Dallas of Major League Soccer.

The D-League had a run in Fort Worth with the Flyers, who went defunct after last season.

While the population of Frisco was about 52,000 last year, the area is booming and there are more than 600,000 residents within a 10-mile radius of the city.