Carmelo Anthony Advocates for D-League Overhaul as Part of Next NBA CBA

New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony believes he has a solution to help the NBA Development League actually be about player development.

Anthony would like to see the NBA completely overhaul the D-League system, per ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne: "If I had it my way, I'd rebrand the whole D-League. I'd rebrand it so it's not seen as a punishment."

In terms of actual proposals Anthony has to help create additional jobs in the D-League, Shelburne noted he is discussing two-way contracts in collective bargaining negotiations that allow players to play on a D-League team and an NBA team.

Anthony, who is vice president of the National Basketball Players Association, is also discussing increasing pay for D-League players and adding language to the collective bargaining agreement so all 30 NBA teams have an affiliated D-League club:

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I'm a big advocate of developing our own players. If you look at soccer, for example, a lot of those clubs have top-notch academies. ... By me being in soccer now, I've started to understand the dynamics of developing your own players. We've got to keep our players here. We don't want them to have to go overseas.

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The NBA D-League is entering its 16th season of existence, with the goal of serving as an outlet for players struggling in the NBA or in need of further growth to hone their skills in a professional setting.

The NBA and NBPA have the right to opt out of the current CBA before Dec. 15 in time for the 2017-18 season.

ESPN's Ian Begley and Dave McMenamin reported Sunday the union and players association have a meeting scheduled for Oct. 19, and there is "rising optimism" a new labor deal framework can be reached.

There are currently 22 D-League franchises. Being able to expand that number to 30 with a single affiliate for each NBA team would allow teams a better chance to develop their own talent, while also making it seem like players are not being cast away because they couldn't immediately cut it at the top level.