Birmingham Squadron

On March 30, 2017, the New Orleans Pelicans announced their intentions to have an owned-and-operated NBA G League team by the 2018–19 season located in the Gulf South region.[3] The organization then announced they were looking at 11 different cities across Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi.[4] By August 2017, the list had narrowed to two: Pensacola and Shreveport.[5] After the city council in Shreveport unanimously voted against building a new arena in September 2017,[6] the Pelicans' general manager Dell Demps stated they had put their efforts in creating a G League team on hold, saying that "[finding] the right situation, and the right city for the team to play is essential."[7]

On October 24, 2018, the Pelicans announced plans to place their G League team in Birmingham, Alabama, and begin play at Legacy Arena by 2022.[8] The plan included an extensive $125 million dollar renovation to Legacy Arena.[9] While the renovations were ongoing, the Pelicans' affiliate began play for the 2019–20 season as the Erie BayHawks after the Atlanta Hawks relocated their G League affiliate from Erie, Pennsylvania, to College Park, Georgia.[10] In March 2021, the Pelicans hired David Lane as the team's general manager with the intent on relocating the team in time for the 2021–22 season.[11]

The Erie BayHawks became the New Orleans Pelicans' affiliate in the 2019–20 season.[12] Ryan Pannone, an assistant on the Pelicans' Summer League staff, was named the head coach of the BayHawks in August 2019.[13] He led the BayHawks to a 13–30 record in his first season, but the season was cancelled prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[14] The BayHawks played a shortened, 18-team season at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in 2021 where they made the playoffs, losing to the Lakeland Magic in the quarterfinals 139–110.[15]

On April 8, 2021, Erie Basketball Management, LLC, the local management company that operated all three franchises as the Erie BayHawks teams, announced that the organization was unable to find another NBA partner team for 2021–22 and ceased operations.[16] Long-time BayHawks president Matt Bresee was honored with the Team Executive of the Year Award that summer, in recognition of his work in Erie.[17]

Following the completion of renovations to Legacy Arena, the franchise moved to Birmingham and officially became the Birmingham Squadron in 2021. The Squadron played their first home game in Birmingham on December 5, 2021, against the Capitanes de Ciudad de México in front of nearly 5,000 fans, where they lost 123–114.[18] The Squadron made the playoffs, falling to the Texas Legends at home in the first round 115–100.[19] The Squadron finished their inaugural season in Birmingham ranked second in league attendance.[20]

Following his first season in Birmingham, Ryan Pannone was asked to join Pelicans head coach Willie Green's staff in New Orleans full-time as an assistant.[21] Alongside the announcement of Pannone's move, the Pelicans announced that Squadron assistant T.J. Saint was being promoted to head coach.[22] In his first season, the Squadron finished with an 11–21 record in the regular season, 12th place in the Western Conference, and failed to reach the playoffs.