The NBA's Development League team in Springfield will announce its name Tuesday, a day after its affiliation was announced.

The New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets and Philadelphia 76ers will be the NBA teams affiliated with Springfield when its inaugural season begins in the fall.

Today at 11 a.m., the team will unveil its name and logo at a press conference open to the public at the MassMutual Center. T-shirts with the name and logo will be for sale at the event.

The name will come from an online poll held by the Springfield team that saw more than 1,000 nicknames offered for the new franchise despite some technical glitches with the team's Web site.

"We did have quite a number of write-in votes," said Joe Barbieri, the team's director of marketing and public relations. "It was only about a 10- or 11-day window, so we didn't know what to expect."

Armor, Colonials, Founders and Spirit were the four names offered up by the franchise, while any voter could submit a nickname.

Barbieri said the voting was close, with all four names plus some write-ins getting solid support.

While the D-League has been a minor league for the NBA since 2001, affiliations with NBA teams have brought the system closer to the same relationship Major League Baseball has with its minor league clubs.

According to the NBA , 20 percent of the players who were on NBA rosters at the end of the season had D-League experience, while 18 players from the 2008 draft saw time in the D-League, including five first-round picks.

The Maine Red Claws, who join the Springfield team as newcomers to the D-League this year, will be affiliated with the Boston Celtics and the Charlotte Bobcats.

The D-League rosters are made up of players who have been placed there by the NBA club, as well as free agents.

"All players unaffiliated with our affiliates are auditioning for any team in the NBA ," Barbieri said.

With a name and a logo affixed, Barbieri said the next step will be to work on putting a coaching staff in place, as well as other support staff.

"We'll have our own NBA Development League draft in the fall," Barbieri said. "The players will be the last piece of the puzzle."