I crate my 11 week old (tomorrow) pup during the day while my boyfriend & I are at work. I don't only do it because he would destory everything in sight while we're gone but I also do it because 1) he's not house trained yet so I'd imagine would go EVERYWHERE while we're gone (puppies pee like every 5 minutes it seems!) & 2) for his safety. I don't think it is safe to leave an untrained pup loose in the house for several hours throughout the day. Who knows what kind of trouble he could get himself into! It's just simply not a risk I am willing to take for his own sake. Crate training has been difficult but I think worth it.
Don't be afraid to get a Basenji because you have heard they are destructive. Any puppy can be destructive if left alone since all puppies love to chew things, especially those things they "know" aren't their's to chew! They always manage to figure out what those things are too. :p
Think a lot before getting any dog because they do take time & a huge effort to raise one properly. Training is a lot of work for any dog. Basenjis are said to be difficult to train, although Dallas is only 11 weeks is already does "sit", "down", & "look" so I havent' seen that yet. In fact, my beagle was far more difficult to train than Dallas has been so far.
Hope I have helped any & if you have any questions of course further ask! I know I have leanred a lot from this forum that has helped me decide that a Basenji is the right dog for me. Hopefully you will get the same value out of the forum as I have!