Expansion/Re-Alignment

[BitterJim]

I generally despise the idea of expansion in any sport, because I think we have plenty of teams in general, and plenty of bad teams in particular, and because each sport already has numerous players who aren't good enough to be playing at the highest professional level but are there anyway because teams have slots they have to fill.

That said, pro sports leagues are greedy and never satisfied, so I know they'll just keep expanding. Adam Silver is perfectly content to add teams in smaller markets because that instantly creates new fan bases that can spend gobs of money, yet the big-market teams remain the ones that will most often be in the NBA Finals, which is better for TV ratings. A win-win for him and the league, even though many expansion teams don't have much hope of ever being great, because the best free agents usually want to be where it's warm (L.A., Miami) or where the biggest media are (N.Y., L.A.).

In light of these facts, and also factoring in geographical/travel considerations, I think the NBA should go wild:

• Move Minnesota, Memphis, and New Orleans to the East
• Add West teams in the following cities:
  > Seattle (already a given)
  > Vegas (already a given)
  > San Diego (great weather, great destination for players and for All-Star Weekend, already has baseball, used to support an NBA team)
  > St. Louis (already has baseball and hockey, used to support an NBA team)
  > Albuquerque/Santa Fe (warm weather, meets a need for NBA fans in the large gap between the Phoenix, Denver, and Texas teams)
  > Omaha (one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the U.S., used to (partially) support an NBA team, and meets a need for NBA fans in the heartland)

This means 18 teams in each conference:

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
Boston
Brooklyn
New York
Philadelphia
Toronto
Washington

Central Division
Chicago
Cleveland
Detroit
Indiana
Milwaukee
Minnesota

Southeast Division
Atlanta
Charlotte
Memphis
Miami
New Orleans
Orlando

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Northwest Division
Denver
Las Vegas
Portland
Sacramento
Seattle
Utah

Pacific Division
Golden State
L.A. Clippers
L.A. Lakers
New Mexico
Phoenix
San Diego

Southwest Division
Dallas
Houston
Oklahoma City
Omaha
San Antonio
St. Louis

I'm sure there are factors I'm not taking into consideration, but that's my wild, somewhat haphazard stab at expansion/realignment.

You're missing the biggest argument against this idea, that Tatum would be tempted to leave if St Louis got a team. To me, that makes it a non-starter.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

I generally despise the idea of expansion in any sport, because I think we have plenty of teams in general, and plenty of bad teams in particular, and because each sport already has numerous players who aren't good enough to be playing at the highest professional level but are there anyway because teams have slots they have to fill.

That said, pro sports leagues are greedy and never satisfied, so I know they'll just keep expanding. Adam Silver is perfectly content to add teams in smaller markets because that instantly creates new fan bases that can spend gobs of money, yet the big-market teams remain the ones that will most often be in the NBA Finals, which is better for TV ratings. A win-win for him and the league, even though many expansion teams don't have much hope of ever being great, because the best free agents usually want to be where it's warm (L.A., Miami) or where the biggest media are (N.Y., L.A.).

In light of these facts, and also factoring in geographical/travel considerations, I think the NBA should go wild:

• Move Minnesota, Memphis, and New Orleans to the East
• Add West teams in the following cities:
  > Seattle (already a given)
  > Vegas (already a given)
  > San Diego (great weather, great destination for players and for All-Star Weekend, already has baseball, used to support an NBA team)
  > St. Louis (already has baseball and hockey, used to support an NBA team)
  > Albuquerque/Santa Fe (warm weather, meets a need for NBA fans in the large gap between the Phoenix, Denver, and Texas teams)
  > Omaha (one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the U.S., used to (partially) support an NBA team, and meets a need for NBA fans in the heartland)

This means 18 teams in each conference:

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
Boston
Brooklyn
New York
Philadelphia
Toronto
Washington

Central Division
Chicago
Cleveland
Detroit
Indiana
Milwaukee
Minnesota

Southeast Division
Atlanta
Charlotte
Memphis
Miami
New Orleans
Orlando

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Northwest Division
Denver
Las Vegas
Portland
Sacramento
Seattle
Utah

Pacific Division
Golden State
L.A. Clippers
L.A. Lakers
New Mexico
Phoenix
San Diego

Southwest Division
Dallas
Houston
Oklahoma City
Omaha
San Antonio
St. Louis

I'm sure there are factors I'm not taking into consideration, but that's my wild, somewhat haphazard stab at expansion/realignment.

You're missing the biggest argument against this idea, that Tatum would be tempted to leave if St Louis got a team. To me, that makes it a non-starter.

Ha, I figured I missed something -- never thought of that angle!

[BudweiserCeltic]

We barely got enough talent in these teams, and we want to expand...