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...

[A Future of Stevens]

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

Most pundits have been raving for years about how deep and talented the league is. If they are going to water it down a little, nows the time I guess.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

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

Most pundits have been raving for years about how deep and talented the league is. If they are going to water it down a little, nows the time I guess.

The top-end talent is great, but I don't think it's all that deep.

[slamtheking]

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

Most pundits have been raving for years about how deep and talented the league is. If they are going to water it down a little, nows the time I guess.

and most pundits are idiots so that would explain that

[Moranis]

The problem is there are always odd teams, but I suspect you would do 8-4 team divisions as that would really help scheduling

So games played
32 - 2 games, 16 other conference
36 - 3 games, 12 other division
15 - 5 games, 3 other division

83 total games (or they could play 4 division games and reduce scheduleto 80).  It adds a game but actually increases importance of division and thus reduces travel.

Divisions
NE - Bos, NY, BKN, Tor
Mid At - Was, Cha, Phi, Atl
S - Mia, Orl, NO, SA
Mid Wst - Cle, Det, Ind, Mem
Cen - Chi, Mil, Min, OKC
NW - Sea, Por, Uta, Den
Pac - GS, LAL, LAC, Sac
SW - Hou, Dal, Pho, LV

Memphis and OKC are hard to place, but I think that works quite well overall.

[A Future of Stevens]

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

Most pundits have been raving for years about how deep and talented the league is. If they are going to water it down a little, nows the time I guess.

and most pundits are idiots so that would explain that

I agree withe pundits part, but I honestly believe the level of talent is at an all time high. You can't even compete in the modern NBA without a minimum of 2 superstars and a great supporting cast. That wasn't the case 15 years ago.