NBA Expansion and the Possible Return of the Sonics
Are we going to see professional basketball in Seattle soon?
The NBA and the Players Association are close to coming to terms for a new collective bargaining agreement. The current deal, which was made in 2011, expires on December 15th, so the fact that both sides are willing to strike a deal before then is a good sign. It most certainly means we will not have another lockout shortened season next year like we did in 2011–2012 and it’s a smart move by both sides.
The NBA is more popular than ever. There’s the new TV deal that was recently signed and it was for some big bucks — 2.66 billion per year. Then you have a possible Golden State/Cleveland trilogy in the NBA Finals, which makes for some intrigue. And let’s not forget that the NBA is the social media league of professional sports — who has a better social media presence than the NBA and its players?
Combine all of this with the fact that NFL viewership is in decline this year (something I believe is a sign of things to come) the NBA and its players would be foolish not to get a deal done and end up having another lockout only six years after the last one. I think that’s why both sides are looking to get a deal done quickly — they don’t want the word lockout mentioned at all this season. The NBA is in a good place right now.
If they indeed get things worked out before the current deal expires (and it sounds like they will), it would be the smartest thing they could do.
Expansion is a Possibility
Details have started to emerge as to what the new CBA entails. Kevin Nesgoda of SB Nation’s Sonics Rising blog wrote that expansion is on the table for the NBA thanks in part to the new TV deal. He also reported that at least half of the owners would be in favor of it, which is somewhat surprising.
The only reason the owners would explore a possible expansion is if they stand to make money off of doing so. NBA owners are basically shareholders in the NBA owning 1/30 (since there are 30 teams) of all operations. Would they want to cut their share down to 1/31 or 1/32 of a share?
Only if it makes them more money.
Apparently adding another team may do just that because according to Nesgoda there are “expansion escalators” in the TV deal, meaning that if the NBA were to expand, the monetary value of the deal would increase. What I take from all of this is that the revenue a new team (or two) can generate is greater than the slice of the pie they’d be taking away from the current owners.
If expansion is a real possibility — and it’s starting to sound like it is — then what might that look like for the NBA? Which city (or cities) will get a team?
Would adding another team be beneficial to the league? Do we need another bad team? I guess in the coming months we’ll know what the owners think.
How Expansions Work
Here’s how expansion work in the NBA (or at least how it did in 2004 with the Charlotte expansion): Each team is allowed to protect eight of its current players. The expansion team then gets to “draft” players from the remains pool of players that haven’t been protected to form their 15-man roster.
If it’s a two-team expansion then the teams will select in alternating order like in they did in 1995 with Toronto and Vancouver.
Many of the players that get drafted end up never playing for the team due to things like free agency and hold outs. There are a lot of other rules involved, but we won’t get into all of that as it can be quite confusing.
That’s generally how expansion drafts work and what we possibly have to look forward to if this indeed becomes a reality.
Potential Cities
What potential cities might we see become the new home for an NBA franchise? If (and that’s a big if) the owners vote to bring on an expansion team, what cities would the NBA look at? Here are a list of cities — ranked from most to least likely — to land an NBA franchise. I’ve separated them into tiers.
Tier 1: Only if You Mess it Up
SEATTLE
Seattle is the most logical choice for any potential franchise. The city has a rich (though not a necessarily winning) history of basketball. The Sonics franchise resided in Seattle from 1967 to 2008 when they relocated–and were rebranded as the Thunder — to Oklahoma City. How Seattle lost the franchise was somewhat controversial. The ownership group that purchased the team from Howard Schultz in 2006 — led by Clay Bennett apparently had no intentions of keeping the team in Seattle. They supposedly tried to get a new arena built in Seattle, but when they were unsuccessful, they ended up moving the team to Oklahoma City (where Bennett is from).
Good news for Seattle fans though, just a few days ago on October 25th Chris Hansen, an investor looking to bring the NBA back to Seattle, sent a letter to the city of Seattle stating that his investment group would pay for a new arena privately. In 2012, the group had a memorandum of understanding with the city that asked for $200 million of public funding to go towards the construction of a new arena.
If Seattle can get a new arena built (which should be a lot easier now that some of the politics involved are gone), then they have an excellent chance of landing an NBA team if the league decides to expand.
What if the NBA wants to expand to 32 teams? How likely is that? More importantly, which city after Seattle would be likely to land an NBA franchise? Or what if Seattle can’t get an arena built and the NBA has to look elsewhere?
Let’s run down the list of potential suitors.
Tier 2: After Seattle Gets a Team
LAS VEGAS
There have been rumors of the NBA putting a team in Las Vegas for years. The Maloof brothers, owners of the Sacramento Kings up until a few years ago, threatened to move the Kings there when they were denied a new arena in Sacramento. The MGM Resort has recently stated that they’re looking to attract an NBA team with the newly constructed T-Mobile Arena.
The NBA held the 2007 All-Star game there to less-than-ideal results. I’m not sure what the fascination with having a pro sports team in Las Vegas is. Wouldn’t the home crowd consist mostly of tourists?
I guess we’ll find out as the NHL is putting a franchise in Vegas with its inaugural season being next year.
VANCOUVER
Vancouver, a former NBA city, much like Seattle is in need of a new arena if they ever hope to land a team again. Adam Silver has gone on record as saying the NBA has no plans on placing another team in Canada.
That’s a bummer because a Portland-Seattle-Vancouver rivalry would be nice to have again.
MONTREAL
Montreal is a city that has been thrown around here and there as a longshot possibility. The NBA holds preseason games in the city seemingly every year (except this year) to great results. They have an NBA-ready facility that seats 21,000 in the Bell Centre.
Who knows? It could happen.
Tier 3: If It Doesn’t Work Out With Those Ahead Of Them
PITTSBURGH
Of the four major sports, basketball is the only one not represented in the Steel City. Recently, two young brothers from the city started a GoFundMe campaign to bring an NBA franchise to Pittsburgh. They raised over $2,000 to purchase billboards to draw attention to the issue. Adam Silver even responded to them.
Would Pittsburgh make for a great NBA city? They’d for sure have rivalries with the Sixers and the Cavs. They do have an arena in the Consol Energy Center, which has hosted NCAA tournament games. In 2013, David Stern mentioned Pittsburgh as a potential city if the NBA ever decided to expand.
LOUISVILLE
I was surprised to see Louisville mentioned as a possible NBA destination, but apparently a sports commission group in Louisville would be open to bringing pro basketball back to Kentucky. The last time the state had a pro basketball was when the Kentucky Colonels were a part of the ABA in 1970s.
The city does have an NBA ready facility in the KFC Yum! Center (yes, that’s actually the name) where the city’s college basketball team (Louisville Cardinals) play. It’s one of the best college basketball venues in the country. An NBA team would first have to receive permission from the University to share the facility with them.
Tier 4: If Something Unforeseen Happens
THE OTHERS
There are other cities have have been thrown around as possible destinations to land an NBA team: Kansas City, Cincinnati, Columbus, Anaheim (the Kings almost moved there), and Virginia Beach have all been mentioned.
It’s doubtful that the NBA would expand to include two new teams. A one team expansion sounds like a more plausible scenario and unless they can’t get an arena built, Seattle will likely be the destination for an expansion franchise.
Sonic fans have reason to be hopeful.
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My name is scott smoker and I write about basketball and other stuff every week on my website roundballsupply.co. You can also find me on Twitter.
