Saturday Slam: 10 cities most likely to get an NBA expansion franchise

     While in Las Vegas, NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke about the current state of the NBA and addressed some possible changes to the league. One of the things he talked about was the possibility of the NBA expanding to other cities in the future. He said that at the moment, the league isn't looking to expand, but rather is focused on maintaining a healthy 30 team league.

     While I do take Adam Silver at his word,  I do believe that the NBA will someday expand to 32 teams. I don't know when, but I do believe that it will eventually happen. What I have done is list the ten most likely cities to get an NBA expansion franchise. The list is in order of probability.


#1. Seattle, Washington

                                         (Credit: Andrew E. Larsen. Click here for source) 

     If the NBA decides to expand, Seattle will be sure to get a team. The Sonics were stolen from Seattle and the NBA would love nothing more than to bring a team back to the Pacific Northwest. It's a great market and the wheels are already in motion to build a new arena in the downtown.


#2. Montreal, Quebec 

                                         (Credit: Artur Staszewski. Click here for source) 
     
     Montreal is not a city that most people would consider as a possible location for an NBA expansion franchise, but in truth, it's a great location. If the NBA expands to 32 teams as I predict and gives the 31st team to Seattle, odds are good they'll award an Eastern Conference city with the 32nd franchise. Montreal is located in Eastern Conference boundaries, so that ups its odds of getting a team significantly.

     Secondly, the NBA is trying to appeal to fans all across the globe and establish a bigger presence internationally. What makes Montreal attractive is that it has all the benefits of an international city without the concerns of travel. French is the primary language spoken in the city and its culture definitely has more of a French/European feel than an American feel. More so than Toronto, Montreal has the "international" vibe that the NBA craves.

    Lastly, an arena is in place and the league has already had discussions with a group interested in bringing a team to Montreal. Those discussions wouldn't have taken place if the league didn't see value in having a presence in the city.


#3. Louisville, Kentucky

                                          (Credit: The Pug Father. Click here for source) 

     Louisville has two things going for it to help it land an NBA franchise. The first thing is an arena and the second thing is history. The KFC Yum! Center, home of the Louisville Cardinals, can certainly house an NBA franchise, which means that there won't be any issues in regards to building an arena.

     Secondly, Kentucky had an ABA team known as the Kentucky Colonels that was very popular. It's a mystery of as to why the Colonels didn't join the NBA given their popularity. If the NBA expands to 32 teams, the league will get a chance to right the wrong and bring pro basketball back to the state of Kentucky.


#4. San Jose, California

                                         (Credit: Travis Wise. Click here for source)

     I may be a bit biased as a native of the South Bay, but in my opinion, San Jose, California would be a great location for an NBA franchise. An arena is already in place at HP Pavilion (San Jose Sharks) and Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle, has expressed interest in bringing an NBA franchise to San Jose. Even if Ellison can't bring a team to the South Bay, there are plenty of other super rich techies in Silicon Valley who would love to own an NBA franchise.

     The biggest hurdle to getting an NBA franchise in San Jose is the presence of the Golden State Warriors, who represent the entire Bay Area. The team has grown in popularity in light of their NBA championship and it might be hard to convince the NBA that the Bay Area needs a second NBA franchise. That being said, Major League Baseball and the National Football League have had a presence in Oakland and San Francisco for years, proving that the Bay Area is big enough to have two teams in the same major pro sports league. Having a "Battle of the Bay" in the NBA would be pretty cool.


 #5. Kansas City, Missouri 

                                          (Credit: Photoguyinmo Swatzell. Click here for source) 

While it is true that Kansas City didn't hang on to the Kings, it's possible that this lovely Midwestern city gets another shot at having an NBA team. A huge plus this city has going for it (you should be sensing a trend here) is that it has an arena in place just waiting to house an NBA or NHL franchise. In addition, Kansas City has been very supportive of the Chiefs (NFL) and Royals (MLB).

#6. St. Louis, Missouri

                                         (Credit: Karen Roussel. Click here for source) 
     If Kansas City doesn't get a team, St. Louis is an in-state possibility. St. Louis has an NHL, NFL, and MLB franchise. It just needs an NBA franchise to complete the cycle. Also, there is history of pro basketball in St. Louis: The Spirits of St. Louis played in the ABA and the Hawks were located in St. Louis from 1955 to 1968 before coming to Atlanta.


#7. London, United Kingdom

                                         (Credit: Tim Morris. Click here for source) 
     If the NBA were to establish a franchise in Europe, London would be the city that they would target. The O2 Arena is capable of housing an NBA team and the time zone difference from New York City to London is only 5 hours. Issues with travel would make things difficult, but not impossible. London is a huge city with tremendous potential for ratings and revenue. If there was significant interest to get a team to London, it would be pretty hard for the NBA to pass it up.                  


#8. Buffalo, New York 

                                         (Credit: Doug Kerr. Click here for source)

     Buffalo is a bit off the grid, but still is a possible destination for an NBA franchise. In their previous life, before being reincarnated into the San Diego Clippers, the Los Angeles Clippers were the Buffalo Braves. The fact that the NBA has had a presence in Buffalo makes a return to the city possible. Especially since upstate New York is a viable market with an arena in place (First Niagara Center, home of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres).  

#9. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

                                         (Credit: Joey Gannon. Click here for source) 

     Pro basketball never really took off in Pittsburgh. For whatever reason, the Pittsburgh Pipers of the ABA, later known as the Pittsburgh Condors, went extinct after just five years of existence. But with the popularity of the Penguins, Pirates, and Steelers, I think Pittsburgh has to be in the mix to get an NBA franchise.


#10. Las Vegas, Nevada 

                                         (Credit: Moyan Brenn. Click here for source)

     Lots of people have Las Vegas as #1 or #2 on their lists, but I have Las Vegas the lowest on my list because of gambling. The NBA is flirting with Las Vegas by having summer meetings and summer league games located there, but I don't think this necessarily indicates the city will eventually get an NBA team. The unfortunate reality is that the NBA took a huge PR hit with the whole Tim Donaghy scandal. Going to Las Vegas would be inviting another gambling controversy to take place. That being said, Las Vegas is a growing city and the league clearly isn't adverse to having at least some form of a presence there. Vegas doesn't appear likely to get an NBA franchise, but it's certainly not impossible that they get one.

---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord and like my Facebook page NBA Lord Nation for NBA news 

The NBA needs to bring back the Seattle SuperSonics

   
It is pretty much established fact that when Clay Bennett purchased the Seattle SuperSonics in 2006, he had no interest of keeping the team in Seattle and that the city of Seattle lost their precious SuperSonics by way of robbery.  Bennett purchased the team for the sole purpose of relocating the team to his home city of Oklahoma City and there was nothing that the city of Seattle could do to stop him.

     Bennett could hide behind the fact that Key Arena in Seattle was one of the smallest arenas in the league and that the SuperSonics at the time had poor attendance, but the reality is that he just wanted to bring his hometown an NBA franchise. He didn't care how he did it and who he hurt in the process. As long as he was able to succeed at moving the Sonics to Oklahoma City, he was happy.

   

     The only good that came out of the departure of the Seattle SuperSonics was the fact that the team name was changed to "Oklahoma City Thunder", which would allow a possible return of the "SuperSonics" nickname to Seattle. Given the fact that there are other arenas across the country ready to house NBA franchises and that Seattle sports fans are foaming at the mouth for the return of the Sonics, the NBA has to do what is right and bring back the Seattle SuperSonics within the next five years. 

     Rather than uprooting another team and angering more fans, the NBA needs to instead expand to 32 teams, placing one team in Seattle and another team somewhere else that is also deserving of an NBA franchise. The only real argument against expansion is that it dilutes the talent pool and creates two more terrible teams. I find this argument to not be all that convincing. The reality is that such an expansion would be a great thing for the NBA. 

     First of all, such an expansion would put fans across the league at ease and it would put an end to talks of relocation. Los Angeles has two teams; New York has two teams; Chicago has a team; Boston has a team; Texas has three teams; and the greater Bay Area has two teams with the Warriors and the Kings.  By bringing back the Seattle SuperSonics, the NBA would have a team in every major market in the United States of America, which would be a great thing for the league. Fans would stop freaking out if their team goes for sale and greedy billionaires in Seattle would stop trying to poach a team from another market. 

     Secondly, it would give the NBA an opportunity to realign the conferences. The two most likely cities to also get a team are Kansas City and Louisville, both of which have new arenas capable of housing an NBA team. Louisville geographically is an Eastern Conference city and Kansas City geographically is a Western Conference city, but either way, the addition of a 32nd team would allow the NBA to put either the Memphis Grizzlies or New Orleans Pelicans in the Eastern Conference if they wanted to make the conferences more fair and balanced. 

     In addition, the NBA could also realign the divisions within the conferences to make things more geographically coherent. The Northwest Division is a mess geographically thanks to the the Sonics moving to Oklahoma City and by expanding to 32 teams, the NBA would certainly be able to realign the divisions and make everything more orderly for the sake of travel and competitive balance.  

     Lastly, as sort of an appeal to nostalgia, who wouldn't want the Seattle SuperSonics back in the NBA? Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp did so much to put the Seattle SuperSonics on the map that it's sad there is nothing left to remind us of their legacy. The return of the SuperSonics would bring back fond memories and restore a tradition and history that never should have left us. 

     What I'm saying is that the NBA needs the Seattle SuperSonics. There is a hole created by their absence and it won't be filled until they return. I say "until" because the Seattle SuperSonics aren't dead. They are just waiting to be brought home. 

---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord