Expansion...Wolves moving east

[FNG]

Charania reports the board of governors will vote next week to add franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle. Minnesota and Memphis would then move to the East Conference. The proposal is expected to pass, and then the NBA will begin soliciting bids...the price is expected to exceed $6 billion. I saw one report of a 2027-8 timetable.

I'm mostly happy about this. The only negative is that there are currently more interesting players in the West, and we would only have them in town once a year. Offsetting that is the fact that the East has been weaker than the West for some time, so advancing in the playoffs would be easier. Of course both of these offsetting factors could change. So I guess the reason I'm happy is that we would have far fewer games against pacific coast or mountain time teams...good for those of us that need our beauty sleep!

[AussieWolf3]

This will be a good thing overall, but it certainly has the feel trying on a totally new style of clothes .... Just a little weird

[Q-is-here]

Charania reports the board of governors will vote next week to add franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle. Minnesota and Memphis would then move to the East Conference. The proposal is expected to pass, and then the NBA will begin soliciting bids...the price is expected to exceed $6 billion. I saw one report of a 2027-8 timetable.

I'm mostly happy about this. The only negative is that there are currently more interesting players in the West, and we would only have them in town once a year. Offsetting that is the fact that the East has been weaker than the West for some time, so advancing in the playoffs would be easier. Of course both of these offsetting factors could change. So I guess the reason I'm happy is that we would have far fewer games against pacific coast or mountain time teams...good for those of us that need our beauty sleep!

As someone that lives on the east coast, I would definitely welcome the change! But mostly I want the Wolves to be in the weaker conference. Good news!

[Phenom]

It will be Memphis OR Minnesota but the Wolves seem the logical choice considering they are on an island as far as Western conference teams go.

[FNG]

It will be Memphis OR Minnesota but the Wolves seem the logical choice considering they are on an island as far as Western conference teams go.

That's correct. NBA Radio originally reported that Charinia had said two of Minnesota, Memphis and New Orleans would be moving to the East (but probably Minny and Memphis), but that didn't make sense since that would make the conferences unbalanced. I see now that he's saying it will just be one team...either Minnesota or Memphis. I agree the Wolves would make more sense.

[rapsuperstar31]

I'll take the team moving East, it was hell trying to keep up with the Wolves while snowbirding down in Florida. One of the games started at 11:15pm in Florida.

[shrink]

Minnesota is a much better candidate than Memphis for several reasons

1. Travel Distance. The Wolves and Trailblazers are regularly at the top of the league in miles traveled each year. Moving the Wolves and inserting Seattle and Vegas centralizes travel, at a time when he league is focused on more competitive games. It also will remove those weird away-away double-headers, which is unbalancing for the standings.

2. Regional Rivalries. The Timberwolves are closer to six teams in the East before their first Divisional rival! Regional rivalries promote increased attendance, especially from casual fans. “Border Battles,” like between Vikings - Green Bay is a lucrative thing.

3. Conference Balancing. When this season started, it looked like there would be 13-14 Western Conference teams competing for the playoffs, while several Eastern Conference teams were talent-poor. Adding two expansion teams to the West will help add to the bottom. Also, MIN is a much better team to add to the East, with a much more marketable star. Right now, six of the Top 7 stars are in the West, and moving Ja there does not improve the situation.

The only reason we aren’t in the East from the start is that we entered as an expansion team with Orlando. Moving the Wolves to the East helps the Wolves, but it also helps the NBA.

[Q-is-here]

Minnesota is a much better candidate than Memphis for several reasons

1. Travel Distance. The Wolves and Trailblazers are regularly at the top of the league in miles traveled each year. Moving the Wolves and inserting Seattle and Vegas centralizes travel, at a time when he league is focused on more competitive games. It also will remove those weird away-away double-headers, which is unbalancing for the standings.

2. Regional Rivalries. The Timberwolves are closer to six teams in the East before their first Divisional rival! Regional rivalries promote increased attendance, especially from casual fans. “Border Battles,” like between Vikings - Green Bay is a lucrative thing.

3. Conference Balancing. When this season started, it looked like there would be 13-14 Western Conference teams competing for the playoffs, while several Eastern Conference teams were talent-poor. Adding two expansion teams to the West will help add to the bottom. Also, MIN is a much better team to add to the East, with a much more marketable star. Right now, six of the Top 7 stars are in the West, and moving Ja there does not improve the situation.

The only reason we aren’t in the East from the start is that we entered as an expansion team with Orlando. Moving the Wolves to the East helps the Wolves, but it also helps the NBA.

Good stuff, makes sense!