NBA Rumors: West Coaches, Execs 'Exasperated Looking at' East Playoff Bracket Picture

Conferences could be a thing of the past when the NBA looks toward expansion.

Seattle and Las Vegas appear to be viable expansion targets for the NBA, but their inclusion could force some other franchises to move over to the Eastern Conference to balance the league.

However, the difference in strength between the two conferences could necessitate a different change, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN reported that coaches and executives in the West believe eliminating conferences altogether may be the best option.

"As West coaches and executives grow exasperated looking at what records might qualify for the postseason in the East, they're floating a concept. The NBA is slowly moving toward expansion, perhaps 2-3 years from now, with Seattle and Las Vegas as the top candidates. If that happens, there will potentially be a battle between the Mississippi River teams (the Minnesota Timberwolves, Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans) to be the 'fortunate' one to move East to balance the conferences at 16 clubs apiece. Instead of dealing with that thorny competition, West executives told ESPN they believe both issues can be corrected by dropping conferences altogether and seeding teams 1 through 16 regardless of geography. The concept has been raised before. But expansion, the thinking goes, would create a reason to take a fresh look."

While that could result in a difficult travel schedule in the postseason, some executives believe improving the overall product should be the NBA's priority.

"It would be the right thing to do for the health of the league," one West general manager told Windhorst. "It's not just about fairness, it's about giving the fans the best playoff product."

Currently, only four teams in the Eastern Conference are above .500, while 12 teams in the Western Conference are at .500 or above. While it is still early in the season, that's an alarming trend. It could result in some mediocre teams making the postseason while solid teams miss out strictly due to geography.

Additionally, the weaker level of competition in the East could lead to an easier playoff run for the eventual conference champion, while the West team has to survive a gauntlet. That could cause a significant advantage in the NBA Finals.

A 1-16 seeding format could ensure a more balanced postseason and might eliminate some of the major mismatches that occur early in the playoffs.

While managing the travel could be difficult, increasing the entertainment value may be the best approach for the league.