New NBA Expansion Rumors on Draft, Salary Cap, Potential Rule Changes amid Las Vegas, Seattle Buzz
The NBA's governors will reportedly hold a vote next week on whether to move forward on potentially adding expansion franchises in both Las Vegas and Seattle, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.
A number of other considerations would need to be ironed out before such a move was finalized, however.
Per ESPN's Tim Bontemps and Bobby Marks, "The NBA is expected to take a close look at the entire process of expansion—for example how an expansion draft would work to restrictions teams would have on spending in their initial years of existence to what the rules governing their draft picks would be—before a formal vote to expand would take place."
For example, past expansion drafts allowed teams to protect up to eight players, and at least one player had to be unprotected, but two-way players didn't exist at the time. The NBA would have to decide if they were eligible to be protected.
Past expansion teams also were ineligible to pick No. 1 overall, as ESPN noted, with the then-Vancouver Grizzlies selecting sixth and the Toronto Raptors seventh in 1995 and Charlotte picking fourth in 2004.
Previous expansion teams also were required to have reduced salary caps for their first two seasons (generally around 66 percent of the cap in year one and 80 percent in year two before the full allotment in year three). The NBA will have to iron out those figures as well.
But there are other considerations.
Both expansion organizations would naturally be in the Western Conference, given their location, meaning a team would have to shift East. The decision would likely come down to the Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies, according to Bontemps and Marks, with Minnesota the frontrunner in that regard.
It's unlikely that expansion would change the playoff format or Play-In tournament, though 32 teams would lead to a more natural format for the NBA Cup, with eight groups of four before a knockout phase.
