Expanding the NBA isn’t an official priority for the league, but it seems inevitable that more teams will join the Association over the next decade. Where those teams go, however, seems to have a pretty solid consensus. Most feel the league will return to Seattle, possibly re-imagining the SuperSonics there in due time.
It’s a nostalgic pick, but also a practical one: the city is getting a modern arena, and an NHL franchise likewise seems inevitable. That venue, of course, could be used for basketball as well.
But one NBA executive thinks another former NBA city might get a new lease on professional basketball life in the coming years. SEC Network’s Jarret Sutton spoke to a GM and tweeted on Friday that Kansas City is another likely NBA expansion market.
https://twitter.com/JarrettTSutton/status/997522223073234944
Anonymous quotes are an easy and fun place to put speculation without consequence, but it does make a lot of sense if the NBA is serious about the market. The city has its own modern venue in Sprint Center, and it’s a venue that lacks a major pro sports tenant to boot.
Kansas City has been relocation fodder for some NHL teams in the past, but there hasn’t been much talk of returning NBA basketball to the city for the first time since the Kings packed up and moved to Sacramento in 1985.
Still, opening up talk about relocation had some other people volunteer some destinations for NBA franchises, too.
* St. Louis ‼️‼️ https://t.co/eqWMgdDdNz
— Jayson Tatum (@jaytatum0) May 18, 2018
One city not mentioned above? Las Vegas. The NHL is having plenty of success with the Golden Knights in their inaugural season, and basketball is a no-brainer in the city as well. Not every city will get a team, but the league certainly has some options to consider in the coming years.
