Photo by Andrew Bernstein
Some interesting news has been trickling out of the NBA commoner's office this week as the league may consider expanding into additional cities in the near future.
The Supersonics, who were stationed in Seattle from 1967-2008, could see a revival along with adding a club in the hottest growing market in the country in Las Vegas.
With both cities being located in the Western market, a realignment of divisions would be in order to create even teams in both conferences.
LeBron James has thrown his hat in the ring and called for dibs on a potential Vegas club, while Adam Silver insists that the expansion still is years away.The NBA plans to negotiate new television/media and Collective Bargaining deals before seriously examining the adding of new teams. The possibilities of Las Vegas and Seattle as expansion candidates are real, but likely years away. https://t.co/aF7ypjzGbd
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 6, 2022
The question many fans are wondering that followed the Nets in the Garden State is: what about New Jersey?
The Nets, who were founded in 1967 as the New Jersey Americans and played at the Teaneck Armory, spent one season there before moving to Long Island as the rebranded Nets starting in 1968.
Attention #Nets fans the preseason opener is upon us! Catch up on 55 years of the franchise's journey from Teaneck to Brooklyn! Message us for a signed author copy! #nba #NetsWorld #netslevel pic.twitter.com/qNtHG1ZgGf
— Nets Insider (@NetsHistory) October 3, 2022
The Nets had trouble drawing fans when stationed at the Meadowlands due to a lack of public transportation and area attractions in the swamp. The now -defunct Xanadu project lost funding during the Nets stay at the then-IZOD Center as it sat for years half-developed as an eyesore.
Now, the American Dream mall has been built with countless activities, along with a transit line to send fans to and from Secaucus Junction. All the infrastructure and amenities the Nets were hoping for during their stay in East Rutherford are now up and running.
The IZOD Center is still standing, even though it's not used for concerts or sporting events, just merely, filming for television and movies.
The reality is all the pieces are in place for New Jersey to make a bid for another team in the future.
The question will remain if the politicians in office, lobbyists and pubic at large will make enough waves and show enough support to get the NBA and Silver's attention. A return of NBA basketball to the Garden State is viable, and a renaissance in the swamp is what many basketball diehards are rooting for and hoping for in the near future.
I went down the Nets rabbit hole a found this gem. Thanks for making me feel a bit better about the past 11 years. It's improbable, as the stars would need to align, but the pie-in-the-sky scenario would be... Yankee, Devils, Nets partnership reforms buys stake in expansion team. The team would play at Prudential Center in Newark.
ReplyDeleteTsai sells franchise name, history, anything related to Nets to the new ownership group ala New Orleans-Charlotte but keeps any Brooklyn related (BKN specific uniforms, mascot,etc.) with a fresh new team name. Adam Silver does some horse trading with YES and SNY for local TV rights. Nets remain with YES while Brooklyn gets TV rights on SNY. Everyone gets what they want and goes home happy.