Expansion is certainly not in the picture for the NBA, if anything the possibility of contraction exist. In any event the Business Journal utilized "fuzzy" math to determine if a metro could support an NBA team. The Journal concluded Kansas City could not successfully support an NBA expansion franchise. The baseball Royals, Chiefs football plus the metro's economic picture was the basis for their conclusion. This study analyzed 57 cities in the U.S. and Canada, of the 22 cities the Journal said could support a team was Omaha (NE). St. Louis missed the cut as well so neither of the two largest cities in the State of Missouri would qualify. The winners, Riverside-San Bernardino finished first (as if California needs another NBA team) and Montreal Canada finished second. My purpose for using the term fuzzy math Riverside is but 60 miles from Los Angeles, it's quite easy to see how income and population would fit. Montreal is a totally different story, the city has a population of 1.6 million and metro of 3.6 million. I'm unsure if it's a hotbed for basketball however Wikipedia does indicate the city has history with minor league basketball. Seattle lost it's NBA team to Oklahoma City but came in at number 16. Vancouver once served as home for the Grizz was deemed borderline for a franchise.
Basketball in the great north
If we think of Canadian sports hockey always come to mind first, the nation is producing an increasing number of basketball players. In fact the best high school player in the Class of 2014 is Canadian, north of the border players dot the rosters of several universities across the nation. Texas has sophomore guard Cory Joseph (Toronto) and sophomore forward Tristan Thompson (Brampton Ontario). Both players were contributors as freshman to the Longhorns 28 wins last season. Coach Rick Barnes went back to Canada and recruited 5-star point guard Myck Kabongo (Toronto). In addition the Bulldogs of Gonzaga have improving 7-footer Robert Sacre from North Vancouver, British Columbia. Keep an eye on Kris Joseph a 6-7 forward (Montreal) who is now entering his senior year at Syracuse. His numbers have gone up every year since his arrival, will his final year lead to the NBA? Perhaps the next great player to cross the border will be Andrew Wiggins a 6-7 200 pound forward from Toronto. "Maxpreps gives Wiggins 5-stars and rates him the number one player in the class of 2014." Wiggins is transferring to Huntington Prep (West Virginia) for his sophomore year the same high school that produced current NBA player O.J. Mayo. This list contains a selected number of talented Canadian players and certainly is not intended to be complete. (MaxPreps.com)
This is a report from two sources, Jared Mintz of "I am a GM.com" and David Aldridge NBA.com. I am going to paraphrase the piece because it's pretty extensive, "I can't help but think West's primary role will be to work San Francisco executives and/or money people into clearing the decks for the Warriors' eventual move back into the city, after playing the last four decades in Oakland at what is now Oracle. Among the worst-kept secrets in the league is that there is significant interest in building a basketball arena in downtown San Francisco, near the Giants' fabulous PacBell Stadium. The team's current lease at Oracle Arena runs through 2017.)" This article written in May certainly shouldn't be considered to forecast the future of this franchise however other articles I've read indicate there is a disconnect between Oakland and San Francisco. There are probably a generation of Bay Area adults who only remember the Warriors playing in Oakland. Unless they delve into the team's history they might not realize the Warriors moved west from Philadelphia in 1962 to become the San Francisco Warriors. They played under that name until 1971 when they located to Oakland and became the Golden State Warriors.
Recently Fox Sports compiled it's list of the top 10 worst sports franchises, I checked the list beginning with number 10. I certainly wasn't surprised to discover the Los Angeles Clippers were voted number one. The franchise I was surprised didn't make the list my home town Kansas City Royals. Why have the Clips been so bad so long you ask? Well most of the blame can be laid at the feet of owner Donald Sterling. Harry Truman once said "the buck stops here" indicated Truman was taking responsibility. If that is the case then we cab sat Sterling, Sterling, Sterling. His team is in the lottery practically every year so you'd think they would be in a position to draft good players. There have been several players they missed because the player just wasn't good enough or talented enough for the NBA. The bulk of criticism is the talented players they have traded and fail to receive equal value or the number they have allowed to leave strictly because they didn't want to pay them. Losing players to free agency and other teams is common place in Clipper land. Over the years there have been players who passed the Clippers way I had forgotten many were drafted by the team. Elton Brand, Lamar Odom and Tyson Chandler are just three present day players, back in the day they drafted Magic Johnson's running mate guard Byron Scott. This franchise will continue to play second banana to the Lakers or perhaps Royals (Kings) should the franchise move to Anaheim. The only possible change for this franchise would be a new owner to replace the tight-fisted Sterling.
"The more your players have to think on the basketball court, the slower their feet get." Jerry Tarkanian, former UNLV coach
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