In recent years, as the NBA grew in popularity in North America and worldwide, there have increasingly been discussions about expanding the league by adding one or two more teams in new locations. The league hasn't expanded in 20 years since 2004, when it awarded a franchise to Charlotte.
Adam Silver said the league would focus on expansion once it signs the new media deal. Well, a few days ago, the NBA signed an enormously enriching 11-year deal with NBA, ESPN, and Amazon worth about $76 billion.
NBA reporter for Forbes Sports, Evan Sidery, recently reported that the NBA will discuss potential expansion in the coming few months.
While there were some reports the league was looking to expand outside of the United States—considering cities like Mexico City and even revisiting Vancouver—it seems more likely that the NBA will select Las Vegas and Seattle.
Seattle has been a leading candidate to receive an NBA team since the Seattle Supersonics moved to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder. Las Vegas has become one of the league's go-to cities for events; it successfully hosted the All-Star Game, the In-Season Tournament, and the NBA Summer League.
If Seattle and Las Vegas are indeed chosen to host new NBA teams, the conferences will need to be realigned. Since both Seattle and Las Vegas are geographically located in the West, one current Western Conference team would need to move to the Eastern Conference.
The three teams in the Western Conference geographically closest to the Eastern Conference are the Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, and New Orleans Pelicans.
Memphis, a six-hour drive (or short flight) from Atlanta, could move to the Eastern Conference's Southeast Division. Alternatively, Minnesota, located a similar distance away from Milwaukee and Chicago, can join the East's Central Division.
A move to the (L)Eastern Conference means Memphis, who is currently in a division where all five teams have playoffs aspirations, would face less challenging competition.
The Boston Celtics may have won the championship this season, but the West is widely seen as the stronger conference of the league. In the upcoming season there will be very few weak teams in the West, as even young squads like the San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz have high-level talents and can pose challenges any night.