NBA Possibly Relocating Memphis & New Orleans

[Soldier]

Compete? Breh climate pledge arena literally has a currently unused separate locker room for an NBA team.

This is NOT the NHL home or visitors, or the WNBA locker room, or concerts. They're ready.

The sonics would automatically be bigger than the Seahawks in yr 1, UW forever, and the kraken forever. We'll see regarding.nba after but why does that matter..?

Seattle is a very, very healthy market. Significantly.more than when they left.

Logistically, economically, and PR Seattle is easily the best choice

How a hypothetical sonics team would stack up against the mariners in Seattle ?

Would a Sonic’s team be more or less popular than them?

 

[Ed MOTHERFUCKING G]

How a hypothetical sonics team would stack up against the mariners in Seattle ?

Would a Sonic’s team be more or less popular than them?

1. Why does that matter? (No disrespect, I'll explain here)
2. To the question, years 1 and 2 nothing would be more popular than the sonics. Including the hawks unless they just went to the Superbowl the yr before.

Seattle is a basketball town. When Ranier beach faces Garfield, or shyt like that, I hear about it at barber shops. Pro ams sold tf out. My gym has serious leagues and regional competitions.

And climate pledge >>>>>> key arena in everyway. Ambiance, travel to and from, seating, corporate relationships, etc. it will succeed and will not have problems faced before.

To your question. In any city, a team on a championship run (big 4) is #1. If a baseball team is pennant chase, imo, nothing passes it but a college team IN a college town. This should not be any indicator on the sonics.

They would succeed.

Just my thoughts

 

[UpAndComing]

Let's not make this complicated. Its obvious the NBA Owners don't want expansion because it reduced the chunk of the revenue pie and TV money

Just move Memphis and NO and move them to Seattle and Vegas. Thee end

 

[drifter]

All I hear is that Vegas is dying and The Strip is empty on weekdays. I think a lot of the Vegas talk has cooled. If the A's actually move there what expendable money is left to support a NBA franchise? A lot of tourist are staying away from Vegas, too expensive now they say. Unless things change, I don't see Vegas as a no brainer anymore. Not even sure if Seattle is still on the table. Weaker economy and the Sonics would have to compete with the Seahawks, NHL's Kraken, U Washington Football which has grown bigger over the years. Maybe I'm wrong tho

This admin destroying the economy and US dollar is the reason for down tourism, not Vegas. Tourism is the shytter in NY, CA, TX, FL and everywhere else in the country, those states just don't rely on tourist dollars like NV.

People didn't think hockey would work in Vegas, the Golden Knights have just been #1 in attendance about since they debuted. Aces have been supported probably better than any city with a WNBA team. The city even wanted to chip in and pay players until they got caught and Aces got punished. Raiders would get more support if they deserved it. An NBA team is 100% going there. It's whether Trump's in office or they wait for him & his thugs to be out of power when it happens. A's wont get any fans and it'll be blamed on Vegas, but nobody there wanted them there in the first place.

If I had to guess, Seattle's more of a hoops town than football, def way more than hockey and CFB. I don't think they've reconsidered Vegas or Seattle at all.

 

[the next guy]

Broah the Rams had been in Los Angeles since 1946, before that prostitute moved them to small market ass St. Louis. The Rams were huge in LA to the point that when I lived there 20 years ago people were still following the Rams; even though they had moved to St. Louis. So I knew way back that it was only a matter of time before the Rams moved back to LA. I live in Nashville right now and I think the Grizzlies will relocate to Nashville at some point just like I knew the Rams would eventually move back to L.A

On a side note St. Louis couldn't even keep the football Cardinals or the basketball Hawks. The goofiest part is that the Cardinals were in St. Louis for a longer period of time than the Rams were in St. Louis. The Cardinals were in St. Louis for almost 30 years after they left Chicago and what is wild is that older people still refer to the Arizona Cardinals as the St. Louis Cardinals. Y'all couldn't even keep those bums. So stop it.

The problem with St. Louis was that they never got a team in the 1920s, unlike Chicago. Philadelphia, Washington, the NY Giants, and the Rams (formerly of Cleveland) are all 100 or close to 100 years old. Green Bay with the Packers. The Cardinals have been bad for 70 years as well.

That made a difference.

 

[DropTopDoc]

They did clamp down on load management though
(70 game minimum for awards and bonuses, fines for teams)

MLB & NFL have all moved franchises in the last 15 years

The nfl teams moved because stadium disputes

The rams been wanting to leave St. Louis, and they probably won’t ever get another team, them folks got that stadium built and it’s up, plus the chargers were tired of their situation too

Zion failing to become a legit superstar was probably the death blow to the NBA in the NO. I was damn near on the floor for $25 for a Sunday afternoon game last year…they don’t have a fanbase…Memphis on the other hand has one of the best crowds in the league when the team is good, would be a shame if the grizzlies left

This city cares, but the front office won’t do right, so everytime they get a star it’s squandered

New Orleans is a terrible basketball city



Don't move the Grizz

New Orleans is not a terrible city for basketball the front office should do better

 

[Reality Check]

St. Louis can't keep any professional sports team except the baseball Cardinals. Y'all lost the Hawks, the football Cardinals and the Rams, even though the Rams never had any business being there.

Lot of NBA teams moved around in the early days of the league before things stabilized with Magic/Bird/Jordan; there were 19 relocations between 1951 and 1985. In the 40 years since then, only 5 teams have relocated.

 

[pete clemenza]

You forgot Seattle’s MLB local team, the Mariners.

They play in the summer and don't overlap as much with the winter sports

 

[pete clemenza]

This admin destroying the economy and US dollar is the reason for down tourism, not Vegas. Tourism is the shytter in NY, CA, TX, FL and everywhere else in the country, those states just don't rely on tourist dollars like NV.

People didn't think hockey would work in Vegas, the Golden Knights have just been #1 in attendance about since they debuted. Aces have been supported probably better than any city with a WNBA team. The city even wanted to chip in and pay players until they got caught and Aces got punished. Raiders would get more support if they deserved it. An NBA team is 100% going there. It's whether Trump's in office or they wait for him & his thugs to be out of power when it happens. A's wont get any fans and it'll be blamed on Vegas, but nobody there wanted them there in the first place.

If I had to guess, Seattle's more of a hoops town than football, def way more than hockey and CFB. I don't think they've reconsidered Vegas or Seattle at all.

The Raiders & Vegas Knights popped off way before this economic downturn happened. Vegas is struggling. People aren't going there, at least for right now. Maybe it's the A's weren't moving there the NBA would still be focused and excited to put a team there, but the only thing coming out of their mouths right now is NBA Europe. Not a peep on Seattle & Vegas.

Currently with Vegas struggling, seriously, how can they absorb and support 82 home MLB games and a new NBA team along with the Raiders, Knights, and Aces with no tourist coming to town? They're in the desert, they don't have the suburbs & wealthy suburbs that other metros have to support 4-5 major professional sports teams. It's all dependant on tourism coming into town. The Knights were first and the Raiders is easy with only 8 home games. Not saying Vegas won't get a NBA team, but I'm sure Sliver, the league, and the owners are watching to see if the economy somehow bounces back and if Vegas becomes a hot spot again. Bron and the Vegas NBA team scenario seems DOA as well.

 

[The G.O.D II]

NO yea. The team has basically given that city no reason to care. But that’s an owner ship thing and that won’t change by relocating. The Memphis move is obviously a ploy to disenfranchise an already struggling city. They’ve been trying to go to Nashville for years so they can cater to conservative cacs

 

[The G.O.D II]

Double

 

[The G.O.D II]

The Raiders & Vegas Knights popped off way before this economic downturn happened. Vegas is struggling. People aren't going there, at least for right now. Maybe it's the A's weren't moving there the NBA would still be focused and excited to put a team there, but the only thing coming out of their mouths right now is NBA Europe. Not a peep on Seattle & Vegas.

Currently with Vegas struggling, seriously, how can they absorb and support 82 home MLB games and a new NBA team along with the Raiders, Knights, and Aces with no tourist coming to town? They're in the desert, they don't have the suburbs & wealthy suburbs that other metros have to support 4-5 major professional sports teams. It's all dependant on tourism coming into town. The Knights were first and the Raiders is easy with only 8 home games. Not saying Vegas won't get a NBA team, but I'm sure Sliver, the league, and the owners are watching to see if the economy somehow bounces back and if Vegas becomes a hot spot again. Bron and the Vegas NBA team scenario seems DOA as well.

I don’t think so. Vegas is expensive with their BS fees and taxes. It’s a boomer relic. Current gen and the future will not care for it going forward. Plus, with all this gambling scandals, it would not be a good look to place a team there

 

[tremonthustler1]

The Raiders & Vegas Knights popped off way before this economic downturn happened. Vegas is struggling. People aren't going there, at least for right now. Maybe it's the A's weren't moving there the NBA would still be focused and excited to put a team there, but the only thing coming out of their mouths right now is NBA Europe. Not a peep on Seattle & Vegas.

Currently with Vegas struggling, seriously, how can they absorb and support 82 home MLB games and a new NBA team along with the Raiders, Knights, and Aces with no tourist coming to town? They're in the desert, they don't have the suburbs & wealthy suburbs that other metros have to support 4-5 major professional sports teams. It's all dependant on tourism coming into town. The Knights were first and the Raiders is easy with only 8 home games. Not saying Vegas won't get a NBA team, but I'm sure Sliver, the league, and the owners are watching to see if the economy somehow bounces back and if Vegas becomes a hot spot again. Bron and the Vegas NBA team scenario seems DOA as well.

Vegas is also grimy, so the idea that anyone is leaving NO or Memphis just to go to Vegas and run into similar issues exposes why anyone really wants to move to Vegas

 

[MikelArteta]

The Raiders & Vegas Knights popped off way before this economic downturn happened. Vegas is struggling. People aren't going there, at least for right now. Maybe it's the A's weren't moving there the NBA would still be focused and excited to put a team there, but the only thing coming out of their mouths right now is NBA Europe. Not a peep on Seattle & Vegas.

Currently with Vegas struggling, seriously, how can they absorb and support 82 home MLB games and a new NBA team along with the Raiders, Knights, and Aces with no tourist coming to town? They're in the desert, they don't have the suburbs & wealthy suburbs that other metros have to support 4-5 major professional sports teams. It's all dependant on tourism coming into town. The Knights were first and the Raiders is easy with only 8 home games. Not saying Vegas won't get a NBA team, but I'm sure Sliver, the league, and the owners are watching to see if the economy somehow bounces back and if Vegas becomes a hot spot again. Bron and the Vegas NBA team scenario seems DOA as well.

blame trump for pissing us off

In a typical year, approximately 1.4 million Canadians visited Las Vegas, making them the largest group of international visitors. However, the number of Canadian visitors has dropped significantly in 2025, with some reports citing a drop of over 40%. In a recent period, Air Canada saw a 33% drop and WestJet a 31% drop in flights to Las Vegas, according to National Post.

 

[murksiderock]

Nashville and KC will end up just like NO. They’re NFL cities who would only see an NBA team as a novelty, then gradually forget it’s even there.

In addition to your point, I'm gonna keep tapping the oversaturation point.

Nashville (NHL, NFL, MLS) and Kansas City (NFL, MLB, MLS) both already support three major leagues. Adding a fourth is a risky venture; while these are big cities in a general sense, they aren't major cities by population, media market, or economically.

I would have this same concern for all of the cities being pitched as candidates, at this weight class (Las Vegas, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, St Louis). A 4th major league team in a market this size runs the risk of squeezing somebody out. All of these leagues are in it to make money.

Now maybe one of these cities is an outlier and can fully support 4 big league teams. Nashville is also being pitched for MLB expansion. Its just not a big enough city for all 5 leagues, and questionable for a 4th.

I don't think the NBA made a serious effort in New Orleans; it is what it is.

Memphis had some good years, but there are wealthier markets. My first choice is to keep them, but I think the NBA would rather have cities where it is the "man," so to speak, who wants to go toe-to-toe with the NFL and International Football/Soccer, which means Memphis isn't a good match.

The NBA made a serious effort. First of all, after 23 years away, they came back to New Orleans. They've been back now for 23 years and its been an epic bust, but just bringing NBA back here is a huge effort.

Second of all, they have twice made sure the New Orleans NBA franchise got the #1 overall pick/that year's best college player, and promoted those two guys heavily.

The NBA tried in New Orleans.....TWICE. It simply isn't a basketball city. I'm all for them ending the New Orleans experiment and moving them elsewhere, how many chances should that city get?

Compete? Breh climate pledge arena literally has a currently unused separate locker room for an NBA team.

This is NOT the NHL home or visitors, or the WNBA locker room, or concerts. They're ready.

The sonics would automatically be bigger than the Seahawks in yr 1, UW forever, and the kraken forever. We'll see regarding.nba after but why does that matter..?

Seattle is a very, very healthy market. Significantly.more than when they left.

Logistically, economically, and PR Seattle is easily the best choice

According to this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/SeattleKraken/s/b5xI3xY8Ts

The Sonics are not and would not be more popular than the Seahawks. Which doesn't nullify that Seattle is obviously a basketball city. But all those Seattleites in that thread say Seahawks are #1 and there is no close second in Seattle, even if the Sonics come back.

People probably need to come to grips with the likelihood they may never get a team again.