Expansion Vote in late March 2026 - Play to begin in 28-29 season

eleventy

eleventy

G-League

As expected, the NBA is moving towards expansion, with a dispersal draft and two new franchises in the west (frontrunners are Las Vegas and Seattle), meaning at least one west team must realign in the east (Minnesota, Memphis and New Orleans are candidates).

in March, the march to a 32 team league begins with a preliminary vote by the Board of Governors.

Now, we wait to see who the bidding owners are (with $6-10 billion expected in an expansion fee for each franchise).

I'll be interested to see if Doug Christie becomes a candidate for the Seattle HC position. I suppose "finishing strong" (as we are inexplicably doing) would be a selling point.

Others on this board have suggested that Jason Terry or Jamal Crawford would be stronger HC candidates, but it looks to me like NBC is grooming Crawford to be on the lead announcing team on NBA telecasts, so that might be a preferable landing spot for him.

Go, Doug (get out while you still have your dignity intact).
 
It's a bit early to think about the expansion draft, but the basic idea from past expansion drafts is that at least one player must be left unprotected, and at most 8 players may be protected (including RFAs). In the past RFAs who have been exposed and selected became UFAs, but I wonder if that might change and the RFA rights be assigned to the selecting team, as that actually makes more sense.

As the summer of 2028 stands right now, we have the following players currently under contract:
Keegan Murray (2/$58M)
Nique Clifford (1/$6M team option)
Dylan Cardwell (1/$2.8M team option)
Devin Carter (RFA)
Maxime Raynaud (RFA)

We can also expect to have the following players:
2026 FRP (own, 2 years)
2027 FRP (own, 3 years)

And we might have this player:
2027 FRP (SAS, if #1-#16, 3 years)

Here we (may) have already reached the 8 player protection limit without considering three second-round picks we will also have and any free agents that we sign to longer-term deals (presumably in 2027, I don't expect us to be super active this offseason). The last time there was an expansion draft, we blew Gerald Wallace because we didn't have a "sacrificial contract" on the roster (i.e. a two-year deal signed in the previous offseason). This time around we will probably know better - but we may have enough young talent to protect that it doesn't matter. Nonetheless, don't forget, 2027 is the offseason to sign the Drew Eubanks of the league to a two-year deal just in case...
 
Capt. Factorial said:
It's a bit early to think about the expansion draft, but the basic idea from past expansion drafts is that at least one player must be left unprotected, and at most 8 players may be protected (including RFAs). In the past RFAs who have been exposed and selected became UFAs, but I wonder if that might change and the RFA rights be assigned to the selecting team, as that actually makes more sense.

As the summer of 2028 stands right now, we have the following players currently under contract:
Keegan Murray (2/$58M)
Nique Clifford (1/$6M team option)
Dylan Cardwell (1/$2.8M team option)
Devin Carter (RFA)
Maxime Raynaud (RFA)

We can also expect to have the following players:
2026 FRP (own, 2 years)
2027 FRP (own, 3 years)

And we might have this player:
2027 FRP (SAS, if #1-#16, 3 years)

Here we (may) have already reached the 8 player protection limit without considering three second-round picks we will also have and any free agents that we sign to longer-term deals (presumably in 2027, I don't expect us to be super active this offseason). The last time there was an expansion draft, we blew Gerald Wallace because we didn't have a "sacrificial contract" on the roster (i.e. a two-year deal signed in the previous offseason). This time around we will probably know better - but we may have enough young talent to protect that it doesn't matter. Nonetheless, don't forget, 2027 is the offseason to sign the Drew Eubanks of the league to a two-year deal just in case...
Click to expand...

i can't remember if the last expansion led to an increase (trade a guy before you lose him anyway) or a reduction in trades (because you only want to acquire someone you have room to protect), but trades MUST be affected by who you can still protect.

and, there will probably be some jockeying, as teams try to offer something to an expansion team (future pick?) to get them to select the player you WANT to lose (thus, "protecting" the rest).
 
Capt. Factorial said:
It's a bit early to think about the expansion draft, but the basic idea from past expansion drafts is that at least one player must be left unprotected, and at most 8 players may be protected (including RFAs). In the past RFAs who have been exposed and selected became UFAs, but I wonder if that might change and the RFA rights be assigned to the selecting team, as that actually makes more sense.

As the summer of 2028 stands right now, we have the following players currently under contract:
Keegan Murray (2/$58M)
Nique Clifford (1/$6M team option)
Dylan Cardwell (1/$2.8M team option)
Devin Carter (RFA)
Maxime Raynaud (RFA)

We can also expect to have the following players:
2026 FRP (own, 2 years)
2027 FRP (own, 3 years)

And we might have this player:
2027 FRP (SAS, if #1-#16, 3 years)

Here we (may) have already reached the 8 player protection limit without considering three second-round picks we will also have and any free agents that we sign to longer-term deals (presumably in 2027, I don't expect us to be super active this offseason). The last time there was an expansion draft, we blew Gerald Wallace because we didn't have a "sacrificial contract" on the roster (i.e. a two-year deal signed in the previous offseason). This time around we will probably know better - but we may have enough young talent to protect that it doesn't matter. Nonetheless, don't forget, 2027 is the offseason to sign the Drew Eubanks of the league to a two-year deal just in case...
Click to expand...

You think Devin Carter will be protected?
 
The projected 7-10 Billion expansion fee I’ve been seeing reported around is absolutely CRAZY! Especially for a league that really isn’t in top shape right now and has been seeing decline in viewership in recent years.

It ain’t my $$$ but still. That’s a ginormous fee.
 
KingsFanSince85 said:
The projected 7-10 Billion expansion fee I’ve been seeing reported around is absolutely CRAZY! Especially for a league that really isn’t in top shape right now and has been seeing decline in viewership in recent years.

It ain’t my $$$ but still. That’s a ginormous fee.
Click to expand...

at first, i saw "6 billion" as the number - now it looks like they have a "range" (7-10 billion).

looks like they want, "whatever they can get"

the "decline in viewership" might have something to do with trying to operate "League Pass" with "robot assistance" which simply DOES NOT WORK.

but since qwerty is on here and we did not finish our prior "luka/vlade" go-round (for the 599th time), i actually have a "new point" to make on that score:

here it is:

qwerty believes that vlade's relationship to luka's dad played no part in him selecting bagley over luka

the facts are that vlade knew luka's dad as a player and then as a coach.

he knew luka from when he was a pre-teen.

as i think about that, i ask myself,:

"WHEN (if EVER) has a GM had long term, intimate knowledge about a developing prospect whose FATHER is a friend/acquaintance of that GM over a period of many years?"

i mean, it hardly EVER happens that way.

normally, the scouting department reviews film of college/hs games and MAYBE sends a coach to interview his HS coach and maybe a player or two from that team.

but mostly, the player's likes and dislikes, his way of doing things remain a mystery (the player will say "all the right things") and the team relies on gut feelings.

but in Luka's case, Vlade had known him since he was a kid and had a long relationship with his father (people differ on the NATURE of their relationship but they HAD ONE and STILL DO).

and THAT is what set Luka apart from everyone else in that draft - Vlade knew him well - and Vlade probably knew the family better than every other GM in that draft.

it's one thing to say, "i didn't think his game would translate to the NBA" or "We already had Fox" (yes, but we had him when we selected haliburton and what about BPA?)

but you can't get away from, "he had more info on luka than he had on anyone else in the draft and he didn't take him" - couldn't vlade's relationship with luka's dad have played SOME part in the (bad) decision?

we now return control of your mind to you, until next week at this time
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top