NBA playoff realignment coming soon?

[dice]

Forcing rookie draftees to move to canada to play in Toronto is bad enough. I don't think you could force young players to move to Europe or Asia for 8 months a year.

Singapore, Hong Kong, London and Amsterdam. Vs Memphis, OKC, Charlotte and Orlando?
I got a feeling the young ones who are interested in endorsements, lifestyle, or for that matter anything else would vote for the former. I know I would have when I was in my 20s -- actually I did.

Some people don't want to be forced to be thousands of miles away from all of their friends and family

it's the culture shock more than the distance, as some already have to move thousands of miles from their home base

i don't see nba teams in europe any time soon. travel issues, tax issues, culture issues for players...

[RedBulls23]

Also, if they realign stuff like this for the playoffs, then they should do the same with the all-star game. That way you see less people worthy of an all-star nod getting snubbed. Just have the best top 24 player's make the teams. Regardless of the conference.

conferences gives a natural team matchup though. no point in having some silly jordan vs bird all-star draft every year. although it'd be funny to see jordan assemble his team poorly

I guess. Not that it matters though.

[ATRAIN53]

I'd prefer to just see them shrink it back to 12 at this point.
Right now 50% of the league makes the playoffs. That's insane.

Realignment scares me more, before you know it that will do what they did to the Blackhawks and stick us in the West. Than the majoirity of our schedule will be 9PM tip offs like the Hawks + they would kill the few rivalries we have left, like they did with the Dead Wings.

[DanTown8587]

and my response is:

it doesn't matter if it evens out over time. does this year's pelicans squad give a damn if some pelicans squad in the future squeaks into the playoffs in a weak western conference? hell no! just as some future celtics squad that is left out in a strong eastern conference won't be comforted by this year's celtics getting getting in

It doesn't matter, the whole point is that if the best 16 teams make it, no one can say "but the other conference gets to play lesser competition" regardless of the split. The Pelicans are going to finish with a better record than THREE teams that make the playoffs; the 10th place Suns are going to beat two teams; the 11th place Jazz would be a playoff team in the East. By record it's entirely possible that 11 of the top 18 teams are in one conference.

[dice]

and my response is:

it doesn't matter if it evens out over time. does this year's pelicans squad give a damn if some pelicans squad in the future squeaks into the playoffs in a weak western conference? hell no! just as some future celtics squad that is left out in a strong eastern conference won't be comforted by this year's celtics getting getting in

It doesn't matter, the whole point is that if the best 16 teams make it, no one can say "but the other conference gets to play lesser competition" regardless of the split. The Pelicans are going to finish with a better record than THREE teams that make the playoffs; the 10th place Suns are going to beat two teams; the 11th place Jazz would be a playoff team in the East. By record it's entirely possible that 11 of the top 18 teams are in one conference.

9 out of the top 13 are in the west

[kyrv]

I'd prefer to just see them shrink it back to 12 at this point.
Right now 50% of the league makes the playoffs. That's insane.

Realignment scares me more, before you know it that will do what they did to the Blackhawks and stick us in the West. Than the majoirity of our schedule will be 9PM tip offs like the Hawks + they would kill the few rivalries we have left, like they did with the Dead Wings.

Preferences that equate to players and owners arbitrarily giving up or giving back money...probably aren't going to happen.

Also the Bulls used to be in the west. So. Yeah.

[DanTown8587]

and my response is:

it doesn't matter if it evens out over time. does this year's pelicans squad give a damn if some pelicans squad in the future squeaks into the playoffs in a weak western conference? hell no! just as some future celtics squad that is left out in a strong eastern conference won't be comforted by this year's celtics getting getting in

It doesn't matter, the whole point is that if the best 16 teams make it, no one can say "but the other conference gets to play lesser competition" regardless of the split. The Pelicans are going to finish with a better record than THREE teams that make the playoffs; the 10th place Suns are going to beat two teams; the 11th place Jazz would be a playoff team in the East. By record it's entirely possible that 11 of the top 18 teams are in one conference.

9 out of the top 13 are in the west

9 of 14 (NO is slightly behind Washington) but the point still stands: the West produces more of the top 16 teams and so they should, if it's unbalanced, send more teams.

[dice]

It doesn't matter, the whole point is that if the best 16 teams make it, no one can say "but the other conference gets to play lesser competition" regardless of the split. The Pelicans are going to finish with a better record than THREE teams that make the playoffs; the 10th place Suns are going to beat two teams; the 11th place Jazz would be a playoff team in the East. By record it's entirely possible that 11 of the top 18 teams are in one conference.

9 out of the top 13 are in the west

9 of 14 (NO is slightly behind Washington)

i'm including strength of schedule. but for the purposes of this thread you are correct, obviously

[DuckIII]

Rivalries become bigger with conferences, and this would lessen the chance of those matchups. Not a fan.

Exactly. I hate this idea. The in-conference playoff rivalries are great drama and great for the NBA.

I understand from a fairness perspective that the 16 best teams "deserve" the playoffs and, contrarily, in a sick way its also unfair for a team like Boston this year to be in the playoffs with no lottery balls, while a .500+ from the West has a chance to land a top 3 pick. I get it.

But I don't care. I want the conference system to live on both in the regular and postseasons.

[DanTown8587]

Rivalries become bigger with conferences, and this would lessen the chance of those matchups. Not a fan.

Exactly. I hate this idea. The in-conference playoff rivalries are great drama and great for the NBA.

I understand from a fairness perspective that the 16 best teams "deserve" the playoffs and, contrarily, in a sick way its also unfair for a team like Boston this year to be in the playoffs with no lottery balls, while a .500+ from the West has a chance to land a top 3 pick. I get it.

But I don't care. I want the conference system to live on both in the regular and postseasons.

But what you just touched in is why if they did top 16 they could do away with what Philadelphia is doing which is purposely making their team worse.

Top 16 get in
Bottom 14 have fairly equal chance lottery for #1, #2, #3 picks
#4 - #14 based on record

That way, teams have very little incentive to do what Philadelphia doing. Why would Philadelphia purposely trade good players? This way, teams would try and stay around that 10 to 14 range (i.e Boston this year) and then hope for draft luck or FA luck. Also, owners wouldn't have two games on the schedule they know that ticket sales are going to be non-existent.

[WindyCityBorn]

I don't like this idea at all. Keep the current set-up.

[NecessaryEvil]

East is going to be a monster next year, well atleast the top 7.

Antetokounmpo-Parker-MCW-Henson

Wade-Dragic-Whiteside-Bosh-Deng

George-Hibbert-West-Stuckey

With the right FA pickup, the Magic could easily be a scary *** 8th seed. Maybe S&T Harris for something good.

I think they discuss it but in the end will see that the east is rising again. On the other hand, I would love for a newer modeled NBA, I think it would bring new fans & a freshness that would see more competitive playoff basketball NOW.

Either way, I'm cool with things.

[Red Folder]

East is going to be a monster next year, well atleast the top 7.

Antetokounmpo-Parker-MCW-Henson

Wade-Dragic-Whiteside-Bosh-Deng

George-Hibbert-West-Stuckey

With the right FA pickup, the Magic could easily be a scary *** 8th seed. Maybe S&T Harris for something good.

I think they discuss it but in the end will see that the east is rising again. On the other hand, I would love for a newer modeled NBA, I think it would bring new fans & a freshness that would see more competitive playoff basketball NOW.

Either way, I'm cool with things.

Totally agree. Imagine New York getting back Melo, drafting Okafor, and signing Aldridge. Or Phildadelphia adding Embiid, deangelo russell, and brandon knight or rajon rondo.

I would almost guarantee the entire eastern playoffs is over .500 next year, with probably at least 6 teams winning 50+ games.

[Red Folder]

Even if they reseeded the top 16 teams, its not like Phoenix or New Orleans is winning a playoff series anyway. Destroying conference rivalries is not worth it just to switch out a couple of first round exits from the east with a couple of first round exits from the west.

[FreakMaster]

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=12586330

Video on ESPN with Chris Broussard talking about how the owners are going to be discussing this in the offseason.

I understand that the west has been much better for a while now, but I still think this is a bad idea. The west already has the unfair advantage of great weather/location to attract free agents. If you don't have the advantage of an easier path to the finals, you really have no reason to ever sign with teams like Indiana/Detroit/Milwaukee/Toronto etc.

That being said, I think the East has the potential to be greatly improved next year. You have 5 teams right now that are close to 50+ win teams, and they are all young enough where they should still be around for the next few years. Even if Love leaves Cleveland, I think the Cavs are still a 50 win team with LeBron and Kyrie.

After that you have Miami who if they keep Dragic should jump back up to a serious contender. They have played much better since trading for him and Getting Whiteside, and most of that has been without Bosh. Once Bosh comes back next season, with a full year of Dragic and Whiteside, that is a legit contender to win 50+ games.

Then you have Inidiana who won 56 games just last season. They got off to a terrible start this year with George Hill and David West injured early on, but have played much better the past couple of months. Then you consider they will be getting Paul George back next year and they should be back to contending in the East.

That's already 7 teams that all have the potential to win 50 games next season. Then you could see New York be greatly improved with Melo coming back, a top 3 pick, and 30+ million in cap room. Along with them Philly will be adding Embiid, a top 3 pick and have 40+ million in cap space. With the right moves either of those teams could turn into a playoff contender next year.

Meanwhile out west teams like San Antonio and Dallas are about to fall out of the picture once Duncan/Ginobili and Dirk retire. Portland and Memphis could be done too if Gasol and Aldridge leave in free agency. I think you have to keep things the way they are. There are going to be cycles all the time and it is not worth messing with the Eastern/Western tradition of the league just because the West has been better for most of the past 10-15 years now. Things could turn around quick.

I don't agree with this Playoff realignment vid at all. It's not the Conferences fault the West keeps drafting top tier NBA talent while the East continues to draft NBA bust. The Pels drafted, Anthony Davis. The Clippers drafted Blake Griffin. OKC drafted James Harden, KD, and Westbrook. The Spurs picked Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu. These players are why their team keeps winning games. While the East drafts picks fail to change the fortune of their franchise.

[andyhop]

What is the incentive for any owner in the East to agree to this?

Any team that thinks of itself as a contender to win the East will vote no as it makes things harder for them to make it to the finals and any team that is below that level will vote no because it makes their chances to make the playoffs less

[OldSchoolNoBull]

Why not divide the conferences by different criteria? None of this is going to happen, of course, but just some ideas, along with what the seedings would be at this point in time:

Classic vs Modern

(The idea is one conference of teams established pre-1970 and one conference of teams established post-1970. But that came out to 16-14 in favor of post, and there were three teams established in 1970(Blazers, Cavs, Clippers), so I had to arbitrarily move one to the Classic league. I chose the Cavs, because I thought that resulted in the best competitive balance between conferences)

Classic League

Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Cleveland
Detroit
Golden State
Houston
Los Angeles Lakers
Milwaukee
New York
Oklahoma City
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Sacramento
Washington

1. Golden State
2. Atlanta
3. Houston
4. Cleveland
5. Chicago
6. Oklahoma City
7. Washington
8. Phoenix

Modern League

Brooklyn
Charlotte
Dallas
Denver
Indiana
Los Angeles Clippers
Memphis
Miami
Minnesota
New Orleans
Orlando
Portland
San Antonio
Toronto
Utah

1. Memphis
2. Portland
3. Los Angeles Clippers
4. San Antonio
5. Dallas
6. Toronto
7. New Orleans
8. Miami

Northern vs Southern

Northern Conference

Boston
Brooklyn
Chicago
Cleveland
Denver
Detroit
Golden State
Indiana
Milwaukee
Minnesota
New York
Philadelphia
Portland
Sacramento
Toronto
Utah

1. Golden State
2. Portland
3. Cleveland
4. Chicago
5. Toronto
6. Milwaukee
7. Brooklyn
8. Boston or Utah

Southern Conference

Atlanta
Charlotte
Dallas
Houston
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis
Miami
New Orleans
Oklahoma City
Orlando
Phoenix
San Antonio
Washington(I had to count it as 'southern' in order to make the conferences even)

1. Atlanta
2. Memphis
3. Houston
4. Los Angeles Clippers
5. San Antonio
6. Dallas
7. Oklahoma City
8. Washington

Big Markets vs Small Markets

Big Market League

Atlanta
Boston
Brooklyn
Chicago
Dallas
Detroit
Golden State
Houston
LAC
LAL
Miami
New York
Philadelphia
Toronto
Washington

1. Golden State
2. Atlanta
3. Houston
4. Los Angeles Clippers
5. Chicago
6. Dallas
7. Toronto
8. Washington

Small Market League

Charlotte
Cleveland
Denver
Indiana
Memphis
Milwaukee
Minnesota
New Orleans
Oklahoma City
Orlando
Phoenix
Portland
Sacramento
San Antonio
Utah

1. Memphis
2. Portland
3. San Antonio
4. Cleveland
5. Oklahoma City
6. New Orleans
7. Phoenix
8. Milwaukee