<div class="quote_poster">Quoting starman85:</div><div class="quote_post">I second that. If the league wants to have a presence in more cities, they should focus on developing their minor league system so that its actually a real system, and more players get a shot at it. That would also raise the level of NBA play down the road. And the minor league system could have circuits in Europe, Asia, South America, and so on. Then, there would obviously be great players who pass through those circuits to make it to the show. The Charlotte Knights, for example, had Cal Ripken Jr. before he made it big, and Jose Canseco after he made himself big with steroids. Both players were a pleasure to watch, and givea smaller market like Charlotte a stake(however minor) in the big leagues.</div> I hear ya brah..the local minor league team here in Knoxville had many players...everyone from Fred McGriff and Carlos DelGado and Pat Henke to Roy Halladay..an established minor league system is a very good thing. It has been a major benefit for MLB for years.
It seems there is a point missing here. If the NBA did expand to Europe, the league would have to add a complete Division. So you would have something like... Western LA Lakers LA Clippers sacramento Golden State Phoenix Seattle Portland Utah Denver Minnesota Midwest Cleveland Milwaukee Chicago Detroit Indiana Memphis New Orleans Dallas San Antonio Houston Eastern Boston Toronto New York Brooklyn Philadelphia Washington Atlanta Charlotte Orlando Miami Euro (absorbing the better players from the existing Euro leagues) Barcelona London Paris Frankfurt Milan Rome Berlin Athens Moscow Kiev The Euro teams would travel to the states for about 2 weeks four times during the season, the Midwest and Western teams would spend two week stretches in Europe and the Eastern teams would spend 3 two week stretches. The playoffs would be a trick as you would need to align the schedule to limit travel time such as 3 home, 3 away, 1 home with the East vs. Euro and Midwest vs West Television schedules would be also tricky as you would want to do whatever was possible to maximize revenue and retain interest while the team was abroad. One other possibility is to absorb the top 16 teams from the Euro leagues into a separate conference. That winner would play the NBA Champ at the end of the season much like the AFL/NFL did, but I don't see that being a viable answer as the league would need to be more unified than that.
One thing I'd enjoy out of this, is the fact that it'd reach more fans and hype. However it would be too difficult to maintain, afterall the NBA's big enough as it is.
There are too many glitches, previously mentioned in scorbutic and starman85's posts, that make this a nice thought but a terrible idea. It's a huge accident waiting to happen, and way more expensive than it's worth.
They should make a champions leage for basketball, which could take place during the summer off-season. The best teams from leagues around the world could play at some good location, fitting for all. Then you could realy decide which is the worlds best team. But ofcourse, the NBA teams would be a bit superior, but there is probably teams out there that could beat them
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting GreyhoundGuy:</div><div class="quote_post">If the NBA did expand to Europe, the league would have to add a complete Division. So you would have something like... </div> Well, that's the problem with expanding to include major NBA teams. But if the NBA institutes a program like NFL Europe, then it wouldn't be connected and would be viable. NFL teams don't play against their European counterparts, as its merely a farm system. I don't think Europe would appreciate their league's merely being 'minor,' but even now they have to accept the fact that the best comp is over here. Spreading to Europe in general has its pluses. It would make the game more popular, since the league would presumably be more organized than the current leagues over there, which are really just a big patchwork of teams and small leagues. And with the NBA's marketing power, it could really make the NBA like futbol(soccer) is over there, with entire cities going ape over their local team. It would also help to continue the globalization of the league, as players from Europe would have more opportunities to play bball.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Joel-33:</div><div class="quote_post">Well being from england, ID LOVE THAT, It much easier for me to get to say spain than los angles, Or texas or whatever, If they brought the NBA to euope the game would expand SOOOO much more, And that way more talent from england say doesnt get wasted cos wed have more scouts and stuff over here, Good idea!!!!!!!!</div> I'm from England too, but I don't really think it's a good idea. All that extra travelling would be a bit too much for the players, plus someone's already said it would mean the league wasn't national any more. I don't think it's very viable tbh. At least England have some talent playing in the NCAA (Luol Deng - Duke, Richard Midgley - California to name 2 players). We need more NBA coverage over here though.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting starman85:</div><div class="quote_post">I agree about expanding in this hemisphere before going to either Europe or Asia. It would be more financially feasible to put teams in Mexico City, San Diego, Birmingham, Las Vegas, Austin, Kansas City, St. Louis, Louisville, Southern Virginia, Buffalo, New York City, and a whole slew of other North American cities before overseas expansion becomes real. Even Latin American expansion, like Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Rio, Caracas and San Juan would be more realistic, IMO. Plus, the NBA probably knows this as well. Their efforts at Euro expansion are probably only to cover up a scheme to copy the NFL with their 'NFL Europe', which is basically a minor league. With the influx of European players from the different Euro leagues, the NBA probably wants to tap that market and compete with the leagues already over there.</div> This is an idea that I like very much, and would consider much, much more feasable. I like the idea of separate Latin, Asian and European leagues. Separate leagues with maybe 10-12 teams to begin with, then after eventual expansion, an actual WORLD championship playoff can be held. The top teams from all four leagues could square off in another type of "Final Four" NBA style. This would still allow the NBA to expand, i.e. make even more boatloads of cash, while building the foundation for an eventual world-wide NBA.
The NBA is now SERIOUSLY considering an expansion to Europe <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Deputy commissioner Russ Granik said the league has asked a group led by former New York Knicks and Madison Square Garden president Dave Checketts to examine the viability of putting a franchise in Europe. There is no timetable for such a move, though commissioner David Stern has said the end of the decade is a possibility. "For the first time, we're willing to say we're looking at it," Granik said. "But I think we recognize it's still a long way off." One major problem, Granik said, is the lack of adequate arenas in most European cities. While Los Angeles has the state-of-the-art Staples Center, London does not have any facility approximating even the old Boston Garden, Granik said. The logistical concerns are such that former NBA coach Jack Ramsay, who ran clinics around the world for the league, thinks the league first will expand to Mexico or South America.</div> Click here for the rest of the article.
I don't want it to expand to Europe. I will seriously hate the NBA if this happens. Don't they have their own league? And what about away games? That's a pretty long flight. I'm not for it, never will be either.
I really hope this doesn't happen. Just thinking about the long air travel and different timezones makes me think that the NBA is just stretching it too far. They have to realize that to make this happen, the players have to be willing as well. I don't think the players would ever want to make that trip to Europe....ever
Expanding to europe would ruin the game, probably increase profit though, which is likeley the reason for this. When they get europeans watching and buying nba stuff they can make some mad profit. But what aboutthe flight over there, it would just ruin the season, and what conference would a european team be in, NBA, please dont do this.
How about them London Royals! That would be a good name. Anyway, the only way I can see this possible is if teams are given at least 2 day breaks before and after the flights overseas for the games. This would stretch the season out, though.
If they NBA did do this, they'd increase the popularity in Europe, but the standard of play would decrease unless current teams were moved to a European team. The flights are just to long to be doing regualry, they'd need to work the schedule around it so you aren't travelling from Europe to USA more than once a week at the most. The NBA would really have to start thinking about changing their name, the National Basketball Association. It isn't that correct now, with a team based in Toronto, but if they had European teams would have to be changed. The International Basketball Association doesn't have a good feel to it either.
I also wouldn't mind Mexico, but I would also be very upset if they expanded to Europe. The flights would be very tough, as many of you said, and I don't think the teams should be traveling so far away with such a different timezone. I don't think you'll see many players happy to play in Europe or Mexico though, if some players aren't happy in Canada, why would they want to go to these places? I don't see any franchise players going to teams located in these countries, unless the player is from the area. I'd rather see the league expand more teams into the cities without teams, and a team in Hawaii wouldn't be that bad either.
Europe is definitely a bit excessive. And would they change the rules somewhat? International ball is somewhat different rules from the NBA, as noted in the Lakers/Rockets game tonight. And getting traded from an European team would be hell. But for Mexico, I'd play in a second. Viva la baloncesto!
