Speaker 1: What is up, Fellasiko's I am Dan Valley coming at
you with the one the Only, mister Moore Jansen of
the NBA podcast, fame of Yahoo Sports, fame of HBO
Max fame and of course only fans celebrity. We are
here to talk about NBA expansion. We thought we were
gonna have a podcast out today about predicting the next
wave of all NBA players, but instead the NBA expansion
report came out. The Board of Governors is expected to
vote on it and it's expected to be approved, and
the NBA is gonna get two expansion teams, presumably in
Las Vegas and Seattle, in time for the twenty eight
to twenty nine season. First, and foremost more, how are
you feeling?
Speaker 2: I am. I'm feeling pretty good. I really am, because
or sorry, I'm feeling well. That is the right way
to actually speak English. I've been waiting for this for
a long long time. I'll tell you something. Back in
twenty twenty two, when I had my radio show here
in Denmark, we actually did a two hour special on
just explaining people like the expansion rules, and we did
like a mock expansion draft, and we used Las Vegas
and Seattle because those were the teams or the cities
that were always painted about. Again, that's four years ago
we were talking about that that I did that episode,
and now finally we're getting some traction on this. This
has been a long time coming. I'm one of the
proponents to expand the league because I think the talent
level is ridiculous. I think it's completely justifiable to have
two more teams. I don't think it should be more
than two, but I think at this point you can,
you can absolutely do something interesting with forty two teams.
So I'm enjoying today's news very much.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so you're a pro expansion, which I guess the
first question to tackle here is do you think that
the league has the talent pool that's deep enough to
handle expansion. I would say yes, but they're so worried about,
or presumably about tanking right now. The introduction of two
expansion teams, knowing the limitations that are traditionally put on
how they get players initially, but just what they're you know,
presumably they've been limited in how much they could spend
during that initial those initial years. This opens the door
for more of that, and so I'm curious to see
if this is accompanied by no I don't know that
they'll be announced in tandem. But does this incentivize the
NBA to address tanking even more aggressively this summer because
you're adding into variables where, under normal circumstances that first
year or something like, those teams probably aren't going to
be very good.
Speaker 3: Right.
Speaker 2: It's a really good question. I don't have a good
read on that whatsoever. We'll see what the NBA does,
Like given the fact that we don't know yet what
the league is planning to do in terms of like
the lottery off or anything of that sort, the answer
is I don't know. I still think the league is
dramatically overreacting to the element of tanking. I think they're
completely forgetting that the last few years. It's because of
the talent pool in the draft, like twenty three, twenty five,
and twenty six are completely ridiculously loaded drafts, Like where
anyone we're tanking in twenty four? Not really, not really,
that didn't really happen. Twenty seven, i've heard, is supposedly
even worse than twenty four. So I'm also not expecting
teams to tank in twenty seven. But the league has
apparently just not cared about that aspect of it all.
Just said no, tanking generally is just bad, which all right, sure,
I guess so I don't know is the answer.
Speaker 1: I am curious to see, Like, if do you think
there's gonna be any this is gonna just get approved unanimously?
Speaker 3: Right?
Speaker 1: I know that there's it cuts into technically your business model.
But if they get seven billion, let's say seven and
a half billion per franchise, because the projected fees were
between seven and ten billion, that's fifteen billion. All the
other owners just get a cool check for half a
billion dollars, I guess they're probably gonna say yes to that.
Speaker 2: Well that and also they're gonna get a big size
of the pie when it comes to bri write basketball
related income. Las Vegas and Seattle are two markets that
could generate a ton of money.
Speaker 1: That is a whole term initially though actually maybe maybe
right away because Seattle has the in built.
Speaker 3: The fan base.
Speaker 2: Yeah exactly, yeah, so, and and I think we're sleeping
a little bit on Las Vegas as well, because when
people are saying, oh there is.
Speaker 1: Keep going there, like we're founded there, but like team
there are teams that are moving there like actively.
Speaker 2: That that is true, But also I think it's also
it's going to be a tourist thing.
Speaker 3: Like I know that the league would like love to
like build this local.
Speaker 2: Fan base for an NBA team there, and that will
that will happen in due time for sure, But I
also just think there's going to be some tourism things.
They're like, oh, should we catch an insert Las Vegas
team name here game, And that's gonna happen. Like you,
you have tourists from all around the world if they
can combine a Las Vegas trip will also watching an
NBA game in person. I think the league is considered this.
Speaker 1: They should name it the Las Vegas Sinners and have
Mark Jackson be the head coach of it.
Speaker 3: Poor man, he'll spend more time praying than coaching.
Speaker 1: The So another question that I think everyone's gonna have here,
So how would how how does the league get restructured?
One team is going to go to the Eastern Conference.
The candidates that Shaan's reported, as you pointed out, were
Minnesota and Memphis and Tim Bontams of ESPN and Bobby
Mars also added that New Orleans will be added to
that equation as well. I would imagine even though in theory,
the West is gonna get to let's say, for the
foreseeable future, teams that might not be as good. I
think that there's gonna be like those teams are gonna
be tripping over themselves to get to the West and
going through it. Geographically speaking, it should be New Orleans
or Memphis. But as other people have pointed out, like
Minnesota is kind of so isolated when it comes to
travel that they I think they should be the team.
Do you have a preference on which team should be
moved to the East?
Speaker 3: I don't.
Speaker 2: The only thing I know is that Memphis is a
team that has voiced before at least you know, interest
in doing that. I think a report came out about
that like years ago, and I don't see any arguments
why that should have changed. So what I'm wondering, basically
is if let's say Memphis out of just this is
just like theoretically, if Memphis has been in the league's
ear for years, just hey, guys, right, like maybe that's
that's what not shit not just a little bit of
that direction. I wouldn't hate Minnesota in the East because
let's be real. The East, for the most part, they
don't have great, you know, driven teams from a front
offers perspective, and they don't really have a bunch of superstars,
like a lot of the superstars end up in the West.
When West teams win the first overall pick Anthony Edwards
in the East would finally give the Eastern Conference a
little bit more of a wildcard, something a little bit
more that could it seemed, that could actually go in
and compete for a championship. I wouldn't hate that ankle
of it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I've seen people say that they think the gap
has closed between the West and the East, and you
can go and look at the head to head records
this year, I think the West overall only as a
slight margin. I still like, I know it's an anecdotal thing,
and some people don't want to hear that. I'm looking
at the top of these conferences. I'm gonna tell you
right now, I trust way more Like even the Lakers
are starting to sway me a little bit. And so
in the East. It's if there's a circle of trust
in the Eastern Conference. When looking from a playoff performance perspective,
I have Detroit, Boston, and Cleveland in there, and that's
kind of in the West, it's there's Okay, Minnesota's inconsistent,
but they've just made two consecutive conference finals. You have Okac,
you have Denver, you have San Antonio. The Lakers are
kind of percolating here. Even the Suns are just no,
they're not better than the Knicks. But would the Suns
be the fifth best team in the Eastern Conference, Like,
forget about what their record is right now? I mean maybe,
Like just so I trust the West, and what you
mentioned I think is really pertinent. When there are trade
demands where a free agency becomes cool again, players tend
to flock towards the Western Conference and a lot of that.
You know, that's the California teams. But still that's that matters.
Speaker 2: Yeah. And also just again, I hate to sound so
negative about the East, but like the West just have
better general managers, They have better front offices, Like they
scout better. They if we are being honest with ourselves,
if we're going down the list of East teams and
compare them to the West teams, front offices are just
better in the Western Conference. And that's a problem. Like
I would love to see more competent general managers in
the Eastern Conference zo online things. It just doesn't happen.
And then there's just the this is out of everyone's hands.
But like the just the lottery luck right, like the
Wempy draft goes to a West, right, like Anthony Edwards,
who we talked about before, it goes west, Cooper Flack
goes West. It's it's just a shame. And by the way,
speaking of the East teams, who you trust, like, I'm
not even sure of fully trust.
Speaker 1: Detroit like their offense in the play. I think from
an NBA Finals stay point, the offensive concerns are real
and should be real. Pistons fans will push back against
that in some form, but yeah, you're you're honestly, But
if you're gonna nudge Detroit out of the circle, you
also got a nudge Cleveland out of the circle.
Speaker 2: Because what I am, James Harden, That defense basically to
me is Boston. Like if I'm doing like a power
ranking and Charlotte, right, Charlotte, like I don't, I'm probably
have like four West teams and then Boston if I'm
doing like a top five power ranking.
Speaker 1: Okay, see my top two. Yeah, you could definitely make
a case for San Antonio. I think San Antonio is
the second best team in the league. Those three. I mean, yeah,
you're maybe the Lakers. Maybe Lakers are not on my top.
That defense is not gonna.
Speaker 2: Be The defense sucks, But like the offensive components there,
do you trust it in East team to stop like
Luca Lebron and Austin were used because I don't.
Speaker 1: I honestly I don't think. I think Cleveland and Boston
and even New York would be fine.
Speaker 3: No Boston ice in there, like like that's in some
variation like Boston I could see beat the Lakers.
Speaker 2: Yes, that's but that's what I'm saying, Like that's the
one scene where I would feel fairly confident that that
would be a series. But like, if you put the
Lakers up again, this is turning into a whole brandy.
Speaker 1: We're ranking the league, I think, Yeah, how many teams
I guess the question would be how many teams in
the West do you get to before you pick your
second Eastern Conference team? I don't actually know if I
get so, Okay, see San Antonio and Denver I'll listen to, Yeah,
but Minnesota I'll listen to but like that. And then
so you have Boston the top five. I I'm like
New York, Cleveland, Detroit both over the Lakers or the Rockets.
That's it's. Look, I still trust more of the top
of the West than I do of the than the
top of the East. And that's I think that's what
would be the appeal of if you're a team like Minnesota,
who again, Memphis is kind of starting their rebuild. Ditto
for New Orleans right now.
Speaker 2: Great, congratulates, We've got it back on track. That was
all on you. I appreciate how you did it. That
was a great segue. That's I just needed a little
applause on that one. That's great, well done.
Speaker 1: When you look at immediate implications, though, Minnesota would be
the team that would probably stand to benefit the most,
right because they should be at that point the best
of the three. And if now even consider this, if
you are a team that is still rebuilding, it's probably
easier to rack up some loss depending on what the
lottery odds are. Now, if they change the lottery odds
to account for wins after a certain time, maybe you
really want to go to the East regardless, But I
think this decision. When you're looking at that first season
and maybe the first couple, it probably has the largest
ramifications on Minnesota, and that's the team I think should
go to the East. I think that's just the.
Speaker 2: So so S European. Obviously, I'm going to be very
annoyed because that means we're going to get a whole
bunch of early games with Rudy gol Bear, which yay, yay, great, Rudy.
Speaker 1: Gobert is still playing in twenty twenty eight, twenty twenty nine.
Just get up there.
Speaker 3: That's you don't have that point.
Speaker 1: You don't have to wait, you're not Rudy Gobert might
be a backup and not on Minnesota.
Speaker 2: You understand that it's twenty twenty six. Now it's in
two years.
Speaker 1: Yeah, how old is Rudy Gobert? No?
Speaker 2: No, But I'm just saying like it sounds so distant, right,
twenty twenty eight, twenty twenty nine. Sometimes I think we're
forgetting like we're in twenty twenty six already, Like twenty
thirty is creeping up on our asses quicker than we
want to believe.
Speaker 1: I don't disagree here, but my point being is, like
age thirty six season.
Speaker 3: Rudy Cobert like that, you can't be it's no.
Speaker 1: That Edwards and Jade McDaniels. You're not factoring in Julius
Randall or Rudy Gobert. What about my Comley.
Speaker 3: He's an unrestricted free agent by the way, then, so
he might not even be with the Sea And that's
great news. Down I'm down, Yeah, that's great.
Speaker 1: I think it should be Minnesota. I have a feeling
because of what you say, I wonder if it's gonna
be Memphis.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Right, Another reason will be the other variable. And I
don't mind going here because I feel bad talking about it.
For the fan basis perspective, how much of a factor
would it be if you wanted to relocate a franchise
at some point? Are you factoring in, Okay, what's the
next city? Because then maybe we don't want New Orleans
to go east because the relocation city we would prefer
is westward.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: So I mean, look, Gail Benson has basically said she
doesn't want to move the team, but this is I
don't think this is hurting the fan base. But can
we agree that your theory is a franchise out there
where that discussion of relocation is more relevant.
Speaker 3: It's probably with the Pelicans.
Speaker 1: Do you think it becomes less relevant after expansion though,
because then it's all right, where are we going or
where are they going to? Vancouver? No?
Speaker 2: No, no, I mean you could argue from the league's
point like, is there a sea or is there a
city sorry on the East coast or at least on
the eastern side. If we split the nation down the middle,
that would be more of an attractive place and then
move the Pelicans there. They could spend the next two
years just working Gale Benson too the fucking bone in
trying to get her to move the team.
Speaker 1: Honestly, I think that what is I wonder what the
third choice city would be. There's been talk about Mexico City,
wasn't there There were some West Virginia buzz way back when, right?
Speaker 2: But see, this is the thing. Is there another city
on the East coast or at least like the eastern
side of the United States where there's a bigger market.
Speaker 3: For teams for a team.
Speaker 1: So I don't Again, I don't know if this would
be considered east, but I think other some of the
like hubs that have been mentioned would be but you're
not gonna do this if Memphis is there where Like
Nashville has been mentioned, Louisville's been mentioned, maybe Kansas City. Yeah,
it's a good Honestly, I wouldn't wind. What's that Saint
Louis No, right, that's not big enough. So I'm just
looking at teams or sorry cities here. But you're right,
like Nashville could be one. I never realized like how
much east like Tennessee actually is until I look at
the map and I go, oh, like it just feels
very west. I wonder if they would want to teams
in Tennessee. My guess would be for the my guess
would be no, right, yeah, what about now this is west?
Do you think they would consider San Diego, Like let's
just open up another California market.
Speaker 3: Why?
Speaker 1: Well, I mean they move the Chargers out of there,
so still the Padres.
Speaker 2: But if you move if you move the Chargers out
of there, what they did, Yeah, that is also like
maybe an argument to place an NBA team there because
then there's going to be less competition for sports interest.
Speaker 1: I do wonder though, so I think this would if
you're worried about the NBA leaving New Orleans. I actually
think expansion probably bodes well for them staying put.
Speaker 2: M Yeah, I'm gonna have to keep thinking about this
just in terms of like what cities could actually like
because I wouldn't even put it past the NBA just
trying to ward Gale Ben's next two years and and
try to move that team, because I like, do you
think the league is satisfied with their presidence in New
Orleans at this point?
Speaker 1: Probably not? But okay, here's my counterpoint would just be
what do you base it? Like, what do you think
makes a bigger difference moving the market or could we
change the ownership regime there?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, look, if that is on the table,
I would also prioritize that for sure. But I think
at the end of the day, it's the almighty dollar
is probably gonna rule everything, right, And and that's where
I'm just trying to think if there's like a place
that would make.
Speaker 1: That's that's tangentially expansion related. My other question here would be,
so we know how the expansion rules work, expansion draft
rules work, and that is just to describe it. In
the past, it's been every team can protect up to
eight players, but they all must leave at least one
player unprotected. So if you were a team that had
clear books except for I'd be curious. If you only
had one player under guaranteed contract, that would work. But
if you have six players under contract, the rule would
be that you still have to leave one of them unprotected.
I want to see, and I know you're not gonna
have to answer to this. I'm generally just musing here,
do the rules change it all when you're adding two
t tas at once? Because the last expansion we had
was the Bobcats, and that was a single team, and.
Speaker 2: So the last two one that were Vancouver and Toronto, right, yes, yeah,
and that was before like there was a real there
wasn't even a real salary cap. There are a lot
of like that was almost forty years ago. No, it's
more than forty years ago that happened, Okay, m Yeah,
that's a good question. That's a good question. I don't
know the answers that we need to figure that out.
I am sure that that's something that's gonna be up elsewhere.
Speaker 1: And also how to the other things like there weren't
so the expansion came when we're the podcast, they were
two thousand and four. That sounds right. They didn't have
either way. They didn't have two way contracts back then.
It's like, well, how does that work?
Speaker 2: And they were also given the second pick in the
draft I seem to recall, which they spend on Oka four.
It's that's a high pick coming in in twenty eight
and then you've got two teams, Like what are you
going to just give them second and fourth?
Speaker 3: Like second and third?
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, there are definitely gonna be some things that
needs to be finacled there at some point, Dan, we're
gonna need to have to a muck like expansion.
Speaker 1: I want I want to know the rules before doing
that with right, Oh, no, of course because one of
the other things too is you were only allowed to
pick one player per franchise, and so like, imagine how
that would work with two teams. And so now you know,
sixteen teams are gonna feel like or no, not sixteen
because if you're drafting, were they get twelve picks each? Like,
so what's like two thirds of the league is going
to feel expansion at that point? Or maybe that I
saw there. That's I didn't even think of that. I
totally forgot that you were only allowed to do the
one player per team and past expansion.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so it'll be two presumably two players, right you
need to leave unprotected? Yeah?
Speaker 1: At that point, well, unless you're saying that you can
only only if you keep that rule in place, then
you're kind of like, are you alternating picks? Who gets
to go first? How do you determine that is the
team that paid more for expansion? Please take Rudy Gobierre
off our hands? Yeah? Oh god, that's gonna be so
much fun. Like you just know that every team is
going to take the shitty contracts and not protect them whatsoever.
And the other thing too, is that I wonder if
they're going to change the rules, because weren't they in
previous years You like, couldn't spend as much as other
teams could keep that in place.
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, no, I would not. I don't think so,
because maybe maybe by logic cures flawed. But if you're
an owner that goes in on a buy in to
seven to ten billion on a team and you're like,
I don't want to play pay the whole salary cap
of one what two hundred million at that point in time,
one eighty or something whatever the cap is at that
point in time. That seems ridiculous to me because that's
a that's a drop in the bucket for what you
pay for your franchise fee. So I would just go
full cap immediately. I hope they do do that. That
would make for a more competitive offseason too.
Speaker 3: Right.
Speaker 1: The other thing with the expansion draft is do you
think that because there's two teams that squad should only
be allowed to protect like seven players, Like, do you
lower that number at all? So, okay, you have to
have a minimum of two unprotected players or whatever it is?
Speaker 2: Maybe, yeah, because that that just puts the safeguard in
because they're like, even if you just tank your roster
and you only have like five players available, then you
god live with two of those guys have to be unprotected.
So yeah, I think generally speaking, just protect eight and
if you have fewer than eight players then it's too.
Like I still think you need to be able to
protect eight.
Speaker 1: Call your shot right now, who's the best player from
from a talent perspective that's left unprotected in a twenty
twenty eight expansion Draft?
Speaker 3: Best player who's going to be left unprotected?
Speaker 1: Not a lot of players are under contract at that
but like Paul George is off the books.
Speaker 3: Yeah, he's off the book. Oh, you're gonna hate my
pig on that one. I think.
Speaker 1: Let me just make sure that are you picking Jalen
Bruns next contract?
Speaker 3: No, I'm gonna go Tomani Kamara.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go with Joel embiid.
Speaker 3: Oh that's a good one. I thought he was. No, no, no, right,
he's got more he's got more time.
Speaker 2: Okay, yeah, yeah, he's still good at that point, I
would imagine.
Speaker 1: And by twenty twenty eight, they'll still be like six
or seven years left on Yako Peertles contract.
Speaker 2: But like you asked me best his contract was in
my mind that would probably be extended again.
Speaker 1: But by that point thirty.
Speaker 3: Million this time around.
Speaker 1: What other expansion questions do you have reactions to the news.
Speaker 2: Honestly, I just need to understand at that point in
time time how they're going to go about the draft,
because again, this is so many years ago. It's twenty
two years ago with the Bobcats, and I don't remember
how they acquired number two or if they were given
number four and then traded up for two. Regardless, they
got a high end draft pick. They got a super
high draft pick, and I just want to know like
how that process is or if it's changed over the
course of twenty two years, like the justification of it.
But again, like you said before, the league is going
through changes right now in terms of the draft, so
like that is going to play a factor as well.
That's probably one of the biggest thing. Also, like can
we just get confirmation immediately, like freaking immediately when this
has been like locked up, that we're going to go
back to the SuperSonics, because I don't want someone coming
in and going, oh, yeah, the Seattle Keys or something
like no, no, like god.
Speaker 1: That there if they care about making money, which they
will after burning seven the midiion dollars, they're not. That's
that's going to be the name.
Speaker 2: Yeah, immediately immediately because and then I think the record
stayed in Seattle, right But by.
Speaker 1: The way, I looked this up just to confirm. So
none of the expansion teams are eligible for the first
pick in the actual league wide draft in their first year.
I wonder if that's a rule they would keep in place.
They were also but when though when the Raptors and
Grizzlies entered, they were also ineligible for the number one
pick in their second season.
Speaker 3: That's rough. I mean, that is rough. Twenty eight by
the way.
Speaker 2: I've also heard that's a shitty draft, so that's interesting.
Speaker 1: I haven't heard anything on twenty eight just yet. I've
heard a lot about twenty seven. People aren't, yeah, really
excited about that one.
Speaker 2: I heard both, but I could be wrong on twenty eight. Yeah,
I mean, look, I find this entire process fascinating because
you're starting something up from scratch all while kind of
with Seattle, right like you're picking up a threat from there,
but like with Las Vegas, it's everything is brand new everything,
and that that entire process is just so exciting to me. Like,
who's going to own that team? Is it Lebron? Lebron
has voiced interest in that, Like who's going to come
in with that offer? Like I'm just very, very curious
to this whole thing. Also, who are we going to
get in as the two additional owners?
Speaker 3: Like are they going.
Speaker 1: Why there's gonna be a long life. I feel like
that's gonna be there's gonna be some actions to that
would be my suour. Yeah, yeah, there's I'm not gonna
say what I'll say off air, but that's Yeah, that
is gonna be something to follow. And also, by the way,
to your Mecca OCRA four point, they trade it up
to get yeah, OK, four.
Speaker 3: Hey, I'm appre I love that. I remember that I do.
Speaker 1: The thing is, though, is that so it just says
I was looking up that the NBA slot slots like
the expansion teams into the first round, and I just
I'd be curious to know how they decide. So Vancouver
and Toronto selected sixth and seventh in nineteen ninety five,
and then Charlotte picked fourth in two thousand and four.
So is there a line of demarkation for like, how
do you determine where the expansion team belongs?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 1: They do. They will flip a coin apparently to determine
who gets to pick first. I want that. I want
that to be live streamed.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Same, same. Everything needs to be not behind like some
old ass table or anything like. This has to be
made in front of us, all of us, because that'd
be fun.
Speaker 1: Yes, now I have Do you have any other reaction?
Because I actually have a legitimate question.
Speaker 3: Go for it.
Speaker 1: Twenty nine season. Yeah, would be Kevin Durantz. That's his
age forty forty one season, is he still playing and
is he on the Sonics that year?
Speaker 3: He needs to be he needs to hope. So yeah, that.
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, he needs to be the general manager or something.
Speaker 3: Right, he just needs to be involved. I don't care.
Like that would be.
Speaker 2: That would be fantastic if he had like one last
year in Seattle. His basketball reference page was like his
rookie season would be in Seattle, and his final seasons,
like his entire career would just be that experiment of
the thunder.
Speaker 1: That would be. That'd be a nice book end, though,
just oh, began it in Seattle and finished it in Seattle.
Speaker 2: By the way, that's that's one. You just brought him
up as a general manager. Like, there are going to
be some opportunities here for front office officials from different
teams who might be you know, just waiting for their turn.
That's interesting as well. They're going to be more you know,
executive jobs available. That's cool.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean sure it's going to be more figure
out more games for us and teams for us to
cover will be excellent too.
Speaker 3: So oh, Dad even thought about that. You would be
r when you're given a kind of assignment, you'll have
to add two more teams.
Speaker 2: Oh no, I think Katie, that'll be his age forty season,
A little biting.
Speaker 1: I think he's I think he's going to be on
the Sonics. I think he's there.
Speaker 2: Can we please not be so pc when it comes
to like nicknames instead of it being like family friendly,
fun fun. It's not like Las Vegas is a city
where shit gets fucked up, right, Like, you get fucked up,
you lose your life saving.
Speaker 3: It's a city of sins, right, that's what you call it.
City of sins.
Speaker 2: Like if it's painted like in this positive way, it's
just gonna be it's gonna feel inauthentic. It just needs
to lean into something that's you know, messed up, instead
of it being like, oh, this is a family place
for every.
Speaker 1: It's not homia for instance, that is not unnecessarily morbid.
Speaker 2: Like I don't know, but just like it, I would
just like to lean into something of that city because look,
it's first and foremost I know that there is like
a whole what do you call it, like a suburbia
developing in Las Vegas now, like people are actually finding
careers and living there full time, and it's there are
certainly avenues of Las Vegas. That's become quite magnificent. But
the entire history of the city is loaded with you know,
the mob, with money, with everything that is, you know,
you know, catch my drift, your sinful. I'm putting that
in quote Station Marks. I would just love for the
league which pivot away from the Washington Bullets, you know,
like they pivot away from all these very controversial nicknames,
lean into something that is dareful, daring, something that's that
encapsulates Las Vegas better instead of just like, yeah, oh
cart game something reference if you catch my drift.
Speaker 1: I do think it's gonna end up being just like
the Royals or the.
Speaker 2: Right, like that's excellent, excellent, com like that, and that's
I would hate that. I would hate that, like the Royals,
Las Vegas Royals. Oh my god, give me a break.
Speaker 1: Do you I'm so do you have any like when
I guess I'm just like, what what do you want
the trouble Vegas blackouts or something like to be blackout?
Speaker 2: I don't, Okay, that would actually be fucking amix, that
would I would love that. Now you just pushed that
ahead of the curve. For me, that would be amazing.
Like the Las Vegas drunk drunk asses like no, but
like something that just encapsulated the city. I just don't
think it's and the history of the city, like the
what's the in w MBC the aces right right right?
So card game, can you really duplicate that?
Speaker 1: I do feel like if the Kings weren't taken, they
just be the Las Vegas Kings at that point, I
think it's just gonna be something related to the city.
Speaker 2: But that's the thing I think that's I think that's
a coward way out. I mean again, I'm not.
Speaker 1: I don't necessarily disagree with you, but when you can't
give me, like an example, we're not gonna call them
like the Las Vegas like I don't know, go gos.
Speaker 2: No, no, not not after Magic Night, for damn sure.
Or what was the Magic City. I don't even know
Magic City Night? Uh that yeah, for sure. But my
point is just I get what you're saying.
Speaker 1: I don't want to see a cop out name either
to be the Las Vegas Spades or Diamonds like or.
I don't think they would call them the They wouldn't
call them the flush, would they No?
Speaker 3: No, too many jokes.
Speaker 1: They might they might not call them the Royals either,
just because the MLB has the Royals, so maybe they
wouldn't call them that.
Speaker 2: Also, do the do the Kings that still hold copyright
over that like the Royals because they.
Speaker 1: Do anything of that? I don't. I have no honestly
have no idea I would to get on the zach
Low train, like let's let's finally get the swamp dragons
to happen. Has no relation. Yes, that's that's different from yours.
Has no relation to this, But.
Speaker 3: That's cool though.
Speaker 2: I can go behind that because I just I don't
want the cop out thing, like the Toronto Raptures. How
does that make any sense? It does not amazing, it's amazing,
but it doesn't make any sense. That was like a
Jurassic Park rep friends that got in there, like the
Utah Jazz. Come on, there's I know that was like
adopted because they moved the team and they kept the nickname.
But like there's no point in that. See this now
we're talking about something like it has to be either
completely unrelated to anything and just freaking random, or it
has to be a genuine part of like the sinful
citiness of Las Vegas. It can't be a cop out thing.
You have to go swamp dragons for the win. By
the way, I would love that, the Las Vegas swamp Dragons.
Speaker 1: I you know what I like, I kind of like
the Las Vegas Blackouts.
Speaker 3: The blackouts, yeah.
Speaker 1: Because that doesn't have to mean that. But yeah, there'll
be too many jokes. It just better not be it
just it's good. I think it's gonna be an obvious
reference to casino gaming, right, and I'm not And.
Speaker 2: You can't call it the strip because then you're back
at the whole magic.
Speaker 1: City thing and we're not at the point where it
would be like I don't know, like the Las Vegas
Odds Busters or the Las vegae Oh my, like the
Las Vegas Draft Kings or something.
Speaker 2: Could you imagine after everything that has gone down, that
they lean into the gambling. Oh, that would be the
biggest own goal in human history.
Speaker 1: I just but you know what I think would be
the most cliche go far, maybe not the most cliche
possible name, but the Las Vegas wild Cards.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that that just feels like that would be caught
in mediocrity, right, Yeah, the wild Cards on the plane.
That's yeah, I don't hate this one Las Vegas long Shots.
Speaker 1: They would never call a team that though.
Speaker 2: That's kind of no, no, no, no, that's that's just
putting a depression on the players.
Speaker 3: Well you're now a long shot.
Speaker 2: Well you're your last Vegas long shot. No. I really
need to think about this. Like my point with the
Tupac thing and all the thing, like it's just leaning
into the ugliness of it. That's kind of my point,
because I think there's something beautiful about leaning into your
history even though it's wildly messed up, like just wildly
messed up. But you can't call it the Las Vegas
Mobs either, because that's just way too oppressive. I just
want something that makes a little bit more sense and
is just not a complete boring ass cop out.
Speaker 1: I would be on board for something even if I
gets it's a little bit of a cliche if there's
some alliteration in there, so either if the nickname starts
with an L or a V nickname, yeah, like the
Las Vegas Luminaries is Stupid's long shots would have fit
that Las Vegas Vulcans, I'd sign up for that.
Speaker 3: Yeh.
Speaker 2: I think I'm so far because I don't feel like
I can find that right angle. I think I'm on
your point of view of going with something also that
just makes no sense, just that something that's completely unrelated
to something completely I.
Speaker 1: Think we both doesn't agreement. Hopefully it's not just a
nod to like like high rollers or slots or diamond
or spades or exactly.
Speaker 2: And that's kind of my point of it all. I
just don't want that to be generic. Like, if you're
gonna go with two franchises, which is what we're talking
about here, you've got to return the SuperSonics to its glory,
and you've got to come up with something fresh for
Las Vegas, you really do and.
Speaker 1: Or revive swamp dragons and wall swamp dragons, the Las
Vegas Vampire squids, I would immediately sold.
Speaker 3: I am so vampire. Yeah, there we go.
Speaker 1: We figured it out your welcome world.
Speaker 3: Yeah, ye, and it was. It was a little uncomfortable,
that's fair.
Speaker 2: But like understand my drift here, something that leans into something.
Speaker 1: Nasty again, You've just yet to give me a good exing.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I know, I don't. I don't know. It's fair.
Speaker 1: God that his rails. Let's see if will they do that?
Speaker 3: No? No, no, no, they won't, No, they won't. What
are their college names? What is like, what is the
nickname of you and.
Speaker 1: LV Las Vegas Rebels actually with the running rebels actually
wouldn't be a bad.
Speaker 2: That's that's cool, Yeah, just like something along those lines,
like I might have to go look at like Las
Vegas nicknames for sports teams at the collegiate level and
see what if I could about.
Speaker 1: Road runners I'm trying to think of realist I wouldn't
want to name them the road runners.
Speaker 3: We're trying to think of like no, no.
Speaker 1: But that's the most innocuous your.
Speaker 2: Merits because they're always like road runner, like he's always
in the goddamn desert, right, yeah, Wiley coyote, that's in
the desert.
Speaker 1: Honestly, the real question here is one, why isn't it
going to be vampires quids? And we don't have an answer,
gree because there's no good. But two is what version
of the gambling? Not is it we're gaming?
Speaker 2: Not?
Speaker 1: Is it gonna be they have they already did it,
Like we have proof of concept here with the Las
Vegas Aces. I would personally be fairly shocked if it's
not something that's just adjacent to that I be so boring. Yeah,
I don't. I don't have a good name. Okay, but
my guess is the reason I probably haven't spent enough
time thinking about is it felt like this was just
fata complete out. We'll get the sonics, which it should.
We should to be clear, that's that's also a kick
ass name is the Super Si Super. And then I've
just always assumed that if there was a team in
Las Vegas that it would be some type of like
casino floor relation that theme.
Speaker 3: Man, I just.
Speaker 1: About the skyline, Las Vegas skyline, I wouldn't be a
terrible one.
Speaker 2: Oh no, that like because that's that is a genuine acid.
Speaker 3: I like that. That's nice.
Speaker 2: Lights like that, A lot of lights like That's immediately
what you think of in terms of a skyline.
Speaker 3: It's it's open. I don't hate that.
Speaker 2: It's a little generic, but at least it it's not
something like gambling related.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so we'll have to wait and see. Do you
want to tell people where they could find you and
all the work that you do more?
Speaker 2: Yes, So if you want to hear more about the
Las Vegas Vampire Vampire squits, apparently.
Speaker 1: That's what they'll be known as need we need an
ownership group that has the guts.
Speaker 3: Yeah, to just do it.
Speaker 2: You can listen to the NBA podcast and read my
stuff over at Yahoo Sports. If you're Danish or understand Danish,
you can catch from calling games on HBO Max or
listen to my podcast.
Speaker 1: Post review until next time, and as always, boot the
shout out to the one, the only, the indelible, mister
Frank hila Quina.