The NBA is on the verge of expansion, but not everybody agrees that the league is ready. For basketball legend Tracy McGrady, the best outcome is not to add new teams, but rather to replace or reshuffle some already existing franchises. In a chat on ‘Cousins,’ the former Orlando Magic star explained his take on the topic of expansion, and why the NBA is not ready for such a major step.
“We don’t have the talent to be trying to start two more teams,” said McGrady. “Now, can we take two teams away and add two teams? To still stay at 30. I’m saying keep it at 30.”
Adding two NBA teams from scratch is not a simple task. The process involves a lot of steps, including a potential expansion draft that could restructure the NBA hierarchy. Still, in Tracy’s eyes, there’s not nearly enough depth to support 32 teams. Adding that many more roster spots would essentially water down the NBA talent pool, lowering the quality of the games for everyone. His fellow basketball icon, Vince Carter, meanwhile, disagrees. He supports expansion now and wants to see talent more evenly spread.
“I’m all for it, honestly. I feel like if we do that, it can go back to the old NBA, where you don’t get to click up because now you can take a superstar and kind of spread them to their own squad, and you hold it down like we had to do,” said Carter. “I like that. Here is my question. [The superstars] want to team up? Here is an opportunity to fix that while this is happening. The league right now needs to be restructured. The introduction of two new teams can fix some of that. Sit-downs need to happen, regardless, to change a lot of things. We talked about the 65 game rule, but I feel like back in the day, when you had a team, you felt a responsibility to carry the magic on your back because you were the guy.”
Fans have been clamouring for the NBA to spread into Seattle and Las Vegas for years now, and progress has been made toward granting those requests. It would increase the game’s reach, add exciting cities to the NBA family, and spice up a format that’s been stagnant for years.
Still, it may be worth thinking about the potential downsides. The NBA schedule is already jammed packed, and adding two new teams would only stuff the slate further. More to McGrady’s point, why stretch out the talent in a league that’s still catching up? The better play would be to stop the count at 30 teams and keep the bar set high for NBA action.
Only time will tell which way the NBA leans, but Las Vegas is going to get a team somehow, especially with guys like LeBron James and other stars pushing for full ownership rights. Whether they are converted from an older team or sparked from something entirely new, the NBA must ensure they do this process right, or it could jeopardize the delicate balance of power.
