Why you’re hearing rumors of a Grizzlies move to Eastern Conference

Rumors have been swirling in recent days about the Memphis Grizzlies being on the move to the Eastern Conference sometime in the near future.

You might have missed why this has been coming up in some circles and there’s an easy explanation.

A few days ago, Willie Ramirez, a reporter with the Associated Press, tweeted (and quickly deleted) some information suggesting the NBA will announce two expansion teams in October during the preseason.

It’s been widely speculated that the NBA will award a team to Seattle (replacing the SuperSonics that left for Oklahoma City in 2008) and to Las Vegas if and when it expands.

How NBA expansion would impact the Memphis Grizzlies

This would create two extra teams in the Western Conference and create an imbalance in the conferences.

The NBA would almost certainly have to realign its divisions and conferences in a total restructuring of the league.

The Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, or New Orleans Pelicans would be the most logical candidates to be considered for a move to the Eastern Conference to help retail an equal number of teams in each conference.

Having the Grizzlies in the Eastern Conference would not only mean an increase in earlier tip-offs (as The Daily Memphian points out), but it could also create a little bit of an easier travel schedule with fewer trips out to the west coast.

It’s unclear how the league might redraw its hypothetical new divisions, how it might dilute the talent on teams, or how they might adjust to having 32 teams instead of 30.

Why would the league add two new teams? Well, it reportedly lost a ton of cash during the pandemic and having more teams creates even more content for a league that thrives on content— whether it be supplying games for its television partners or reaching fans on social media with highlights and sound bites. Expansion might even help the league boost its negotiating power in its next media rights talks.

One thing to consider is the likely impact an expansion draft would have on the Grizzlies. They would likely only be able to protect so many players and could lose players for absolutely nothing.

But these are all things to consider if the leaguer ever does make the announcement. At this point, it’s all conjecture. Until we hear from the league directly on this, don’t count on the Grizzlies moving to the East any time soon.