It seems inevitable that Seattle and Las Vegas will receive expansion franchises in the near future, but what if I tell you that Reno may be a candidate in place of the latter?
It is no secret that the NBA prefers to have new teams in places that previously had no pro sports - Oklahoma City and Orlando come to mind. And when looking at Vegas, the market is already rather saturated: the NHL's Golden Knights, the NFL's Raiders, and the WNBA's Aces, with MLB's Athletics on their way soon pending league approval.
Well, Seattle obviously gets a pass because of the Supersonics, but other than hosting the Summer League, Vegas does not have much NBA history. And does the league really want to play second fiddle or worse to those franchises above?
By contrast, Reno may obviously be smaller, but it has a decent enough population and grassroots program in the University of Nevada campus to work. It also has some underrated marketing appeal - it could be easily be marketed as the team of the Tahoe.
Does this sound like a good idea? Let me know in the comments!
Mexico City? It may be a large city, but do players want to live where very few people speak English?
Reno would still be a better choice.