NBA Realignment

Having done NHL and MLB realignments (along with MLS realignment), it would be fitting to do one for the NBA. Imagine a time where Adam Silver and the league eventually caves in and gives Seattle the Supersonics back through expansion. The people rejoice, Squatch makes his long-heralded return, and old-school NBA enthusiasts are thrilled. However, the league needs one more team to balance things out. A team in the Eastern Conference would bring the balance back to 16 teams apiece. How would this look?

Western Conference:
California Division:

• Golden State Warriors
  
• Los Angeles Clippers
  
• Los Angeles Lakers
  
• Sacramento Kings
  

Northwest Division

• Denver Nuggets
  
• Portland Trail Blazers
  
• Seattle Supersonics
  
• Utah Jazz
  

Southwest Division

• Dallas Mavericks
  
• Houston Rockets
  
• Phoenix Suns
  
• San Antonio Spurs
  

Plains Division

• Memphis Grizzlies
  
• Minnesota Timberwolves
  
• New Orleans Pelicans
  
• Oklahoma City Thunder
  

Eastern Conference
Southeast Division

• Atlanta Hawks
  
• Charlotte Hornets
  
• Miami Heat
  
• Orlando Magic
  

Central Division

• Chicago Bulls
  
• Indiana Pacers
  
• Louisville Colonels/Detroit Pistons
  
• Milwaukee Bucks
  

North Division

• Cleveland Cavaliers
  
• Detroit Pistons/Pittsburgh expansion team
  
• Toronto Raptors
  
• Washington Wizards/Philadelphia 76ers
  

Atlantic Division

• Boston Celtics
  
• Brooklyn Nets
  
• New York Knicks
  
• Philadelphia 76ers/Washington Wizards
  

The Western Conference was fairly easy to set up. There were some disparities over Minnesota having to constantly travel south in their division, but all teams in the Plains division are in the same time zone as the Timberwolves are. The deepest division in the Western Conference by today's standards is either the California division or the Northwest division. As for the Eastern Conference, it was a bit more difficult to set up because of where the next expansion team would go. If it would up in Louisville, the Colonels (the presumed named) would be in the Central division. If the expansion team wound up in Pittsburgh, Detroit would go to the Central division and the 76ers would wind up in the same division as the new Pittsburgh team due to the in-state rivalry. As for the best division in the conference, it's a tough debate and is completely based on the set-up. The North division would be the best if it had the Pittsburgh team since they would have both Toronto and Philadelphia. The Atlantic would be the best if the Louisville team were to be erected because the Atlantic division would have Boston and Philadelphia. You can also make the case that the Central division is the best with Milwaukee and Indiana in the division (and even Detroit if Pittsburgh were an expansion team).

NBA expansion seems like it is years away. However, it's never too early to speculate on scenarios of expansion in the league. Who knows, the Supersonics may return sooner than later, too.