Are the Vancouver Hornets in the making?

Yes, I agree with Nashville but wonder how much of their sports dollar is taken away from the Titans and... maybe the Predators. I do think the celebs would show up courtside for an NBA team.

That is also the same reason I actually think Louisville would work as an NBA town. People there love basketball and Louisville has enough "showy" people in town to support it.

I neglected to mention Utah but they are in there as well for a market that is small but supports. They didn't draw well until 1985 or 1986 but, again, SLC has affluent demographics. It ain't Memphis.

 

The no one went to games thing is complete BS. Of course by the end when Heisley took over and people knew they were leaving attendance was not great, but after years of that product it wouldn't have been great in most markets. They were fucked from the minute Stern had them hire Stu Jackson, it might have been the worst product the NBA has ever put on the court. Fan support was fine and was better than what they are getting in Memphis. Low Canadian dollar and poor management did them in. Basketaball is very popular with the youth here, very popular.

The landscape in Vancouver has changed as well, there is a hell of a lot more coporate money in Vancouver than there was the first time the Grizzlies were here.

I use to love going to games, but I wouldn't even want them back. You get tired of hearing ignorant asses complain thinking they are moving to Alaska, not 2 hours from Seattle.

 

Louisville definitely has the love of basketball, but I wonder if too much of that sports dollar during hoops season is already being spent going to Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State, Indiana, Cincy and Xavier games (I'm sure there are other teams that the locals follow... WKU? Purdue? Notre Dame?) to properly support a NBA team. I don't know.

Charlotte, which I think is comparable to Louisville, hasn't done very well with NBA teams either.

 

Since the 1978-79 Sonics championship, only 82-83 76ers and the 05-06 Heat have won a championship without winning a second one.
Lakers, Celtics, Bulls, Spurs and Pistons all have won at least 3 titles in the last 31 years. And the Lakers and Celtics did it with completely different teams, first and last.

Contract half the league for 5 years and then expand it, slowly, allowing teams a clean slate. Too many teams are weighed down by a few stupid decisions that haunt them for a decade or more.

Knicks should be contracted for allowing Isaiah Thomas near Penn Station

 

Stern mentioned a slew of cities that could get a team in Simmons' podcast the other day. Can't remember them all, though. St. Louis, Tampa/St. Pete, Cincy, and a few others.

 

I've always been surprised that St. Louis doesn't have a NBA team.

 

Tulsa has a budget arena. Not up to NBA standards. Heck, OKC's arena isn't done with upgrades.

 

Not the NBA, unless they can lure the Thunder up the turnpike. And I doubt we'll see the NHL expand into the Sun Belt further for a while, considering the recent financial difficulties of the Stars, Coyotes and Predators.

 

If the whole celebrity glamour thing held water, the Hawks should be in great shape. Instead they do a terrible job capitalizing on a market that actually follows the NBA - just not them.

 

Question for someone who might know, because I don't.

Oklahoma City draws incredibly well at home. Is this because of Durant or because the area loves hoops and is just glad to have a team?

I use the Kings as a comparison because they drew like crazy in the late 80s and early 90s when they were awful, and when they got good, it was one of the toughest tickets in the NBA. Now that they're bad again, they're not drawing at all.

 

Do the Hawks draw? I've just always thought that with a few exceptions, the city has the worst professional fans in the country, at least for a city with all four major pro teams.

I went to a Thrashers game several years ago where the stadium might have been a third full. I walked up to the ticket counter for a Braves playoff game and bought four very good seats on the day of the game. I know the Falcons did well when Vick was there are and are probably better now with a pretty good team there.

The hawks have a good team, they should be drawing well.

 

Charlotte was the gold standard for attendance for much of the Hornets' run. Between trading all their big names for magic beans, the sexual assault claim against Shinn and the constant threats of moving the team killed the region's enthusiam for the Hornets dead. The Bobcats are averaging a tick under 16,000 this season; not super great by any standards but certainly not the worst in the league, and if they have a run of fortune on-court, that would help.