NBA Realignment

[Greenblood94]

The NBA has announced it will realign into six divisions of five teams each for the 2004-05 season, when the Charlotte Bobcats become the league's 30th team. There will still be eight teams from each conference going to the playoffs; like the NHL, the division winners will get the top three seeds, and then the teams with the five best records after that will qualify for the playoffs.

I love practicing "realigning" pro teams into their "proper" geographic locations, so I've taken the liberty of helping the NBA out by projecting what the league might look like next year.

The NBA has already announced that New Orleans will move to the West, with Charlotte playing in the East, so, with that in mind, and without swapping any other teams between conferences, here's my take:

Current Alignment

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics

Miami Heat

New Jersey Nets

New York Knicks

Orlando Magic

Philadelphia 76ers

Washington Wizards

Central Division

Atlanta Hawks

Chicago Bulls

Cleveland Cavaliers

Detroit Pistons

Indiana Pacers

Milwaukee Bucks

New Orleans Hornets

Toronto Raptors

Western Conference

Midwest Division

Dallas Mavericks

Denver Nuggets

Houston Rockets

Memphis Grizzlies

Minnesota Timberwolves

San Antonio Spurs

Utah Jazz

Pacific Division

Golden State Warriors

Los Angeles Clippers

Los Angeles Lakers

Phoenix Suns

Portland Trail Blazers

Sacramento Kings

Seattle Supersonics

2004 Alignment

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics

New Jersey Nets

New York Knicks

Philadelphia 76ers

Toronto Raptors

Central Division

Chicago Bulls

Cleveland Cavaliers

Detroit Pistons

Indiana Pacers

Milwaukee Bucks

Southeast Division

Atlanta Hawks

Charlotte Bobcats

Miami Heat

Orlando Magic

Washington Wizards

Western Conference

Midwest Division

Dallas Mavericks

Houston Rockets

Memphis Grizzlies

New Orleans Hornets

San Antonio Spurs

Pacific Division

Golden State Warriors

Los Angeles Clippers

Los Angeles Lakers

Phoenix Suns

Sacramento Kings

Northwest Division

Denver Nuggets

Minnesota Timberwolves

Portland Trail Blazers

Seattle Supersonics

Utah Jazz

The East was very easy, the West had one quirk in Minnesota and Memphis. Putting Minnesota in the Northwest might seem odd, but the Texas teams and New Orleans were a natural together, and keeping Minnesota with them sticks Memphis way out by its lonesome, so the T-Wolves get the Northwest. Until someone moves out West, this is about the best the NBA could do. It will be interesting to see if this is indeed the alignment they adopt.