Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban last week suggested that there be a conference realignment in the NBA that "would result in a total of eight teams, including the Mavs, switching conferences," according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN DALLAS. In Cuban's plan, the Mavs, Spurs, Rockets and Pelicans "would move to the Eastern Conference" while the Bulls, Pacers, Pistons and Bucks "would move to the West." Cuban: "I just think it shakes things up and makes things interesting. ... It's not like you're reducing competition. You keep Cleveland, Washington and other good teams in the East. It kind of shakes things up in terms of not just interest but also in terms of how people rebuild." Cuban "has not discussed his idea, which he hatched during a media interview Wednesday, with the commissioner or anyone else in the NBA" (ESPNDALLAS.com, 11/26). In L.A., Mark Heisler wrote if the NBA considers realignment, "all 15 West teams may try to go East," as the current imbalance "is worse than it looks in the standings." Here is how "bad it is: In the East, the Lakers would be regarded as a down-on-their-luck also-ran... and a dark horse playoff contender" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 11/30).
CALLIN' CAP: In San Diego, Ivan Carter wrote the NBPA and its "take-no-mess" Exec Dir Michele Roberts "must push for a radical change to the way the league does business." Go ahead and "keep the current rookie contract structure, which gives teams from all markets a chance to draft and retain top talent" and "split all television and merchandising revenue evenly." But either "ditch or drastically raise, the salary cap" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 11/30).
SUPPLY & D-MAND: In Indiana, Justin Cohn noted it is "no secret that the NBA wants to go to a 30-for-30 development model; one D-League team for every NBA team." Every D-League team other than the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants "is now either owned by an NBA team or is in a hybrid relationship." Thirteen NBA teams "haven’t yet gone down that road," which is "indicative of not every NBA team yet being ready to commit the money and personnel to the NBA’s 30-for-30 minor-league plan." NBA D-League President Malcolm Turner "wouldn’t put a timeline on how long it will take for the D-League to reach its goal of 30 teams" (FT. WAYNE JOURNAL-GAZETTE, 11/28).
