NBA expansion is on the horizon after owners voted in approval of taking bids for two potential new franchises in Seattle and Las Vegas.
While Seattle and Vegas are next in line for a new team, Nashville has become a city that both the NBA and MLB have taken a recent interest in. The NBA already has a team in Tennessee with the Memphis Grizzlies, but after LeBron James recently called for the team to be moved to Nashville (and laid out his personal gripes), questions around the Grizzlies’ future in Memphis have picked up considerably.
On Wednesday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed that speculation and stated that the Grizzlies moving out of Memphis is not something that’s on the table currently — but he did confirm the NBA’s desire to have a footprint in Nashville and noted Memphis could play “a few games” in Nashville to become “Tennessee’s team.”
“Well, first of all, players I talk to all the time like playing in Memphis. I’ve never heard that issue of players not wanting to be in Memphis, so No. 1,” Silver said. “No. 2, the owner of the Memphis Grizzlies, a guy named Robert Pera, has no interest in moving the team out of Memphis. He’s made that clear. I think … Nashville is a city on the rise. There’s incredible things happening there. You know, if it were up to me, I’d love for them to play a few games a year in Nashville and sort of be Tennessee’s team to the extent they can. But Memphis has been a great market historically for the NBA. Amazing history in that city, amazing culture, and it’s a big country. So as I look out at our 30 teams, we want teams to be able to do well everywhere. We have a revenue-sharing system, etc., but from my standpoint, there’s no reason why the Memphis Grizzlies can’t be successful.”
It’s an interesting answer because Silver both affirms Memphis’ place as a market the NBA believes in, but also teased the NBA’s desire to make inroads in Nashville — potentially by having the Grizzlies play occasionally across the state.
Despite the fact that Silver confirmed ownership’s desire to remain in Memphis, his comments on wanting some games in Nashville will undoubtedly ruffle some feathers of fans in Memphis.
It wouldn’t be unprecedented for an NBA team to play a few times in another nearby city, as the San Antonio Spurs have done something similar with nearby Austin to tap into that burgeoning market as well. That said, any time a team starts pulling home games to play elsewhere, fans will get anxious about the potential for losing their beloved team to a new city that perhaps has a bit more shine — and could try to entice a move via promises of public funds for a new arena.
It seems the Grizzlies’ immediate future in Memphis is secure — in spite of LeBron’s wishes — but it’ll be worth monitoring whether the team makes any effort to tap into the Nashville market with some regular-season visits that would make Silver and the NBA happy.
