Despite some complaints that the NBA has too many teams, it seems inevitable that the league will eventually expand in the future. Why? Because there are simply too many reasons not to at this point. After all, with recent NBA teams selling for as much as $4 billion, adding two new franchises would allow the existing owners to split the revenue among themselves.
That gives the owners plenty of incentive to vote for expansion when the time comes. The players would get theirs too, but not all at once. Instead, they’d see it in the form of basketball-related income, which is split 50/50 between the players and the NBA and helps determine the salary cap.
Way #1: More player movement in free agency.
The NBA generated around $8.9 billion last season, and that figure will definitely rise once the NBA agrees to a new TV contract. That means the salary cap will continue to increase rapidly. Therefore, by adding two new teams, the basketball-related income will be divided evenly and then divided again among 32 teams, rather than just 30.
This helps slow down the salary cap increases. Just eight years ago, the cap stood at $70 million, but now it will be $124 million next season, so that would definitely help the owners. However, it would help the players too, since it would mean there’d be more money spread around.
More teams mean more options for free agents, and that would lead to an increase in player movement (which is already at an all-time high). That could also make it harder for good teams to retain their key free agents, possibly leading to increased parity in the NBA.