Over the last few years, the Memphis Grizzlies have been a rising power in the NBA, and while they may not be true championship contenders, they will certainly be difficult to deal with this coming season.
They have played in Memphis dating back to the 2001-02 season, and the community there has embraced the team and NBA basketball in general ever since.
There seems to be a good chance the league will add at least one team in the near future, and while most attention regarding an expansion team is focused on Seattle and Las Vegas, some have also mentioned Nashville as a potential candidate.
Former NBA player Evan Turner says that instead of adding a new team, the NBA should just move the Grizzlies a few hours away to Nashville, via “The Old Man and the Three” and Legion Hoops.
Evan Turner on NBA expansion:
“Take the Grizzlies out of Memphis, and put the team in Nashville.”
(via @OldManAndThree, https://t.co/MsCLoGVKxM) pic.twitter.com/DkCwhT5dCP
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) September 22, 2023
Like Memphis, Nashville is a town known for music, especially country music, and it is already the home of two major pro sports teams: the Tennessee Titans and the Nashville Predators.
It has been nearly 20 years since the NBA added a new team, and one challenge with adding a new team is the fact that doing so dilutes the talent pool across the league.
The level of talent may have never been this plentiful for the league, so perhaps it could get away with adding a team, or even two.
In their early years, the Grizzlies, like most expansion franchises, were a laughingstock, but they quickly reached respectability in the mid-2000s, and by the early 2010s, they were becoming a fixture in the NBA playoffs.
For this coming season, they have brought in former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, who will team up with Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and sharpshooter Luke Kennard to give them an amazing four-guard rotation.
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