NBA News: Mark Cuban Says Spurs, Mavericks, Rockets, Pelicans Should Move to Eastern Conference
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said that the National Basketball Association should consider realigning teams to balance the playing field between the Eastern and Western Conferences.
Cuban said in an interview that his Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets and the New Orleans Pelicans should move to the Eastern Conference, while the Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks should move to the Western Conference.
"Take teams that are currently in the central in the East, put them in the West," Cuban said via Dallas News. "I don't think it changes the travel, it doesn't change the considerations for the playoffs. And I think it shakes things up in terms of balance of power today but I think it makes things more interesting."
Cuban pointed out that the eight teams should switch conferences in order to address the lack of balance between the two conferences, with most NBA analysts saying that the Western Conference has been the much tougher conference over the past several years.
The Mavericks finished eighth last season in the West with their 49-33 record. If the Mavericks had been in East last season, they would have been seeded third in the playoffs and have enjoyed home court advantage in the opening round.
"It kind of shakes things up in terms of not just interest but also in terms of how people rebuild," Cuban said via ESPN. "It just changes things up and it changes the thought process of a lot of teams. It makes both conferences very competitive, at least for the short term and I think, based on the history of the teams, for the long term as well."
NBA commissioner Adam Silver previously said that he will also address the issue about the balance of power between the two conferences. Previous reports suggested that Silver will consider a 16-team playoff bracket where teams will be seeded based on their respective records without taking their conferences into consideration, but Cuban said that realignment is the most logical solution at this point.
"It's not like it'd be the first time we've ever realigned," Cuban said. "It's happened many times before, so there's precedent and I just think it shakes things up and makes things interesting."
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