Another Damn Seattle Supersonics Dynasty

[RolePlayer]

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For the past year, there have been rumblings about the NBA possibly expanding to 32 teams due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 virus which led to the bubble and the shortened 2020-21 season. Apart from the additional expenses and decreased revenue due to fewer televised games and ticket sales, numerous team owners, including Tilman Fertitta of the Houston Rockets, also experienced negative impacts on their non-NBA businesses. Expansion has been contemplated as an option to swiftly reinject funds into the league and its owners.

In March, NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced that expansion would be on the table at the next board of governors meeting. Since then, there has been a whirlwind of speculation on which direction the vote would go. Some have reported a potential inner Texas divide. Prior to Silver's announcement, Mark Cuban had been publicly against expansion, stating on the Bill Simmons podcast it's "short-sighted." Meanwhile on Twitter, the Athletic's Shams Charania reported that Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta and San Antonio Spurs owner Peter J. Holt were allegedly major proponents of expansion.

Today we finally got our answer, it was announced that the board of governors voted 23-7 in favor of expanding the NBA to 32 teams starting in 2023-24. That number is important because it is the exact number, which is required for the vote to pass. This came as a surprise as many reporters had believed that the vote would fall short. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported today that several owners decided to support expansion at the last minute after agreements were made to modify the NBA's expansion rules to make them much tougher on the incoming expansion teams.

In a press conference announcing the results of the vote this morning, Adam Silver told the media, "This is an exciting time for the league and its fans. It's been close to twenty years since we last expanded, and we are ecstatic to bring in two new franchises to the league."

When asked about how the expansion process will play out, Silver stated, "We have already been investigating potential expansion locations. In the coming weeks, we will begin to hold discussions with potential governors."

Although the NBA has not made an official statement, it is anticipated that the cost for the two new expansion teams will exceed that of any previous NBA expansion. It's no secret Las Vegas and Seattle are the favorites to land the two new expansion teams, but Mexico City, Vancouver, Louisville, and Montreal are also likely in the running.

[RolePlayer]

This dynasty will be operating off an alternative history, where following the 72-game shortened 2020-2021 season the NBA decided to expand to 32 teams to offset the financial losses related to COVID-19. This was something that was somewhat rumored at the time and Adam Silver even once spoke about it.

The dynasty will begin at the start of the 2023-2024 season, all NBA history up until that point will be the same, however, the rosters will be as they currently are in March of 2024. Lore wise any moves that happened during the real-life season, will be reported as occurring during the offseason.

System Information and Set Up:
System/Game: NBA2k24, PC
Rosters: March 2024 NBA2k Official rosters
Difficulty: Superstar with custom sliders
Quarter Length: 9 Minutes

House Rules:

I gain some inspiration for this dynasty from Marshdaddy's amazing "Golden Era" dynasty. While I won't move at quite the pace their dynasty does, I want this dynasty to cover many seasons. Due to this, I plan to play only 15-20 games each regular season, I will however, play every playoff game.

To realistically simulate the finding of diamond in the rough players that often occurs on expansion teams, I will give myself the right to slightly modify the attributes of one potentially two low overall players from the team in it's first season. I won't turn a 72 overall player into Lebron James, but may for instance bump them up to a 77 overall if they outperform their overall. This way I can keep some continuity and not have to replace someone just because their overall is low.

[studbucket]

Love The Ringer formatting, and good work making it look good without making all of it an image - kudos.

Have fun with this, excited to see another dynasty from you RP.

[RolePlayer]

Quote: Originally Posted by studbucket

Love The Ringer formatting, and good work making it look good without making all of it an image - kudos. Have fun with this, excited to see another dynasty from you RP.

Appreciate it, excited to be back, my schedule is still crazy right now but it's starting to slow down and I have time for posting on here again. I had debated heavily bringing back the Keon Reid dynasty which I love, but with my current setup switching between my PS3/PC back and forth made reporting dynasties a bit of a headache.

This concept for a dynasty has been something I've had in my head for years so I'm excited to finally do it.

[RolePlayer]

Supersonics fans celebrate at a watch party held at the Climate Pledge Arena.

We're Back: NBA Announces Expansion to Seattle and Las Vegas
January 5th, 2022

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NEW YORK -- The NBA Board of Governors has unanimously approved the expansion of the league to incorporate Seattle and Las Vegas. The Seattle franchise will be under the ownership of the current ownership group of the Seattle Kraken, led by David Bonderman, Jerry Bruckheimer, and Tod Leiweke. Meanwhile, Vegas billionaire Jay Bloom solely leads the new ownership group of the Las Vegas franchise. As part of its announcement, the NBA also disclosed the names of the two new franchises. Seattle will bring back the Supersonics name, while Las Vegas will be known as the Vegas Venom.

Almost fifteen years have passed since the departure of the Supersonics from Seattle. In anticipation of the likely announcement of the team's return, a watch party was held at the Climate Pledge Arena, the likely future arena for the team. As soon as the words "Seattle" came out of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver's mouth, the room erupted in cheers and applause along with some tears. Many fans had been waiting since the moment the team left for this day. The return of the team has sparked celebrations throughout the city. Today, nearly five hundred people gathered outside the arena; in other parts of the city, smaller celebrations occurred.

"It gives me great pleasure to welcome Seattle back into the NBA, we understand how passionate Sonics fans are and how long they have waited for this day,'' commissioner Adam Silver said.

On Twitter, the NBA revealed the new logo and jersey design for the Supersonics. It's a modern take on the original Supersonics colors and logo.

It has been reported that the NBA charged 2.5 billion dollars for each of the two new franchises, which represents a significant increase from the 300 million dollars that Bob Johnson paid to acquire the Bobcats in 2003.

Alongside Silver, new Sonics owners David Bonderman, Jerry Bruckheimer, and Tod Leiweke attended the press conference announcing the teams. In a statement, Tod Leiweke stated "We eagerly anticipate the establishment of an exceptional basketball franchise in collaboration with the city of Seattle and its esteemed fan base."

As the celebrations die down, David Bonderman, Jerry Bruckheimer, and Tod Leiweke will have to begin the real work of building that NBA franchise from the ground up. They have reportedly already hired a sports consulting firm to help with the initial hires. There isn't much time, however, the new Supersonics will play their first game in about a year and a half, joining the league for the 2023-24 NBA season.

[marshdaddy]

Excited to have you back in the fold! Looking forward to reading this and following along!

[JoshNormanMane]

Agreed with Marsh, glad to have you back as well!

It feels like a rite of passage to do a Sonics rebuild in 2k lol. That was the first ever rebuild I did that turned me onto the long-term dynasty format of MyLeague / MyNBA. I'm excited to see what you have in store!

[RolePlayer]

NBA Expansion Rules: Seattle and Las Vegas Face Most Challenging Expansion Process Yet

Anthony Slater March 10th, 2022

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NEW YORK --When it was initially announced the NBA would be expanding to 32 teams, it was reported that a handshake deal was made between governors in support of expansion and those undecided that the incoming teams would face the toughest expansion process yet. We're starting to gather some of the details of what that process will look like.

The expansion draft is set to occur on August 1rst, 2023. Three significant changes will be enacted in compared to the Charlotte Bobcats' 2004 expansion. First, the Seattle Supersonics and Vegas Venom will not be included in the 2023 NBA draft. Historically, expansion teams were allocated a selection near the top of the draft. Second, NBA teams will be allowed to protect eleven players instead of the typical eight in previous expansions. Third, expansion teams will not be permitted to engage in free agency until after the expansion draft on August 1rst.

The specific relevant content for this request, if necessary, delimited with characters: These changes by design will make it difficult for the Vegas Venom and Seattle Supersonics' path to succeed early in the NBA. They will face a much more challenging journey to achieve relevance compared to previous expansion teams. The changes in the expansion process are primarily attributed to the debate around expansion, where many owners had reservations up until the final hours before the vote.

Despite the difficult road ahead there's much excitement in Seattle and Las Vegas. In Seattle, it's hard to walk for more than a minute without seeing a throwback Sonics jersey and in Vegas last week when the Vegas Venom opened their team store they sold out of several items within minutes.