1. EXPANSION
I would propose that IF we do expand, here are the "built-in" FBB rules (with my suggested changes):
* There is an expansion draft in which the expansion team(s) select from players already under contract with other teams. Each team must expose at least one player under contract the following year to the expansion draft. Each teams may "protect" no more than seven players from the expansion draft.
* Teams are permitted to trade other assets (players/picks) to an expansion team in consideration for that team selecting (or refusing to select) an exposed player from their own squad.
* The expansion draft takes place prior to the rookie draft.
* The expansion team is in the draft lottery. By default, the expansion team is given the "best odds" to win the #1 overall pick as though it were the worst team in the league. (Wig's suggestion: just like the most recent real-life expansion teams, rule that an expansion team may not win a top-3 pick in the lottery their inaugural season; their first-round picks are moved down until out of the top 3).
2. RE-ALIGNMENT
Expansion gives us a perfect excuse to re-align the league from 2 divisions per conference to 3 or 4 divisions per conference. There are a number of ways we could go about this. Even if we don't expand, it might be of interest to look at re-alignment.
* If we have just one expansion team, use the "real" NBA divisions and assign teams that way. (The Thunder/Sonics still make sense in the Northwest). If it's just one team, do we move the Hornets back to Charlotte and add the "New Orleans Pelicans" or bring in the Charlotte Bobcats?
* Making our own divisions (for example, we could go away from the traditional Eastern/Western conference and slice things the other way to make a Northern/Southern Conference or do conferences that are geographically scattered across the country a la football's AFC/NFC and baseball's AL/NL). This would bust up some old rivalries, but it also gives us a chance to make new ones and if done every 25 seasons or so, could be a way of significantly refreshing the league on an occasional basis.
* We are about to start using fictional players from college. Is it time to allow fictional relocations and fictional team names as well? Not sure this will be very popular, especially because a lot of long-timers are now well-associated with their team names - but if there is ever a time to ask it is during this type of discussion.
So no real concrete suggestion here in part 2 yet, just trying to spark some discussion. I for one would love to "move" the Hawks to Manhattan to debut a team called the "Manhattan Project."
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