Who says Shams Charania can only drop bombshell news during the summer and trade season? The ESPN insider had a major report on Tuesday regarding a looming decision on NBA expansion.
Charania reported, "The NBA will hold a vote at the board of governors meetings next week to explore adding expansion teams exclusively in Las Vegas and Seattle, sources told ESPN, with the two new franchises being targeted to start play in the 2028-29 season."
The NBA's top insider added that either the Minnesota Timberwolves or Memphis Grizzlies would be expected to move to the Eastern Conference to make room for a 32-team league that had Las Vegas and Seattle joining the West. So, how exactly would that look?
Here’s one idea on how the NBA divisions and conferences might look when Las Vegas and Seattle are added. pic.twitter.com/AfFXPIo0pz
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) March 16, 2026
One idea being floated since the news broke is splitting the 32 teams into four-team divisions based on the geography. In this hypothetical, the Timberwolves are the team that heads to the East. Meanwhile, the new division for the Los Angeles Lakers would feature them alongside the new franchise in Vegas, the Los Angeles Clippers, and Phoenix Suns. What a gift that would be.
NBA expansion could hand the Lakers an easy division title ever year
It is important to note these theorized changes would not take effect until 2028-29. Even so, this would be a pretty great set-up for the Lakers if the lines were carved exactly as pictured above.
Look at the teams Los Angeles gets handed on a silver platter to be in their division.
Vegas, like any new franchise, would take a while to get off the ground. Assuming Adam Silver does a sufficient job at creating the terms for a fair expansion draft, it would take them a good amount of time to get up to real competitive standards.
Then, there's the Clippers and Suns. Both of those franchises are ones who are not exactly stockpiled with future assets to stay relevant or rebuild when necessary. That comes before mentioning the Kawhi Leonard-sized scandal still awaiting its fallout.
The Lakers are not particularly loaded with what the Clippers and Suns do not have. However, they are far better equipped for the immediate and long-term future with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves positioned to keep them competitive moving forward.
In short, whatever schedule quirks are in place for added divisional matchups, the Lakers would be reaping the rewards of. No other competitive team would have the easy pathway to favorable matchups that they would.