Why the NBA is going to expand to Mexico City

Marc Stein of The New York Times had a big piece on the NBA’s renewed interest in all things Mexico City this weekend.

Adam Silver pumps the brakes saying that the NBA is not currently considering expansion and that no teams are currently considering relocation, but the writing’s on the wall. Given Silver’s comments about Seattle and Mexico City over the past year or so, it’s pretty clear that within a couple of years the league will get very serious about moving to 32 teams.

The case for Seattle is obvious. But why Mexico City over Louisville, San Jose, Hampton Roads, Vancouver, Omaha, or Kansas City? Here are the three biggest reasons:

1. Money.

2. Money.

3. Money.

A major league pro franchise in Mexico City would mint money for the league in new fans, new sponsors, and new broadcast rights partners. It’s an incredible untapped market for the big American-based leagues. All leagues market to Latin Americans in various ways, especially Major League Soccer. But to actually put a team there would change everything.

The fourth valuable reason to focus on Mexico over the other contenders, and a point Stein discusses: It would supercharge basketball culture in Mexico. This is an underrated facet of the NBA’s expansion to Canada two decades ago. Even though the sport was invented by a Canadian, there were relatively few maple leafers in the league through the early decades. Now the NBA is crawling with Canadians.

You have to imagine that growing up with an NBA team of their own would lead Mexican kids to take greater interest in the sport, even if it will never challenge soccer for native supremacy.

SAC 93, TOR 108
ORL 110, DET 114
IND 109, BKN 97
CLE 106, WAS 99

SB Nation has an audience survey going. It’d be dope if you could respond!

Seerat Sohi talked to some of the best charge-drawers in the league in an effort to defend the beguiled defensive maneuver. I, too, think charges are worth keeping around the sport so long as they can be delivered safely and adjudicated correctly.

Paul Flannery on the mysterious, unknowable Denver Nuggets.

Back on Friday, the Sixers and Thunder had a masterpiece triple-overtime disaster flick of a game. Here are the 11 best moments from it. It was the first skirmish in a new petty war between Joel Embiid and Russell Westbrook.

Whitney Medworth’s B-Sides address the lobsters on Kyrie Irving’s shoes.

Lorenzen Wright’s ex-wife is the second person to be arrested and charged in the player’s homicide. This isn’t a complete shock to those who have been following the case closely, including Wright’s family.

LeBron James wore mismatched black-and-white shoes that read equality for the Cavaliers’ visit to D.C. on Sunday. LeBron discussed the rationale after the game. He also proved to be an equal opportunity arse-kicker by sticking a triple-double on the Wizards in a(nother) Cleveland win.

Somehow, there is audio of what LeBron said to Lonzo Ball on Thursday. It was ... pretty normal and I’m not sure why LeBron was so secretive?

One of Hungary’s most decorated athletes — swimmer Katinka Hosszu — is a huge LeBron fan.

One more on LeBron: Listen to him wax on Larry Bird.

Wait...does Domantas Sabonis have the poster of the year so far?

DeMarcus Cousins believes he is not being treated fairly by officials.

We owe some of Ben Simmons’ basketball genius to Aussie rules football.

Natalie Weiner on the #MeToo movement and sports is well worth reading and ruminating on.

This is a genius story by Yaron Weitzman to talk to NBA players about their AIM memories. Joakim Noah, always clutch.

Shams Charania reports that Isaiah Thomas is hoping to return to action in the first week of January, which is soon! Without Isaiah, the Cavaliers are 1 1/2 games out of the No. 1 seed and are 18-1 since Veteran’s Day.

Mon dieu! After the Jazz survived Rudy Gobert’s last injury absence with aplomb, he’s out again for a month.

Alex Wong on the Supreme takeover of the NBA.

Carmelo Anthony returned to New York on Saturday. He did not expect Michael Beasley to ruin it. No one ever expects Michael Beasley. Melo’s case for how he wants to be remembered as a Knick seemed totally fair, though.

Kevin Hart’s impersonation of Shaq on SNL is something.

Will Barton’s cologne works 60 percent of the time every time.

The Lakers are retiring Kobe Bryant’s jerseys (yes, plural) on Monday. A Minnesota Viking celebrated this fact by hitting a turnaround fadeaway after a touchdown Sunday.

NBA TV has two games on Monday: Celtics-Pacers at 7 p.m. ET and Warriors-Lakers at 10:30. Full schedule here.

Be excellent to each other.