Year: 2010

There have been rumors about an NBA team moving to Las Vegas for at least five years.  Those rumors are fueled again with talks of a deal being in place if Las Vegas builds a new arena for a team.

“We have an NBA team under contract,” Milam (Chris Milam, CEO of International Development Management LLC) said, declining to name the franchise. But the deal will take effect only if “other pieces of the puzzle fall into place: One of those pieces will be that a building (arena) is approved,” he said.

SB Nation looks at which team may be on the move.

Detroit Pistons: The Pistons are mentioned specifically in the article because Karen Davidson, the widow of the long-time owner Bill Davidson, has said the team is for sale. Detroit’s economy, of course, is getting killed, and that, combined with the team’s increased struggles, has caused the Palace of Auburn Hills to be sparsely populated, even though it’s outside of the city. Odds: 3-1

New Orleans Hornets: The Hornets’ money problems are no secret, and they just fired the very competent Jeff Bower as their GM. Oh, and they might trade away their best asset in Chris Paul. Also, they’re probably for sale, though you never know with George Shinn. Odds: 3-1