OT: Possible NBA Team In Edmonton

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

You couldn't give me a ticket to an NBA game. As for the sport succeeding here in Edmonton, thats a nope.

 

[PositiveCashFlow]

I remember going to a Raptors Nuggets game at Rexall about 10 years ago. It was fun. I remember the mascot eating a cheerleader.

 

[Hockeyholic]

You couldn't give me a ticket to an NBA game. As for the sport succeeding here in Edmonton, thats a nope.

What if there were NBA players the caliber of KD, The Black Mamba, D-Wade, and LBJ?

 

[McShogun99]

BWAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAA...OMG your naivete on Oilers fans is very, very cute. Thank you for providing me an excuse to post in a long time. Stick with Philly stuff. They will continue to be among the top in the league for revenue for a long, long time...rain or shine, win or lose. This city likes to bleed Oiler colours, and the dedication is real.

Seriously...most Edmontonians don't give two craps about the NBA - why would we?

Katz could announce tomorrow that he's doubling the price of tickets and concessions while adding a $200 burger to honor Kevin Lowe and we would still sell out every game next season.

 

[Senor Catface]

Can you imagine the record amount of trade requests?

 

[cpsman]

Katz could announce tomorrow that he's doubling the price of tickets and concessions while adding a $200 burger to honor Kevin Lowe and we would still sell out every game next season.

I read that as "Kevin Love" for a second, given the subject of this thread

 

[Roof Daddy]

What if there were NBA players the caliber of KD, The Black Mamba, D-Wade, and LBJ?

Your answer is right here:

Can you imagine the record amount of trade requests?

Remember Steve Francis pulling a Lindros on the Grizzlies? And he wasn't even that good.

I don't think the OP is either aware or accepting of the fact that culture is king in the NBA and Edmonton couldn't be located on a map by 90% of the players.

We would absolutely be the running joke of the league (though I guess not much is different with our current pro franchise).

 

[Drivesaitl]

Why is this a thread here?

What a random OP

 

[Tyrolean]

Zero chance.

 

[MettleMcOiler]

Edmonton is not ready for NBA team and I am not opposed to having one in the future. Oilers will always reign supreme in edmonton though.

 

[rboomercat90]

I don't think it would stand a chance. The narrative that Edmonton is a sports town is not reality.

Edmonton is an Oilers town yes but pretty much everything else has ended in abject failure.

Yeah and it’s starting to include the Eskimos too.

 

[rboomercat90]

Your answer is right here:

Remember Steve Francis pulling a Lindros on the Grizzlies? And he wasn't even that good.

I don't think the OP is either aware or accepting of the fact that culture is king in the NBA and Edmonton couldn't be located on a map by 90% of the players.

We would absolutely be the running joke of the league (though I guess not much is different with our current pro franchise).

It’s taken the Raptors twenty plus years to find good players that want to play in Toronto. How long would it take for that to happen here? We’re always worried our good hockey players won’t want to stay here and most of those guys are Canadian and this team, once upon a time had a great history.

From a fans perspective, I can remember annual exhibition games here in the mid eighties. I don’t recall them ever doing well attendance wise and those were the days when tickets were dirt cheap, not the insane price they are now. Not surprisingly, the NBA stopped coming.

 

[voxel]

What if there were NBA players the caliber of KD, The Black Mamba, D-Wade, and LBJ?

Or the franchise can be a joke like the Orlando Magic (as poorly run as the Cleveland Browns). I don't see NBA in Edmonton succeeding... heck when it is dying in sports crazy Florida.

 

[Jepprey]

97% failure. I personally would love it. But this city is all about the Oilers and nothing else, no matter how shitty they can be.

The NBA will return to Vancouver before Edmonton even gets a sniff.

 

[The Hound]

It wouldn't work out at all, way too hard to build any sort of fanbase. I think the NBA will return to Seattle before another Canadian city.

 

[Gord]

How Popular and hip would an NBA team be in Edmonton? Assuming they had good players and a decent team.

team would last about as long as the team did in Vancouver.
not enough interest and also not enough money in town for two pro winter sports teams.

dumb idea doomed to fail even if for some miracle the team was good.
you'd also have to think edmonton would be pretty far down the list of cities that would be given a team. maybe in the top 100.

 

[Gord]

To be honest, I wasn't listening to 1260 at all. But, you don't think they'd be successful if they had players like Kyrie, K.D, and Steph?

you know it's an idea doomed to failure if to make it even a possibility of succeeding, you have to dream edmonton was given the best team in the league.

no way it would work, even given the best players in the league.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Honestly, it would work. People would turn out, it would be very popular. However, I don't think there's any interest from the NBA or the NBA players.

It's a "foreign" country that's very northern and cold, plus the NBA would rather expand (if they even do) it would be in the continental US.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

team would last about as long as the team did in Vancouver.

I disagree. Vancouver tends to be a fairly fair weather city in terms of it's support of a team. Edmonton tends to get behind a lot of teams (depending on the situation) and I could see an NBA team doing well here.

 

[Gord]

I disagree. Vancouver tends to be a fairly fair weather city in terms of it's support of a team. Edmonton tends to get behind a lot of teams (depending on the situation) and I could see an NBA team doing well here.

for a year or two maybe. I don't think the city has the money to support two expensive winter sports teams. I like basketball, I played it for years, but I honestly feel it wouldn't have long term success in this city.
for those who could afford it, the shine would wear off pretty quickly.

and I have to laugh at the OP's "What if there were NBA players the caliber of KD, The Black Mamba, D-Wade, and LBJ?" dream of a team, fine. but building a superteam of the biggest stars here would have NO chance of happening.
the team wouldn't have players of that caliber. and it would be very hard to get them to come to some cold, white, northern city.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

it would be very hard to get them to come to some cold, white, northern city.

That's still the main issue. I think it would be well supported, even with the cost, plus many would welcome a change from the Oilers (even if the Oilers owned them which I assume they would)

 

[Jumptheshark]

Why is this a thread here?

What a random OP

question on 1260--sounds like they got board a few days ago

Edmonton is not a sporting town--it is an oiler town

 

[Drivesaitl]

for a year or two maybe. I don't think the city has the money to support two expensive winter sports teams. I like basketball, I played it for years, but I honestly feel it wouldn't have long term success in this city.
for those who could afford it, the shine would wear off pretty quickly.

and I have to laugh at the OP's "What if there were NBA players the caliber of KD, The Black Mamba, D-Wade, and LBJ?" dream of a team, fine. but building a superteam of the biggest stars here would have NO chance of happening.
the team wouldn't have players of that caliber. and it would be very hard to get them to come to some cold, white, northern city.

The biggest laugh is I don't know one o those players, if that's what they are, I don't watch one complete NBA game/year and I'm far from atypical in this market. Outside of GTA who really follows basketball? I couldn't tell you the names of two different Raptors players. I've never had intent to watch one of their games this millennium.

The Edmonton Energy ( I think that's what they were called) were drawing in the hundreds for Basketball and most of that being extended family and friends and whoever they could cajole to come by. This is not a basketball market in anyway. I don't know that Edmonton would qualify as a farm team location for an NBA team if they have such things.

 

[Drivesaitl]

On the other hand I don't completely dislike Basketball. I dislike the kind of fatcat players that make up the NBA. I attended the Womens world tournament that Darnells sister played in. I watch the occasional U of A game. Just the NBA is really offputting. Dislike basically anything about that league.

 

[ResilientBeast]

What if there were NBA players the caliber of KD, The Black Mamba, D-Wade, and LBJ?

So if we had a super team? Maybe then, but until then no way