ChrisIsBored
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http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1638863
NEW YORK -- The NBA plans to switch to six five-team divisions for the 2004-05 season, when the Charlotte Bobcats become the league's 30th team.
The proposal, which includes having three divisions per conference instead of two, is expected to be approved formally by the Board of Governors, deputy commissioner Russ Granik said Wednesday. A vote could come as early as next month.
Eight teams from each conference still would make the playoffs: the winner of each division plus the teams with the next five best records in each conference.
The NBA will realign along geographic lines. New Orleans will move from the East to the West, and Charlotte will be in the East.
Granik said the regular-season schedule would be affected only minimally by the realignment.
No names were discussed for the new divisions. Currently, the Eastern Conference has the Atlantic and Central, while the West has the Midwest and Pacific.
The Board of Governors also decided Wednesday that the WNBA will take a four-week break during its 2004 season for the Athens Olympics. No WNBA games will be played Aug. 2-31; the Olympics are Aug. 13-29. The gap at the beginning would allow national teams to practice.
WNBA commissioner Val Ackerman estimated 30 WNBA players would be on Olympic teams, including most or all of the U.S. squad. The league will resume on Sept. 1 and play through Sept. 19, followed by playoffs that could run as late as Oct. 12.
Usually, the WNBA is finished by mid-September.
Ackerman said the WNBA is working with USA Basketball to arrange a preseason training camp for the U.S. Olympic team.
"This gives our players the opportunity to train and travel and then return to the WNBA," she said. "It's an extraordinary opportunity for the WNBA."
Ackerman is eager to see how the WNBA fares during the busiest time on the sports calendar.
"This is an opportunity to test how the league does as we go later into fall," she said.
The WNBA still must decide whether teams will be allowed to practice during the hiatus. The NHL limited practices while its players were participating in the 1998 and 2002 Olympics, in part because the league worried such practices could provide a competitive advantage for teams with few Olympians.
NBA commissioner David Stern reiterated the league's support of the WNBA, saying it "is here for the long run. It strengthens women's sports and helps develop new fans for basketball."
NEW YORK -- The NBA plans to switch to six five-team divisions for the 2004-05 season, when the Charlotte Bobcats become the league's 30th team.
The proposal, which includes having three divisions per conference instead of two, is expected to be approved formally by the Board of Governors, deputy commissioner Russ Granik said Wednesday. A vote could come as early as next month.
Eight teams from each conference still would make the playoffs: the winner of each division plus the teams with the next five best records in each conference.
The NBA will realign along geographic lines. New Orleans will move from the East to the West, and Charlotte will be in the East.
Granik said the regular-season schedule would be affected only minimally by the realignment.
No names were discussed for the new divisions. Currently, the Eastern Conference has the Atlantic and Central, while the West has the Midwest and Pacific.
The Board of Governors also decided Wednesday that the WNBA will take a four-week break during its 2004 season for the Athens Olympics. No WNBA games will be played Aug. 2-31; the Olympics are Aug. 13-29. The gap at the beginning would allow national teams to practice.
WNBA commissioner Val Ackerman estimated 30 WNBA players would be on Olympic teams, including most or all of the U.S. squad. The league will resume on Sept. 1 and play through Sept. 19, followed by playoffs that could run as late as Oct. 12.
Usually, the WNBA is finished by mid-September.
Ackerman said the WNBA is working with USA Basketball to arrange a preseason training camp for the U.S. Olympic team.
"This gives our players the opportunity to train and travel and then return to the WNBA," she said. "It's an extraordinary opportunity for the WNBA."
Ackerman is eager to see how the WNBA fares during the busiest time on the sports calendar.
"This is an opportunity to test how the league does as we go later into fall," she said.
The WNBA still must decide whether teams will be allowed to practice during the hiatus. The NHL limited practices while its players were participating in the 1998 and 2002 Olympics, in part because the league worried such practices could provide a competitive advantage for teams with few Olympians.
NBA commissioner David Stern reiterated the league's support of the WNBA, saying it "is here for the long run. It strengthens women's sports and helps develop new fans for basketball."
