A mock NBA expansion draft has the Charlotte Hornets losing Sion James.
Las Vegas and Seattle are reportedly moving closer to getting NBA expansion teams, as Shams Charania of ESPN reports that the process for gathering bids for an expansion team in Las Vegas "has moved with more pace than Seattle, but those Seattle conversations are continuing as well."
Charania added that "the league has been targeting as soon as the 2028-29 season for the start of these expansion teams."
In the wake of Charania's report, Bleacher Report NBA analysts Dan Favale and Grant Hughes wrote a mock NBA expansion draft, and in the mock draft, the Charlotte Hornets lose Sion James to the Las Vegas team.
"Sion James puts a meager $2.4 million hit on our cap, a bargain price for someone who appeared in all 82 games as a rookie. James is a pure three-and-D wing, destined to take over for Lu Dort as "the player most likely to have a second career as an inside linebacker" whenever that mantle is passed on.
"Between Marcus Smart, Jose Alvarado and now James, the Vipers have a growing collection of players who are absolute nightmares for opposing scorers. These are the kinds of balancing moves you need to make when you build your backcourt initially around Josh Giddey and Jared McCain. Imagine all the tricks Smart and Alvarado will teach James, whose physicality and lateral quickness already make him one of the best young on-ball defenders around."
For the Hornets last season, James averaged 5.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 37.1% from the field, 35.2% from beyond the arc and 83.7% from the free-throw line. The rookie played in all 82 games.
It will be fascinating to see when the NBA adds new teams. Las Vegas is the hot spot everyone is looking at.
Several active groups are looking to pay the $7 to $10 billion fee to land the top prize. Sands CEO and majority owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Patrick Dumont, led a group of interested parties looking at Las Vegas arena sites.
“There is real excitement around the potential NBA sites, including a renovated T-Mobile arena,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said at his New York office. “At the same time, there are groups who have presented plans to build what I would call a modern entertainment palace in Las Vegas.”
