The NBA could soon expand with teams being added in Seattle and Las Vegas.

The expansion process is well underway and could be done by the 2028-29 season, with both teams being added to the league that season.

Should Seattle and Las Vegas add teams, they would both be part of the Western Conference. The Minnesota Timberwolves are one of the most eastern teams in the Western Conference, and they would end up moving to the Eastern Conference as a result.

Nothing has been made official in that regard, but it’s what many fans and people around the league are preparing for with Seattle and Las Vegas coming soon.

Though the Western Conference has been the tougher of the two conferences in the past few seasons with more depth and star power, the Timberwolves have shied away from the competition. They have made two Western Conference Finals in the last three seasons, and were the third best team in the West during the 2026 NBA Playoffs.

They have a young core with Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, and Jaden McDaniels that can compete with any given team on any given night.

That said, the Eastern Conference is much more winnable.

In the West, they still have to contend with the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, both of whom have cores that are just as young with players who are just as good. They aren’t going anywhere any time soon, and though Minnesota can compete with them, they may never be better than them.

The East is much more wide open and the teams they would be competing with may have the star power, but don’t have the youth.

The biggest factor, which is often overlooked as fans just look at the teams on paper, is the miles traveled during the regular season.

Western Conference teams often have to travel more because the conference is spaced out across the country more than the East. 12 of the top 14 teams came from the Western Conference in terms of miles traveled during the regular season last year. The teams that came from the East were Orlando and Miami, both Florida teams.

The Timberwolves ranked 11th in miles traveled.

If they were moved to the Eastern Conference, they’d be closer to the Milwaukee Bucks, who traveled the fifth-least amount of miles last season.

The amount of traveling doesn’t equal success, but it is an advantage when playing so many games in a tight window.