How an NBA expansion draft would likely work

NBA expansion is back on the table. And honestly, it’s starting to feel inevitable.

One team owner told Hoops Wire as much. “No brainer. It’s gonna happen,” he wrote in a text.

If and when it does, the next step will be building rosters. That’s where the expansion draft comes in.

The NBA hasn’t done one since 2004, when the Charlotte Bobcats entered the league. But the general framework is already there.

Back then, each team was allowed to protect eight players under contract. Anyone left unprotected became eligible to be selected by the expansion team.

There was a catch. Every team had to leave at least one player available, even if they didn’t have eight players fully under contract.

Expansion teams were also limited to selecting just one player per existing franchise.

Restricted free agents could be picked too, though their rights didn’t automatically carry over. In other words, the expansion team could lose that player for nothing.

A few things would need to be updated this time around.

Two-way contracts didn’t exist in 2004, so the league will need to decide how those players are handled. Same goes for salary cap restrictions and how aggressive new teams are allowed to be early on.

The expectation is the NBA will take a fresh look at all of it before anything becomes official.

But the blueprint is already in place.

And with expansion discussions heating up, including strong momentum toward Seattle and a return of the SuperSonics, it may not be long before that blueprint is put back into action.