Seattle and Las Vegas prepare for their landing in the NBA: How will the expansion Draft look?

The NBA is exploring the possibility of adding two new franchises in the 2028-29 season, with Seattle and Las Vegas as the main candidates. If the project moves forward, both organizations would need to build their rosters through an expansion Draft in which the current 30 teams could protect only eight players.

The formula would allow the new franchises to select talent from the rest of the league, although not all players would be available under the same conditions. Each team could protect eight members of their roster, while the rest would be exposed to being selected by Seattle or Las Vegas. The result would be an extraordinary market, with proven veterans, promising youth, and contracts of varying salary weights available to the two new organizations.

Each team could only protect eight players

The key to the expansion Draft would be the protected list. Current NBA franchises would have to choose eight players who could not be selected by Seattle or Las Vegas.

The rest of the roster members would be available for the new franchises, which could choose among them following the rules set by the league. That doesn’t mean all players hold the same value: factors such as age, contract, performance, potential, and the ability of each player to be part of a competitive project from day one would come into play.

For the current teams, the decision would be particularly complicated. Protecting a star would mean leaving another important player exposed, while securing too many veterans might leave a young player with more potential available. The new franchises, for their part, would have to balance immediate talent with growth potential.

This is how Las Vegas could look

If the Draft were held now and the rosters maintained a structure similar to the proposed hypothetical scenario, Las Vegas could build a team with several players capable of taking on offensive responsibilities.

Las Vegas

Starting lineup:

• De’Aaron Fox.

• Alex Caruso.

• Kelly Oubre.

• Jerami Grant.

• Myles Turner.

Bench:

• Anfernee Simons.

• Isaiah Joe.

• Khris Middleton.

• Luke Kennard.

• Buddy Hield.

• Steven Adams.

• Goga Bitadze.

• Al Horford.

• Precious Achiuwa.

• Jordan Poole.

The proposal would combine speed and perimeter creation with Fox, shooting around the perimeter, and experience in interior positions. Caruso would contribute defense and organization, while Grant and Turner would create an interior pairing capable of stretching the floor.

The bench would also have significant depth. Simons, Kennard, Hield, and Isaiah Joe would provide threats from beyond the arc, while Middleton and Horford would add veteran experience. It would be a roster designed to compete from the start, although its several key players would have a high average age.

Seattle would have a more veteran roster

Seattle could also assemble a group of players with playoff experience and the ability to log important minutes.

Seattle

Starting lineup:

• Jrue Holiday.

• Tim Hardaway Jr.

• Naji Marshall.

• Paul George.

• Jusuf Nurkic.

Bench:

• Dennis Schröder.

• Jordan Clarkson.

• Caris LeVert.

• Johnny Furphy.

• Terance Mann.

• Jaylen Clark.

• Ben Simmons.

• Zach Collins.

• Zeke Nnaji.

• Thomas Bryant.

The team would have Jrue Holiday and Paul George as their main defensive and organizational leaders. Hardaway Jr. would add outside shooting, Marshall would provide size on the wings, and Nurkic would serve as an interior reference.

Among the bench players, Schröder, Clarkson, and LeVert would stand out as three players accustomed to generating points with the ball in their hands. There would also be room for younger profiles like Furphy and Jaylen Clark, although the team would rely significantly on veterans with substantial contracts and their physical condition.

A new market capable of changing the NBA

The arrival of Seattle and Las Vegas would have much broader implications than just the creation of two rosters. Current teams could lose valuable players and would need to make complex decisions about their contracts and sports projects.

For the new franchises, however, the expansion Draft would represent a unique opportunity to acquire talent without having to start from scratch. The question will be to know the final rules, the selection order, salary cap limitations, and the conditions that will apply to the protected players.

For now, the scenario remains hypothetical. But if the NBA confirms its expansion for the 2028-29 season, Seattle and Las Vegas could have an immediate path to build competitive rosters and completely alter the balance of power in the league.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Seattle y Las Vegas preparan su aterrizaje en la NBA: ¿Cómo será el Draft de expansión?