As I outlined in last week’s article, I am engaging in my search for an NBA franchise to pledge my fandom to. After one week in the search, I have been able to eliminate ten teams from the 30 we started with. Side note, I didn’t even know how many teams were in the league and said 32 last week.

By the time this season tips off, I will have picked a team to root for and will be ready for the 2020 season. I’m always looking for reasons to root for or against teams, so please let me know on twitter (@CodyGoggin) on who I should root for.

Los Angeles Clippers

The current version of the Clippers do not lack star power, so it is a bit surprising that I am eliminating them this early. However, the Clippers don’t fit my preferred playing style or my preferred way to build a team. I am looking for a franchise that is willing to draft well and develop their franchise the right way. The Clippers in recent years have been the large market team that is trying to acquire top players (which is a plus) but not doing much in the way of developing their own stars. Additionally, with their slower, defensive focused playing style, it just doesn’t fit the up-tempo, free shooting type style that I personally love to watch. As we will see later, choosing a team from one of the largest markets is not in my cards.

San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs are the definition of slow moving, methodical basketball. While they have had a lot of success and check the box for building from within and having success, Pop is likely closer to the end of his career and who knows how long this may last. There are not a lot of long term building blocks on this team or young star power that I want to latch on to. While the Spurs remind me of the basketball version of my St. Louis Cardinals, I don’t think I want another one of those teams in my life.

Houston Rockets

Morey is gone and Harden and Westbrook may not be far behind. Their past playing style fits what I prefer, but with the future uncertainty in Houston, I’m going to avoid jumping onto this bandwagon. There could be a full rebuild coming for the Rockets and I’m not looking to get into that.

Chicago Bulls

Being from St. Louis, I can’t root for a Chicago sports team. That’s pretty much the reason, but in recent years they have also been a miserable franchise.

Detroit Pistons

The Pistons are traditional losers, appear to be building around big men, and don’t have a true young star to build around right now. As much as I love Isaiah Stewart, being a Detroit sports fan does not seem fun.

Washington Wizards

The John Wall era appears to be over and while Bradley Beal is a St. Louis kid, I don’t see too many things that are exciting about this Wizards team. To me this franchise seems to be stuck in mediocrity for the moment.

New York Knicks

James Dolan is the deal breaker here. I have noticed how miserable Knicks fans are and will avoid signing up for a lifetime of pain. There is some upside here, but the downside risk is far greater.

Brooklyn Nets

Similar to the Clippers, this large market team that is bringing in top talent is against what I am looking for. The Nets are far more tempting to me from their cool jerseys and solid drafted talent, but I’m still not going to be a large market fan. You just barely missed the cut Nets, but I don’t think this was a match that was going to ever work.

What’s Next?

With 20 teams left, I will be taking off another 7-8 teams next week. Please help me decide and convince me to root for your team!