Building hypothetical Seattle, Las Vegas expansion rosters that would make playoffs right away

An expansion to 32 teams is drawing ever nearer in the NBA. Las Vegas seems to be the frontrunner to add a team that could join the mix by the 2028-29 season, and a renewal of the Seattle SuperSonics is likely, too. An inevitable league expansion has an expansion draft on everyone's mind. After all, there hasn't been an expansion draft since 2004 when the Charlotte Bobcats needed to fill out a roster.

Back then, each team was allowed to protect up to eight players, but they needed to have at least one under-contract player or restricted free agent vulnerable to being poached. ClutchPoints did an exercise in which the same rules applied to an expansion draft if it were to happen now to see who would and wouldn't be protected, and some really good players were available for the picking.

Now, it is time to see who the Las Vegas and Seattle-based teams could select in a draft, with the idea of immediately making the postseason at the forefront of each team's draft decisions. A player pool of unprotected hoopers provided by Bleacher Report was used to select 15 players to both Seattle and Las Vegas, meaning exactly one player from each of the other 30 teams was drafted. So, could these expansion teams make the playoffs right away?

Note: It is unclear exactly what expansion draft/protection rules will be used this go-around. While the same rules of old were used here as in 2004, in which teams can protect up to eight players and can't lose more than one player, some financial rules were changed. In 2004, expansion teams could only use 66% of the salary cap. Here, teams were allowed to exceed the salary cap, but they couldn't surpass the luxury tax or apron lines. Both team's finished with salaries just around $180 million a piece.

Seattle SuperSonics 2.0

PG: De'Aaron Fox, San Antonio Spurs

SG: Jared McCain, Oklahoma City Thunder

SF: Isaac Okoro, Chicago Bulls

PF: Sam Hauser, Boston Celtics

C: Myles Turner, Milwaukee Bucks

6: Jalen Green, Phoenix Suns

7: Bennedict Mathurin, New Orleans Pelicans

8: Zaccharie Risacher, Dallas Mavericks

9: Jose Alvarado, New York Knicks

10: Danny Wolf, Brooklyn Nets

11: Sion James, Charlotte Hornets

12: Dru Smith, Miami Heat

13: Craig Porter, Cleveland Cavaliers

14: Jae'Sean Tate, Houston Rockets

15: Baba Miller, Los Angeles Clippers

The SuperSonics missed the postseason in each of their first seven seasons in the NBA. After that, though, they made the playoffs in 19 of the next 24 seasons. They struggled again in the last few years before being relocated to Oklahoma City as the Thunder, but for the most part, Seattle was a perennially competitive team. The Sonics would hope to replicate that as an expansion team nearly two decades since disbanding.

The 2.0 SuperSonics would be led by De'Aaron Fox, a player who just competed in the NBA Finals. While Fox struggled at times in the series for the San Antonio Spurs, his star power shouldn't be forgotten. Fox would be a great fit alongside the rim protecting/long ball launching Myles Turner. The rest of the starting lineup would be rounded out by Jared McCain and Sam Hauser, two great 3-point shooters, as well as a defensive specialist in Isaac Okoro.

There is plenty of scoring pop off the bench with Jalen Green and Bennedict Mathurin. Zaccharie Risacher was also the number one pick just over two years ago, so perhaps he could reach his potential on a brand new team.

Ultimately, the Western Conference is stacked, and this team might not be good enough to make the postseason in year one. Seattle certainly wouldn't be at the bottom of the standings, though.

Las Vegas NBA expansion team

PG: Ja Morant, Portland Trail Blazers

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SG: Dyson Daniels, Atlanta Hawks

SF: Kevin Huerter, Detroit Pistons

PF: Jonathan Isaac, Orlando Magic

C: Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

6: Deandre Ayton, Washington Wizards

7: Jaylen Clark, Minnesota Timberwolves

8: Kyle Filipowski, Utah Jazz

9: T.J. McConnell, Indiana Pacers

10: Ben Simmons, Sacramento Kings

11: GG Jackson, Memphis Grizzlies

12: Allen Graves, Toronto Raptors

13: Gary Payton II, Golden State Warriors

14: Alpha Diallo, Denver Nuggets

15: Bronny James, Los Angeles Lakers

This Las Vegas squad would pride themselves on defense and hope that is enough to get into the postseason right away. Joel Embiid is one of the best rim protectors in the NBA, and he is in Defensive Player of the Year conversations every year because of it. It is hard to picture the Philadelphia 76ers not protecting Embiid if an expansion draft happened right now, considering the team's championship expectations after a successful offseason, but we are here because Embiid was in Bleacher Report's player pool.

Dyson Daniels nearly won that award despite being a guard, as he is arguably the best steals expert league-wide. Jonathan Isaac can guard one-through-five, Jaylen Clark is impressive defensively at the point-of-attack, and T.J. McConnell is a pesky defender who always gives it his all. Even end-of-rotation players like Gary Payton II and Alpha Diallo can lock up. The former of those two learned from arguably the best guard defender ever, father Gary Payton Sr., and the latter just won the EuroLeague Best Defender award. There is even two-time All-Defensive First Team member Ben Simmons on this roster.

On top of the defensive prowess that Las Vegas would possess right away, the offensive potential is sky-high. Ja Morant is expected to bounce back this year. He is an explosive athlete capable of scoring on anybody inside. He'd also have a 3-point shooter in Kevin Huerter to kick the ball out to in catch-and-shoot situations. Morant's former teammate, GG Jackson, has loads of scoring potential, too. Furthermore, Embiid is a former MVP winner who twice led the NBA in scoring. Injuries have been the only thing to hold him back, but Las Vegas would have Deandre Ayton, a former number one overall pick, to back him up.

This roster is topped off by Bronny James, who likely wouldn't see much court time on a team looking to make the playoffs, but he'd certainly help sell tickets on a brand new squad. Overall, this Las Vegas team would have a better shot at the postseason than Seattle. They are more of a win-now team, and the presence of multiple All-Stars and plenty of defense would make them competitive from the get-go.