Thirty NBA teams in six divisions.  This is the vision of what NBA Commissioner David Stern sees for the NBA in the future.  The new team, many predict, would be a new expansion franchise in Charlotte, which would in turn lead to the need for realignment.

"I believe we have just about reached the cap domestically with 29 teams," Stern said. "Although we may go with one more to make 30 teams and six divisions."

Who would be the big winners in such a scenario?  Dave Lewandowski of the Indianapolis Star believes it would be Miami.  ?Based on geography and an expansion franchise in Charlotte, that could leave the Heat in a Southeast Division that would include Charlotte, Orlando, Atlanta and either Memphis or New Orleans (the Hornets, who might be shifted to the Western Conference).?

The only downside with the realignment, Lewandowski writes, would be that some rivalries such as the heated battles in the past between Miami and New York would be lost (although this did not hamper the Lakers Vs Celtics or the Bulls Vs Knicks in the past).