Vegas and Seattle are likely to get expansion teams. The Jazz are doing quite well in Utah
But they could do
better in Vegas.
Look, I get it. The Jazz are "Utah's Team". But once Larry Miller died the clock started ticking for the Jazz to leave. And it kicked into overdrive when Gail went back on her promise to keep the Jazz here forever by pulling the team from the family trust and selling it to Ryan Smith.
Sports teams are businesses. And like all businesses, their owners want to maximize profits. Larry Miller was a shrewd businessman for sure, but he was also a bit of an oddity in that he indulged his passions a lot. Thats why he built Miller Motorsports Park and, more importantly, thats why he bought and kept the Jazz here. The current owners are not those types of businessmen.
Las Vegas wants an NBA team. And yes, the Jazz sell out games in Salt Lake. But they'd also sell out games in Vegas and be able to charge four times as much! Plus, Las Vegas and the state of Nevada will happily build them a state of the art billion dollar stadium on the taxpayer dime, which isn't going to happen here.
Why the Jazz and not an expansion team? Why the A's and not an MLB expansion team? Name recognition. You have a built in fan base thats willing to be loyal no matter where the team goes. Look at the Raiders. And by snagging the Jazz, many of those long time fans are just a few hours away. Plus you get the rich history of the Jazz that you can continue to exploit. You don't get that with an expansion team or the New Orleans Pelicans.
Finally, the NBA is not what it used to be. Players are businesses in and of themselves. These guys aren't just happy to be getting paid to play basketball, they're looking to maximize their earning potential through sponsorship deals and endorsements. The Utah Jazz are not the team for that because our market is not large enough or exciting enough for people outside the region. The Las Vegas Jazz, thats a whole other ball game! You put the team in Vegas, the owners will be able to recruit top talent that they can't get now.
That's just my wholly armature observation of the situation, and I could be wrong, but I think its a pretty solid bet to say that by the end of the decade the Jazz will be in Vegas.