According to the L.A. Times, Michael Heisley, owner of the NBA Vancouver Grizzlies, will visit Memphis this week. The city has been in the hunt as one of the finalists (including Louisville, New Orleans, Las Vegas, and Anaheim) still under consideration by Heisley to move his team. Heisley is also expected to visit Louisville this week as well.
According to most sources, Memphis, New Orleans, Anaheim, and Louisville are the most likely choices since NBA Commissioner David Stern has nixed Las Vegas due to league concerns about gambling.
An unidentified source in the NBA main office is reported to name Memphis the choice city by the league, as reported by Vancouver newspaper, The Vancouver Province. Memphis is thought to be a leading candidate because of the lack of competition with any other major league franchises as well as the untapped television market since there are no other major league teams within 200 miles of Memphis.
One potential deal-breaker for Memphis could be the construction of a new basketball arena since many city and NBA officials were recently quoted as saying that retrofitting the Pyramid would not suit the NBA’s needs.
