The thirst for basketball is real in the city of Seattle. Although it’s been nine years since the Seattle Supersonics moved to Oklahoma City, people from Seattle are still not over the loss of their basketball franchise.  In a recent interview with the Players’ Tribune, NBA commissioner Adam Silver hinted that league expansion could lead to Seattle getting a team it could call its own again. The more realistic hope for Seattle for now, however, is if a current NBA franchise decided to call a moving truck and move to Jet City.

L.A. Clippers

It’s not easy to be living together with your more successful older brother, who reminds you on a daily basis just how much ahead he is in life than you are.

That’s the situation the Clippers are in, as they continue to share residence with the storied franchise that is the Los Angeles Lakers. Playing at the Staples Center beneath the Lakers’ 16 NBA championship banners is more about the Lakers’ subtly asking the Clippers to go away and find their own place and less about being an inspiration to the franchise that has zero league titles, zero NBA finals appearances, and zero conference finals opportunities. That’s not to mention that they now have zero Chris Pauls.

The Clippers have been enjoying plenty of love from Los Angeles – top 10 in attendance this year and in 2016 – largely because they’re better than the Lakers over the past few years. Will that support continue once the Lakers become a legitimate title contenders again?

Moving to Seattle doesn’t guarantee basketball success, but it would guarantee the Clippers a universal support from an entire city.

Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks have been around the NBA since the late 1960s, which you would imagine is long enough to build a loyal and huge fanbase. There’s little doubt that the Bucks have developed quite a number of diehard fans over the years, but it doesn’t seem as though Milwaukee has enough to pack the team’s home arena.

Even with the team infusing itself of exciting young talent like Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo who are propelling some sort of basketball rebirth in Milwaukee, and showing there’s promise in the team’s future, these so-called Bucks fans just can’t help it but be absent during games. In fact, Milwaukee hasn’t ranked higher than 23rd in game attendance in any season since 2010. Even with the team reaching the playoffs this year, the Bucks managed to attract just 15,828 paying patrons per game, evidence that relative success isn’t enough to woo crowds in Milwaukee.

Perhaps the problem lies in Milwaukee’s basketball history that’s littered with mediocre seasons. Fans have been so used to seeing the Bucks fall short, and have become so desensitized by pedestrian finishes to the point that they no longer care that much to their team. I am betting half of Seattle’s population would find a way to squeeze themselves in the arena should a team like the Bucks relocate to a city thirsty of basketball. Ray Allen’s old team would be loved in one of Ray Allen’s old team’s home.

Oklahoma City Thunder

There wouldn’t be sweeter a reunion story than Seattle getting its real old team back. In a story told so many times, the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008 because team ownership was not able to get a new arena built in time.

It was and continues to be a painful sight for Seattle sports fans to see their beloved NBA team change address and play wearing uniforms that are completely alien to the green and gold color palette they used to see their players sport. For these fans, the team was something that was stolen from them, and one they should get back, hopefully with Nick Collison still in it.

On paper, it’s tempting for Thunder ownership to return to Seattle. For one, the market is bigger there, which in other words means bigger revenue. Seattle has the 14th largest television market in the nation this year, while Oklahoma City is at…looking…still looking…getting there…at 41st place on the list made by Nielsen. But even without considering that, the Thunder reversing their evolution, transforming back to their Sonics identity and returning to their “birthplace’ is a nostalgic act that would seem right for every NBA fan – except maybe Thunder fans, of course.