Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban (top R) looks on late in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference semi-final basketball playoffs against the Denver Nuggets in Denver May 3, 2009. The Nuggets defeated the Mavericks.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban (top R) looks on late in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference semi-final basketball playoffs against the Denver Nuggets in Denver May 3, 2009. The Nuggets defeated the Mavericks. REUTERS

The talent gap between the Western and Eastern Conference has been a big dam by now that Dallas Mavericks owner Marc Cuban is looking at changes. The always quotable owner proposes a re-alignment of the teams in the conferences, proposing that all Texas teams swap places with some of the teams in the East.

In the scheme proposed by Cuban, the Texas teams such as the Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, Houston Rockets and the San Antonio Spurs would move to the Eastern Conference and in its place the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks would move to the more competitive Western Conference. The proposal is obviously geared at balancing the power in both conferences and providing a way for teams to rethink their rebuilding strategies.

"It's not like it'd be the first time we've ever realigned," Cuban said per ESPN. "It's happened many times before, so there's precedent and I just think it shakes things up and makes things interesting."

The NBA led by new Commissioner Adam Silver has been open to suggestions on how to balance out the power in both conferences and solve the issue of the Western Conference being deeper than the East. Other proposals which were floated aside from Cuban's transfer idea is to only allow the top 16 teams with the best records in the playoffs regardless of conference and divisions. There were also suggestions to modify the lottery system but the said scheme was put on hold by the NBA owners.

Cuban's Mavericks curiously were a sort of "victim" of the West's deep talent as the squad finished with a 49-33 record last year but were unfortunate to be booted out of the first round against eventual champions Spurs. If the Mavericks were in the East, they would be the top 3 team and would enjoy a home court advantage in the first round instead the Mavericks lost in the seventh game against the Spurs on the road. Cuban relayed that he has not yet relayed his suggestion to the NBA Commissioner but has instead channeled the idea to the media to kick start the conversation in NBA circles.

The Mavericks are enjoying a good start to the season, leading the league in scoring and offensive efficiency. The team is currently sporting a record of 11-5 yet sits at fourth place in the ultra-competitive Southwest Division which has no team that has a record below the 0.500 mark.