There have been rumors about a potential expansion in the NBA for the past few years, mostly surrounding the cities of Las Vegas and Seattle. The NBA has previously held business in both cities, having the Sonics in Seattle for 41 years and a couple of events in Las Vegas like the Summer League and In-Season Tournament.
Commissioner Adam Silver was asked what the NBA's plans are in terms of expansion, especially with so many well-known players in the mix to have ownership in a team. Current players like LeBron James and Kevin Durant have expressed interest, as well as former players like Shaquille O'Neal and Magic Johnson.
“I'll say there are no inside candidates. Lots of players, former players, well-known, wealthy people out there who have expressed interest in having a Las Vegas franchise. What I've said to everyone publicly and privately is that there's no process in place, no secret discussions, no commitments to anyone,” said Silver, per Sirius XM NBA.
With Silver running the show, the NBA has always been welcome to change, but right now there may be too much on their plate. Adding a franchise or possibly two may bring in more money to the league, but Silver seems to have a plan in place to get other things settled first.
“We like the market… What we said over the last few years, there are two things we wanted to see happen first before we turn to expansion. One, we wanted to get a new collective bargaining agreement done, we did that… The other thing we said we wanted to get done was our new media deals and our current national deal with ABC, ESPN, and then TNT.”
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