The Las Vegas and Seattle markets are being evaluated.
Las Vegas and Seattle are in the queue to get NBA expansion franchises. NBA owners have approved a mechanism that has triggered an expansion plan that could eventually award investors in Seattle and in Las Vegas franchises. It is the first step in the process that could lead to a league expansion by the 2028-29 season. For years, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has been discussing the possibility of the league adding two franchises. The thought was that once the league owners signed a new collective bargaining agreement with the players and the league signed a new national television deal that the owners would finally explore the possibility of expansion and that Las Vegas and Seattle would be the top two markets on the list. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is not guaranteeing expansion but there is a lot of money on the table for the present 30 owners if expansion goes ahead, somewhere between $21 billion and $30 billion split 30 ways and not shared with the players.
The Seattle market was abandoned by the league in 2008 after the SuperSonics franchise owner Howard Schultz was unable to get a new arena built somewhere in the market. Schultz sold his business to a group of Oklahoma City investors led by Clayton Bennett. Bennett moved the franchise to Oklahoma City breaking a lease that was supposed to end in 2010. In 2013, Seattle investors made a bid to buy the Sacramento Kings franchise with the intention of moving the business to Seattle. NBA owners blocked the purchase and found a local buyer to keep the team in Sacramento. The Seattle market has a relatively new building that is NBA ready. The NBA has been doing business in Las Vegas for decades with its summer league. The process for an NBA expansion has begun.
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