Adam Silver, NBA Commissioner
NBA expansion will undoubtedly bring new teams and excitement to the league as it strives to become even larger. However, it won’t occur right now. Adam Silver clarified that the new $76 billion TV rights deal, which the league has not yet finalized, is one of the primary drivers of expansion. The negotiations are nearing their conclusion, but no new teams will be added until the league has a clear understanding of its media funding source for the foreseeable future.
According to Baxter Holmes of ESPN, Silver cautioned that adding new teams reduces the number of resources the league can distribute among its thirty current teams, including new media deals and player salaries. This highlights the complexities behind expansion, even though it doesn’t sound like anything that will stop it.
What did Adam Silver say?
Adam Silver explained that the process of expansion is more complicated than it might appear. He pointed out that once the new media deals are finalized, bringing in new teams would dilute the payments to the existing teams.
He emphasized that expanding the league isn’t like printing money; it’s similar to selling equity in any business. Silver mentioned that thorough modeling and collaboration with existing owners are necessary to consider the long-term prospects, not just economically but also in terms of the potential dilution of talent.
Which are the likeliest expansion teams?
As far as players are concerned, adding more teams will be advantageous, but it is crucial to ensure that the new media agreement can accommodate more teams. Without even mentioning the G League’s talent, the league has never had more talented rosters. The sport and the league will benefit greatly from increasing the likelihood that players will realize their NBA dreams and from gaining new fans or revitalizing existing ones.
Many people believe that Seattle will eventually host an NBA team. There’s been an air of inevitability about replacement teams ever since the SuperSonics were moved from the East Coast. Both players and fans have openly urged the league to bring NBA basketball back to the Emerald City, if not the Sonics themselves.
It also appears that Sin City is a strong contender after luring the NFL’s Raiders and eventually, perhaps, the MLB’s Athletics to the desert and hosting the first In-Season Tournament championship rounds.
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