NBA To Vote on Expansion With Las Vegas, Seattle Likely Getting Teams
The NBA is set to vote later this month on expansion. They are proposing two more teams to push the count to 32 by 2028-29. Both the NFL and NHL already have this number, so the NBA is set to catch up. Las Vegas and Seattle will be the beneficiary cities should the vote be approved, which seems very likely.
NBA expansion vote coming soon
In 2020, league commissioner Adam Silver said he was looking at expanding the sport. Within a decade of that plan, it looks like he will accomplish his goal. The Board of Governors will vote on it in about a week, and should they approve, two new teams will be in by 2028-29.
ESPN reporter Tim McMahon explained that this is almost a foregone conclusion. "It will be shocking if expansion doesn't happen," he said. "Within league circles, it has been seen as the expected outcome for several years, though it was far from a certainty because of some pushback from different owners over the economics for the reasons laid out above."
He also mentioned the fact that governors, despite their ownership stakes being diluted by adding teams, will be incentivized by the fee they are paid from the league. If the two teams in Las Vegas and Seattle are bought for $15 billion, then every owner would get $500 million, a price high enough to convince them all to vote yes.
McMahon also noted that this upcoming vote isn't seen as a binding resolution. The Board of Governors meeting in July, following the NBA season, is far more likely to be the deciding date for the expansion in Las Vegas and Seattle.
Expansion draft
McMahon reported that the NBAPA has no say in this matter. That's significant. Some players would be on the move despite being signed to a team. Expansion drafts totally shake up rosters, so players might not want to be forced to move to Seattle or Las Vegas. They have no say, though.
In the 2004 expansion, teams protected eight players. Only one could be drafted from an existing team, though. In this case, with two teams instead of one, it's likely that a team could lose two players. Suddenly, having good depth could be harmful. It could be taken away by the expansion draft, too.
Why Seattle and Las Vegas?
In the case of Las Vegas, there's a ton of money to be made. It's one of the most prolific American cities, and it is growing in the sports scene. The Oakland Raiders moved there. The Oakland Athletics are in the process of relocating to Vegas. An NBA team makes a lot of sense.
For Seattle, this is because the Supersonics moved to Oklahoma City in the late 2000s. Since then, the city has not stopped begging for them to come back or for them to be given another team. This is essentially a repeat of the Charlotte Bobcats expansion in 2004.
The Charlotte Hornets moved to New Orleans, and Charlotte, in one of the biggest basketball states, had no pro team. In 2004, they were given one again to right that wrong. The history is weird, but the team that played in Charlotte technically moved to New Orleans, but the stats, records, and history belong to Charlotte. It would be similar for the Supersonics.
Because of these two teams' locations, the Western Conference would be too big. It makes no sense for two teams that far west to be in the East, so two existing West squads would move. The Memphis Grizzlies are all but assured to be one, and rumors suggest the Minnesota Timberwolves are also in play.
These are all things that are not set in stone. However, it's all extremely likely. We will know more after the vote next week, and we'll likely have the full picture by the end of July.
