Sonics return? NBA commissioner hints at potential timeline for expansion.

Tim Booth, The Seattle Times on Apr 17, 2025

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SEATTLE — Adam Silver dropped another breadcrumb in the ongoing wait for potential NBA expansion, this time providing a glimpse of a potential timeline.

Appearing on the Pat McAfee Show on ESPN on Thursday, Silver said the league could begin a formal expansion process sometime this summer. Silver was quick to caution that it doesn’t mean the league will choose to expand, but the mention of summer was the first time putting an updated timeline on when the league could begin the process.

“I think as we get into the summer we’ll get into a formal process of how we go about doing it. I don’t want to say it’s a forgone conclusion we’re going to expand, but I also think over time organizations tend to grow,” Silver said.

During the NBA Board of Governors meetings last month in New York, Silver declined to put a timeline on when expansion talks would begin. Silver previously said last September that he expected expansion to be addressed at some point during the 2024-25 season.

That timeline has changed but perhaps not by too much.

In the interview with McAfee, Silver specifically spoke about Seattle and Las Vegas as the two most obvious expansion candidates.

“There’s no doubt there’s been interest in Las Vegas. Seattle, I’ve been very public about it that it was a market that was fantastic for the league that we left at the time for understandable reasons but there’s no doubt there continues to be enormous passion in that market for the NBA. We’re looking at those markets and others,” Silver said.

He also noted the success of other franchises in Seattle and Las Vegas as indicators of potential NBA success, but also pointed out the decision is not a no-brainer as the other 30 franchises would be in essence giving up equity — albeit at the cost of a hefty expansion fee from any newcomers.

“I look at the success of those markets for other major league teams. It’s easy to present a scenario where you can see it working for the league. But I don’t want to jump the gun here,” Silver said.

The next NBA Board of Governors meeting is expected to be in July during NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.