Yesterday, before the start of the NBA Finals, Commissioner Adam Silver engaged in his annual press conference addressing the state of the league and its hottest issues. Tim Bontemps of ESPN has a nice summary of the event, highlighting Silver’s thoughts on expansion, the All-Star Game, and more.
The idea of adding teams to the league is not new, but Silver said that owners are likely to discuss the matter more seriously now. Unspoken, but lying just beneath the surface of the issue, is the new broadcast rights agreement which kicks in next year. Now that the league understands how much they’ll make from broadcasts—a major source of income—they can craft appropriate terms (and sale prices) for any expansion franchises. Silver indicated at the press conference that the process would get underway soon, likely with an official exploration committee:
“There’s been no lack of interest,” Silver said. “I essentially have said to people from several different cities, ‘We’re just not engaging in that process right now.’ I want to be fair to everyone. So I don’t want to have meetings with some and not others. So if we were to say yes, we’re now going to move into a more formal exploratory phase. We would take those meetings, and in addition likely we would engage with outside advisers who would look at markets, look at economic opportunities and media opportunities, etc.”
Expansion talks have been at a low simmer for years. Fans in Seattle are especially interested, as they’ve been waiting for a replacement for the Seattle SuperSonics since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City in 2008.
Bontemps reports that Silver also talked about a USA vs. World All-Star Game format, the new era of parity in the NBA (generally positive), and reducing the 82-game regular season schedule (completely negative).
The NBA Finals will resume on Sunday in Oklahoma. The Indiana Pacers lead the OKC Thunder 1-0 after Game 1.
