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Tim Bontemps, ESPN
NEW YORK – NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday that there will be no discussion of expansion at the league’s board of governors meeting this week, but that the topic will be discussed at some point “this season.”
“There hasn’t been a lot of discussion in this meeting about expansion, but it’s mostly not because of a lack of interest, so we’ve said we’re not ready yet,” Silver said at a press conference in conclusion. Tuesday afternoon meetings in a luxury midtown Manhattan hotel.
“It’s something that we told our Board we plan to address this season, and we are not quite ready. But I certainly have an interest in the process, and I think that we are not yet in the conditions that have been made. a specific decision about the market or even frankly to augment.”
The topic of expansion has been a constant in NBA circles for the past few years, with Seattle and Las Vegas being floated as potential homes for new teams. As time has passed, Silver has repeatedly said that the league will address the expansion in a certain order, taking care of the new collective bargaining agreement and then the new television deal before turning to the topic of expansion.
The CBA was agreed upon in the spring of 2023, and the NBA reached tentative agreements with Disney, Comcast and Amazon this year on new television deals, paving the way for the league to begin looking at expansion in the next few months. The first step in the process is to create a committee of several owners to explore the topic of expansion and determine the next steps.
Speaking of Seattle, Silver was also asked specifically about the Climate Pledge Arena, formerly known as Key Arena, and whether the arena’s renovations over the past few seasons would be enough to entice the league back after the Seattle SuperSonics move to Oklahoma. City in 2008.
Silver sidestepped the question, saying that the league is focused on every arena where it plays.
“The answer is yes,” Silver said. “We always pay attention to what is happening in other arenas around the United States when we play games there. We look closely at the support we receive in these markets.
“But by the way, we look everywhere. I have a pretty good library now in arenas everywhere in the world, and partly because even if we don’t play there regularly, there are things we can learn”.
In addition, Silver touched on several other topics, including:
• Beyond expansion, two separate NBA teams – the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Boston Celtics – are currently involved in the sale process. The sale of Minnesota from longtime owner Glen Taylor to entrepreneurs Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez has been mired in a months-long legal battle, with an upcoming arbitration hearing to determine whether Taylor’s decision not to sell the team will move forward. Silver said the League is staying hands-off in the case – including how it will react if one of the parties wins the arbitration case – and is letting the legal process play out.
“The short answer is no,” Silver said. “This is a process that does not depend on the league provided in the sales agreement, and because, depending on the result, the league then continues the vetting process for ownership. So it’s like a pencil in the league office. ; we are not doing anything in that situation, except pending the outcome of that arbitration.
Celtics Silver’s response was the same, saying there was not much to add beyond the sale process taking place after Boston’s controlling ownership group, led by Wyc Grousbeck, announced it would sell its controlling stake in the team shortly after. Boston claimed a record-setting 18th NBA title in June.
Silver said in the wake of the sale of the Timberwolves that he no longer wants there to be any “step” sale transaction that took place over a couple of years. When asked how Grousbeck felt about the possibility of selling the Celtics the same way, he said it would be decided on a case-by-case basis.
“In terms of the ownership composition and the potential step transaction, what we have said now is for us what you think and we will look at it uniquely. I think each situation is different. I remain the case of what I say philosophically about the transaction step, but the devil is in the details.
• Silver was also asked about the New York Times op-ed from about a decade ago, when he came out in favor of legalized sports betting, and how he established the current relationship between sports leagues and betting.
Silver later said he has no regrets about his position and that he believes regulation of the industry is necessary.
“I will say when it comes to sports betting, I certainly do not regret writing that op-ed piece and in favor of legalized sports betting,” Silver said. “I still think you can’t turn the clock back. I, like I said at the time, with the advent of the internet, a lot of online betting sports available, this is even before we have legalized it, well over 30 countries now where you can bet legally, that we must deal directly with technology and recognize that if we do not legalize sports betting, people will find ways to do it illegally.
“One thing that hasn’t changed, but I tried to be a realist, as you remember, before I wrote that op-ed piece – and before the Supreme Court overturned PASPA. Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act) and then allowed states to legalize sports betting – I’m in favor of the federal framework for sports betting I still think that the hodgepodge of states, it makes it more difficult for the league to manage it I create competition, understandably, between states to get — just think of New York, New Jersey or situations like that you’re both competing for the same customer so you can compete on tax rates and other things and regulatory framework.
“I think that the downsides of sports betting, they always exist, and I think we have to pay a lot of attention. I think where we hear it in various categories, you certainly see incidents of underaged people betting. We have to pay a lot of attention, what that can be done on college campuses, of course, people who have assumed that you have a credit card. There are better ways than when tracking legally, so I think there is a direct way to deal with it.
