NBA commissioner Adam Silver didn’t entirely shoot down the idea of expansion, but indicated any thoughts of it have been placed on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Silver was speaking to reporters at his season-opening state of the NBA address. He indicated the league remains open to the idea of adding teams, but that it would “like to get further away from the pandemic before we move forward there.”
This follows his comments prior to the 2020 season restart at the Orlando bubble, when he said, “We’ve dusted off the expansion analysis. It’s not imminent, but it’s something we’re starting to look at.”
As RealGM noted, in the event the NBA does decide to expand, it is more likely to add two franchises, as opposed to just one. That way, the league could maintain an even number of teams (from the current 30 to a potential 32).
Most inside the NBA seem to believe that expansion would mark the return of the Seattle SuperSonics, who moved to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder in April 2008.
Other cities believes to be on the NBA’s radar: Las Vegas, Louisville, St. Louis, Vancouver, Las Vegas, Louisville, St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Kansas City.
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