Has NBA hit brakes on Seattle Sonics expansion? What an ESPN insider says

Seattle sports fans have been waiting for over 16 years for a Sonics franchise to return to the NBA, with expansion serving as their best hope. And in the last year, that has seemed closer than ever.

That’s why the latest update provided by NBA commissioner Adam Silver last week was a bit troubling for hoops fans in the Pacific Northwest.

Silver had said that the league would address potential expansion once its new media rights deal was finished, but now that something has been signed, he didn’t make it sound like the league is in any kind of hurry.

“We’re not quite ready,” Silver said on Sept. 10 during the league’s Board of Governor’s meetings. “… I know I’ve said this before, I think over time organizations should grow. It is appropriate. But it gets a bit complicated in terms of selling equity in the league, what that means for the existing television relationships, etc. What we’ve told interested parties is, ‘Thank you for your interest, we’ll be back to you.’”

NBA commissioner’s latest expansion update: ‘We’re not quite ready’

What on earth does that mean? Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy caught up with ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst on Tuesday, and he explained what he believes is going on.

Brace yourselves, Sonics fans.

“He applied the brakes a little bit with this last round,” Windhorst said of Silver. “I think with the process that was moving, I think there was some expectation that they would take some sort of step this fall at this owners’ meeting – whether it was just maybe announcing a committee to study the (expansion) process, or announcing something. But he basically sort of applied the brakes a little bit.”

OK, not great. But why would Silver do that?

“I believe a significant reason why the NBA did that was because this Boston Celtics sale, which is forthcoming – there’s a legacy franchise for sale that is most likely going to set the record for the highest sales price in league history,” Windhorst continued. “There’s going to be a number of reasons to go slower, but you may want to open up the bidding for an expansion team or expansion teams after the market is reset by a gigantic sale. So I think the Celtics coming to market may have had at least some effect on that decision.”

(***Excuse me while I go into a brief commentary***)

Now if that isn’t just what Sonics fans want to hear while the NBA prepares for a preseason game next month at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena for a third straight year. Still just testing out the feasibility of the market, right? Why, you would never gouge a starving fan base that continues to pack the arena every time you give it a measly crumb of a game.

“Don’t worry, Seattle. We’ll just take your money for a meaningless exhibition – again! – while we drag our feet instead of going forward with expansion because we want to see how much more we can make thanks to the ownership of the defending NBA champions cashing out their chips.”

(***End of commentary***)

Should the NBA get around to expansion, Windhorst thinks the Seattle Sonics make the most sense for a new franchise. But in his comments, he went out of his way to exercise caution.

“If you were to ask me do I think there’s going to be expansion, I would say probably, not definitely,” Windhorst said. “If you were to ask me whether I thought that expansion would include the return of the Sonics, I would say probably but not definitely. And I think that’s just a responsible way to go about it.”

Seattle and Las Vegas have been the rumored favorites to land teams if the NBA expands, but Windhorst said nothing is for sure right now.

“I know that everybody just sort of assumes Seattle and Las Vegas (to be awarded expansion teams), and that is maybe the way it’s going to go, but remember, the NBA may be trying to get concessions out of these cities,” he said. “And I’m not talking about paying for an arena. There’s many, many different things that can benefit a team and create more value to a potential owner, and so having cities compete with each other potentially benefits the NBA. … Don’t assume anybody’s going to do any city or any owner or any fan base a favor. No one’s going to be mean, but this is going to be a business deal all the way through. The NBA is looking for the best deal. They’re not doing something because it would be cool to see something happen. … You’re going to see the NBA go for the best deal. There may be a beautiful story that happens when the best deal materializes, but you can never, ever forget that.”

Windhorst said there while there are multiple reasons a Seattle Sonics franchise makes for the best NBA expansion candidate, that’s not enough to start counting chickens.

“What I have been saying is I don’t understand why people are all beating down the door to get to Vegas when Seattle was there. If it were me, I’d rather own the team in Seattle than own a team in Vegas,” he said. “I think the Seattle market is incredibly attractive. I think the corporate base is incredibly attractive. I’m old enough to remember attending and covering Sonics games back in the 2000s. I certainly would think that it’s a very attractive market, and that’s one of the things that I would, again, caution people to make an assumption over who may be able to own a team.

“I suspect if this materializes, people are going to say, you know, the Seattle market is pretty attractive for a number of different reasons. But I really would say a lot of it is just a projection at this point. Can I close my eyes and see the Sonics playing before the end of the decade? Yes. Would I say for sure? I just can’t do that responsibly.”

Hear the full Bump and Stacy conversation with ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst on potential Seattle Sonics expansion in the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post.

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