“The appetite in the room I would define more as curiosity and more ‘Let’s do the work,’” said Adam Silver, when asked if NBA owners were hungry for expansion. In classic commissioner fashion, it was a diplomatic way of saying: expansion isn’t off the table — it’s just not on the menu yet.
Still, the smoke keeps getting thicker. Rumors of the NBA adding one or two new franchises have been swirling for years, but they hit a new level after the league inked its massive 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal with ESPN, ABC, NBC Universal, and Amazon. With that kind of money pouring in, the conversation isn’t if, it’s when.
But expansion isn’t just about planting new flags. It’s a high-stakes puzzle with major ripple effects — from how existing teams are valued, to how the talent pool gets divided, to what a new revenue-sharing model might look like. And before high-profile names like LeBron James or Stephen Curry can even think about owning a team, the league has to iron out those details behind the scenes.
According to a recent report by Spotrac reporter Keith Smith, an Eastern Conference GM gave his thoughts on this potential change. He stated, “It’s been a pretty open secret that we’re going to expand. My guess is that it will be here (Las Vegas) and Seattle, but that’s just a guess. They seem to be the best candidates. I have no idea how the league will rebalance the conferences. One team moving to the East makes sense, but maybe they blow it all up and relook at the entire conference structure?”
The location of both Las Vegas and Seattle means that both teams would land in the Western Conference. This means an unequal division would take place, since 15 squads would be in the East, and 17 in the West. Since Las Vegas and Seattle have been hyped up for over a year now, an existing team will have to make the sacrifice and shift to another city.
How will this affect Stephen Curry and LeBron James?
Well, it is no secret that the Golden State Warriors star wants to one day follow in Michael Jordan’s footsteps, and own a NBA franchise. In fact, back in June 2025, he brought up Jordan and said, “He might be the only one in our generation who has sat in that seat and done it that way. The idea of being a part of an ownership group and the right opportunity that allows me to have an impact on how a franchise should be operated — how you’re going after true winning, like we’ve done here with the Warriors — that’s something I’m excited about pursuing. It’s interesting. Obviously, as an active player, you can’t participate in that level until you’re done. So you’ll see me in the seat somewhere down the road.”
This is a developing story.
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