NBA set to vote soon on exploring Seattle expansion, report says

SEATTLE – An important step in the potential return of the NBA to Seattle is on the horizon.

ESPN reported Monday morning that league owners are expected to vote next week to enter into the official expansion process specific to Seattle and Las Vegas.

The league’s board of governors is meeting the middle of next week with a vote expected to take place that would start the negotiating window and could lead to a final approval this year on the addition of the two teams.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said during the All-Star Game last month that the upcoming owners meeting would include significant discussion around expansion but that any vote on the official awarding of franchises was not expected.

Silver said the goal coming out of the meeting will be to go “out into the marketplace” and get an idea of which ownership groups might be interested in bringing expansion teams to their respective cities.

But getting the OK from owners to take the next step and start a negotiation process – or bidding process – with prospective owners is a massively important procedural step and would be the most significant moment in the push to return the SuperSonics to Seattle since the attempted move of the Sacramento Kings here in 2013.

Industry sources indicated to the Seattle Times in recent weeks that momentum had shifted significantly and that the return of a franchise to Seattle was becoming more likely. There was also the virtual meeting between Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson and Silver in early February that drew attention. Public records regarding that meeting obtained by the Times – first reported by KVI radio – showed that Ferguson had been in contact with the ownership of the Seattle Kraken regarding the potential return of the NBA.

Those documents indicated that the new Washington tax dubbed the “millionaires tax,” which has been sent to Gov. Bob Ferguson for an expected signature, could prove to be a challenge for “recruiting top players,” and that “state assistance” could be needed for a practice facility.

It’s been more than 20 years since the NBA last expanded and returned a franchise to Charlotte, North Carolina, after the original version of the Hornets moved to New Orleans. That’s left questions about how the process would go if the league chooses to move forward on an expansion process now.

The expected vote next week is the first step and would require approval from 23 of the 30 current league owners. An approval there would empower Silver to take on the second step and enter into conversations with prospective ownership groups in Las Vegas and Seattle. The league would love multiple bidders, as that would likely drive up the eventual expansion fee price.

In terms of Seattle, the Kraken ownership group has previously stated its intent to be involved in the expansion conversations should they start. And it has a decided advantage in the process, already holding a stake in Climate Pledge Arena and being the primary tenant in the building. A different ownership group would have to negotiate with them on terms to use Climate Pledge or explore constructing their own arena in the area, which history has shown to be a mostly losing proposition.

The ESPN report included two parts to the expansion process that had been hinted at previously. It said the teams would begin in the 2028-29 season if approved and that the expansion fee could end up in the range of $7 billion-$10 billion.

An expansion fee in that range would be significantly higher than what was expected a few years ago, when rumblings of expansion began. But that range reflects the growing valuations among NBA teams with the Boston Celtics selling at a valuation of over $6 billion and the Los Angeles Lakers selling at a valuation of $10 billion in the past year.

It also brings some uncertainty of where all the money is going to come from for an expansion fee that high, at a time when the Seahawks are also going through their sale process and could fetch a price in roughly the same range.

The targeted start of the franchises is notable. It would be 20 years after the Sonics left for Oklahoma City that the league would potentially return.