Rumors

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson on Thursday previewed an upcoming meeting with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver ahead of a planned vote on league expansion that could bring men’s professional basketball back to Seattle. ESPN has reported that the Tuesday and Wednesday meetings of the NBA’s board of governors next week in New York would include a vote on initiating expansion to Seattle and Las Vegas.

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Draymond Green: Man, can you imagine, though, for players in the Western Conference? You get Vegas and Seattle. Meanwhile, the East picks up Minnesota and Memphis. Man, that’s a drastic change. Guys in the West, you are ecstatic. Like, yo, you get trips to Vegas and Seattle now, as opposed to going to Minnesota more than once, or going to Memphis more than once. And just do Memphis—do everybody a favor—and move that team to Nashville. There are no great hotels in Memphis. I love the people of Memphis. They are incredible. Shout out to the people of Memphis. I love them. But just from an NBA standpoint, man, there’s not a sauna or a hot tub in sight. Nowhere. Not at the gym, not at a spa, not at a hotel—nothing. Not in sight. So the NBA either needs to send that team to Nashville so they can have proper facilities, or, even better, the NBA should make it mandatory that teams have at least a hot tub and cold tub, but probably also a sauna, in their visiting locker room.”

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To right a past wrong. Seattle has been the biggest city in the country without an NBA team for nearly 20 years, since the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City. Bringing a team back to Seattle in 2028-29, 20 years after the Thunder began playing in OKC in 2008, would become one of the defining events of Adam Silver's tenure as commissioner. For years, the issue with the NBA's return to Seattle was the lack of a replacement for KeyArena, deemed inadequate by the league as part of the Sonics' move. That changed in 2021 when the renovated Climate Pledge Arena opened as home of the WNBA's Storm and the expansion NHL Kraken.

ESPN

The Thunder, however, do not hang any banners for the SuperSonics in Oklahoma City, and in their media guide they don't highlight any Seattle stats -- listing, for example, Russell Westbrook as the team's all-time assists leader, rather than Payton. Sources said if a team was to return to Seattle, the Thunder would cede the Seattle history back to the SuperSonics -- just as the NBA's Charlotte Hornets reclaimed the Charlotte-era history of the New Orleans Pelicans when Charlotte regained the Hornets name in 2014.

ESPN

Vinny Benedetto: David Adelman's succinct thoughts on NBA expansion: "Keep Portland in Portland and add Seattle. Vegas would be cool. Nashville is a nice city."

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Sources said if a team was to return to Seattle, the Thunder would cede the Seattle history back to the SuperSonics -- just as the NBA's Charlotte Hornets reclaimed the Charlotte-era history of the New Orleans Pelicans when Charlotte regained the Hornets name in 2014.

ESPN

The NBA will hold a vote at the board of governors meetings next week to explore adding expansion teams exclusively in Las Vegas and Seattle, sources told ESPN, with the two new franchises being targeted to start play in the 2028-29 season. There is momentum within the board of governors and league office to approve moving forward with taking bids for franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle, according to sources with knowledge of the discussions.

ESPN

A growing number of owners are believed to support expansion because of the long-term revenue growth for the league from the Las Vegas and Seattle markets. Some owners remain hesitant on selling some of their shares and having their league equity go from 1/30 to 1/32, and want to see the final valuations of the bids plus the individual franchise fees before deciding whether to expand now or in a few more years.

ESPN

Executives across the NBA expect either the Minnesota Timberwolves or Memphis Grizzlies to move to the East to realign conferences with 16 each when Seattle and Las Vegas become West teams.

ESPN

So as speculation swirls about NBA expansion and bringing the Sonics back to Seattle, Payton II’s answer about bringing a team back to his second home was immediate. “Request a trade to Seattle,” Payton II recently told The Athletic. “Probably.” He (probably) isn’t kidding. The love for Seattle and the Sonics is still in his heart. “Respectfully. I love it here so much. But if we do (have a Seattle team) when I’m still here, I definitely want to go back and play there,” he added.

New York Times

We started the conversation about what it would mean for you to be able to play in Seattle — so we’ll end it here. If the team does come back — what would it mean to you personally? It was like a dream come true all over again. To be able to see them, to be able to go there and we have an opportunity to sit down and watch a game. Hopefully they can do it here in a few years so I can possibly go back and put on a Seattle SuperSonics jersey. But other than that, it’s for the basketball culture. Even if I do play for them or not, it will be good for the city of Seattle and good for the NBA.

New York Times

Blake Murphy: Jontay Porter has signed with Seattle of the USBL, and they’re saying he’ll play March 7. I believe he’s still awaiting sentencing.

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But each time he left the Pelicans’ practice facility, finally alone with his thoughts, his reality, he felt a crushing pain. “A lot of people don’t know,” Murray says, “a lot of stuff in life went downhill.” First, his mother had a stroke, a week before his first game of the 2024-25 season. He flew to see her in Seattle, where he grew up. She could barely speak, helpless in the hospital. Then he broke his left hand in the first game, causing him to undergo surgery and miss 17 games. Then his cousin was killed. Then his uncle suffered an overdose. And then, in January 2025, he suffered a season-ending ruptured right Achilles tendon. “Enough was enough,” Murray says.

New York Times

Oh No He Didn't: Shams on expansion: Seattle and Las Vegas are front-runners, 1 west team will move to east "This is still a few years away from actually taking place as far as these expansion teams being put forth for the public"

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