NBA Commissioner Adam Silver talks NBA expansion and mentions the ‘enormous interest’ in both Seattle and Las Vegas

The expansion of the basketball league has been a common subject in recent times, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver just gave the latest update over the potential cities that could be added to the competition in the next few years. 

This past Monday afternoon, the administrator emphasized that this action will not be done in a rush as they still have plenty of priorities to address before they are to take any rash decisions over expansions, but he assures that there’s two US destinations that are ready to develop their franchises as soon as they’re given a green light.

“We will turn to expansion once those new media deals are done,” Silver explained while speaking at the APSE conference. “It’s not a sure thing but, as I’ve said before, I think it’s natural that organizations grow over time.”

Adam Silver mentions Seattle and Las Vegas as possible destinations for future expansion teams.

"It's not a sure thing but, as I've said before, I think it's natural that organizations grow over time.” (Via @mikevorkunov)

Which city do you want to see get an NBA team? pic.twitter.com/57ppBLD9GO

— SleeperHoops (@Sleeper_Hoops) July 11, 2023

Both Las Vegas and Seattles are the two cities mentioned by the NBA Commissioner, the first which is currently hosting the Summer League and the second one which was the former home of the Supersonics.

“There’s no doubt there’s enormous interest in Seattle,” Silver said. “That’s not a secret.”

In other subjects, this Monday Silver felt the need to address the gambling trends within basketball, as he believes that all sport leagues in the country should be keeping a close eye on this growing conflict.

“I think that public markets worked very well in this country,” the commissioner expressed. “But the other side of a public market is the potential for insider trading. And there’s very sophisticated algorithms, etc., that track it. It’s not that different in sports now, especially when you get higher volumes of betting.

“You have very sophisticated computers; when they see aberrational betting … you’re going to get caught.”

His remarks come after the NFL recently had to suspend four players for violations of its gambling policy, as three of the athletes received at least year-long bans for betting on football matches and the other was handed a six-game suspension for doing the same on non-NFL related games.

“I think there’s a responsibility for these leagues to invest more education, not just our own players, but of young people who might be doing something inappropriate or anybody who might be engaging in problematic gambling,” Silver concluded.

Silver was asked about Ja Morant’s lack of response ever since he was handed his 25-game ban from the NBA’s upcoming season

As we are still yet to hear a formal response from Memphis star Ja Morant ever since he received his 25-match suspension from the NBA, the Commissioner was asked about his opinion.

Even though Silver still considers it a fair punishment for the player’s second incident displaying a firearm on social media, he revealed he’s rooting for him to have an amazing comeback once Morant’s done with his ban.

“As I understand it, he is continuing to seek help,” Silver claimed. “And I know there’s enormous pressure that comes with being an NBA player, particularly a superstar player.

“So I’m certainly empathetic to the pressures he faces but I also feel, particularly around guns and the kind of violence we’re seeing among young people in our society, that this is something we have to take incredibly seriously.”