Seattle SuperSonics Thread

[Public Enemy]

 

[Public Enemy]

Now that the season is officially over, there's just the draft and then the upcoming owners meetings and then hopefully the announcement. I'm getting ready

Can't wait

 

[アミーゴ]

Now that the season is officially over, there's just the draft and then the upcoming owners meetings and then hopefully the announcement. I'm getting ready

Can't wait

Ready for Vegas

 

[アミーゴ]

Sick of this trolling - can we please ban DCAllAfrican from this thread? He’s a Wizards fan


darthska

 

[darthska]

Sick of this trolling - can we please ban DCAllAfrican from this thread? He’s a Wizards fan


darthska

Just looked at his post history in here. There are actual Laker fans in the Lakers thread faaar worse than his presence in here.
If he is a Wizards fan, it's certainly not obvious just by looking at his posts in here.
If he is trolling the Sonics & Sonics fans, it's certainly not obvious just by looking at his posts in here.
I do see some back-and-forth between you and him, but if that bothers you, you can stop replying (planned ignoring). And of course, there's always the block feature.

 

[darthska]

- I agree with Penny: it's a shame.
- Those KD18 ROTY are SICK.
- My first thought Sunday night was, "That should be in Seattle."
- NBA gotta right this wrong.

 

[Public Enemy]

Bruh, how much longer we gotta wait for them to make the announcement. I know it's different, I know. A LOT different. But come on.
Seattle and Vegas. We all know it. Give us SOMEthing Silver

 

[Public Enemy]

 

[Public Enemy]

NBA will take a harder look at expansion, Commissioner Adam Silver says

The NBA may finally be one step closer on the long road to expansion. Commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday that the league has been tasked by team owners to study the issue more formally, which would be the first official move in a long process toward adding franchises.

apnews.com

Spoiler

NBA will take a harder look at expansion, Commissioner Silver says | AP News​

By TIM REYNOLDS

4–5 minutes

---

Updated 10:47 PM EDT, July 15, 2025
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The NBA may finally be one step closer on the long road to expansion.

Commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday that the league has been tasked by team owners to study the issue more formally as part of in-depth analysis, which would be the first official move in a long process toward adding franchises.

There’s no timetable about how long the process will take, nor have any decisions been made on what the expansion fee will be, when the new teams will start play — or even if expansion is going to actually happen.

The league isn’t creating a new committee to study expansion; the duties, for now, will fall primarily to a pair of existing groups, with the advisory finance committee leading and the audit and strategy committee also involved.

“A lot of analysis still needs to be done and nothing has been predetermined,” Silver said.


The decision to take a harder look at expansion wasn’t totally unexpected, since the notion of adding clubs has been a talking point for several years. Cities like Las Vegas and Seattle — long perceived to be the front-runners should the NBA decide to expand past its current 30-team footprint — will surely continue to push to be the eventual picks. And Silver himself has said previously that he expects expansion will happen at some point.

“I think there is a significant step now in that we are now engaging in this in-depth analysis, something we weren’t prepared to do before,” Silver said. “But beyond that, it’s really Day 1 of that in-depth analysis. And so, in terms of price, potential timing, it’s too early to say. ... It is truly a complicated issue.”


The next board of governors meeting will likely take place sometime in September.

Expansion has long been a difficult issue, since it’ll mean, among other things, that the current owners will have decided to sell equity in a league that is on a financial roll right now.


“For every team you add, you’re diluting the economics of the current league,” Silver said.

A new series of media rights deals worth $76 billion kicks in for this coming season, franchise values across the league have soared and the two most title-laden franchises in the NBA, the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, clubs that have combined for about half of the titles handed out in league history, are in the process of being sold with a combined valuation of at least $16.1 billion.

The Celtics are being sold to private equity mogul Bill Chisholm with a valuation of at least $6.1 billion, which was a record until the Buss family agreed to sell the Lakers to businessman Mark Walter — also the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers — with a valuation of $10 billion.

“There’s no question that those purchase prices have an impact on any economic analysis of teams, so it doesn’t necessarily complicate it more, but it certainly is an indication of value,” Silver said. “And one other factor we have to look at: we’re trying to think what is the value of expansion, what does it mean to dilute the existing equity, and how additive is this potentially to the league by adding an additional team.”


The league has added seven franchises since 1988, but none since 2004. There has been several instances of rebranding and relocating since — most notably, the Seattle SuperSonics moving to Oklahoma City in 2008 and becoming the Thunder — but the league has been at 30 teams for the past two decades.

 

[DsLee]

Hearing Dolan is trying to convince other owners to not expand. I bet they're more focused on establishing that Euro league, which would bring even more $, so they're not in a rush to split the pie.

 

[Public Enemy]

36 mins - full news conference

 

[Public Enemy]

Hearing Dolan is trying to convince other owners to not expand. I bet they're more focused on establishing that Euro league, which would bring even more $, so they're not in a rush to split the pie.

 

[elpablo21]

Bunch of stalling to pivot elsewhere

This is getting old

 

[Public Enemy]

Spoiler

NBA takes ‘significant’ step toward evaluating expansion, commissioner Adam Silver says​

Josh Robbins

4–5 minutes

---

By Josh Robbins

July 15, 2025Updated July 16, 2025 12:33 am EDT

---

LAS VEGAS — The NBA is starting to take a detailed look at potential expansion.

Commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday night that the league office has been directed by its board of governors to undertake “in-depth analysis of all the issues around expansion, both economic and non-economic.”

“A lot of analysis still needs to be done, and nothing’s been predetermined one way or another, and without any specific timeline,” Silver said.

Silver added that a combination of two existing committees will analyze the issue: the league’s advisory finance committee, which will have primary jurisdiction over the issue, and the league’s audit and strategy committee, which will study the economics.

The league currently has 30 franchises and last expanded when it added the Charlotte Bobcats, now called the Hornets, to begin play with the 2004-05 season.

Much has changed since then, particularly franchise values.

Private equity firm magnate Bill Chisholm recently agreed to purchase the Boston Celtics in a deal that is ultimately expected to be approved for more than $6.1 billion. Financier Mark Walter, who owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, recently agreed to purchase the Los Angeles Lakers from the Buss family in a deal that valued the team at $10 billion and could eventually value it at $12 billion.


Had the league expanded five years ago, Silver said, the league “would have underpriced the market” for new expansion franchises, noting no model existed that would have predicted the Celtics and Lakers’ sale prices.

“That’s why it gets fairly complex, because the most difficult issue in terms of thinking about expansion is not looking at the current economics,” Silver said. “It’s trying to project out in terms of what the future should be.”

Also complicating matters is the uncertainty of local media rights — something Silver acknowledged on Tuesday night as he answered questions from reporters following the league’s summer board of governors meeting here. Some regional sports networks have struggled in recent years, with a few facing bankruptcy, and with existing teams seeing a decrease in revenue.

Silver added, “I think we would be malpracticing if we didn’t figure out how local and regional television is going to work before expanding. The notion that we’d hand over a team to a city we’re not currently operating in and say ‘You’re going to have to figure out how you’re going to distribute your games to your local fans’ doesn’t make any sense.”

Seattle and Las Vegas are generally perceived — by the general public, anyway — as strong expansion candidates if the league expands.

“I think there is a significant step now,” Silver said when asked about the league potentially expanding. “We’re now engaging in this in-depth analysis, something we weren’t prepared to do before. But beyond that … it’s really day one of that analysis. So, in terms of price, potential timing, (it’s) too early to say. And again, I think that assumes the outcome of this analysis. It’s truly a complicated issue.”

 

[Sinner]

 

[Public Enemy]

 

[Sinner]

 

[Public Enemy]

I can't believe it's damn near November 2025 and we STILL have nothing.

Just kept being "wait until this happens" - thing happens, no news - "Oh, wait until this happens" - thing happens, no news.

Where are we at now in terms of waiting? What event are we waiting for next

 

[Sinner]

 

[dmbrhs]

Legend.

My favorite fact about him is that the Sonics were 5-17 to start the season. They fired the coach, hired Lenny, went 42-18 the rest of the way and made it to Game 7 of the NBA Finals. They lost to Washington, but beat them the following season, 4-1. They had an even better record in 1980, but team infighting, plus the arrival of Magic, tipped everything in LA's favor. If Magic somehow didn't end up in LA, we're talking probably a repeat champion Sonics team, they figure out the contract situation with DJ and Gus (the two best guards in the league other than Magic) and they keep chugging along as a contender.

 

[jayt1202]

RIP to a legend in Lenny. Always enjoyed listening to him talk ball during broadcasts.

 

[DCAllAfrican]

Favorite memories of Lenny Wilkins came from being the coach of those early 90s Cavs teams. Rest in Peace Coach

 

[DsLee]

I'm happy he got his statue and flowers, while he could still smell them. A Seattle legend forever, Rest in Power.

 

[Public Enemy]

Adam Silver: Decision on NBA expansion will be made in 2026

Adam Silver laid out a definitive timeline for expansion for the first time, saying a decision will be made sometime in 2026 on whether to add more NBA teams.

www.espn.com

Adam Silver: Decision on NBA expansion will be made in 2026

Tim BontempsDec 16, 2025, 09:29 PM ET

LAS VEGAS -- For the first time, NBA commissioner Adam Silver laid out a definitive timeline for domestic expansion, saying a decision would be made on whether to proceed sometime in 2026.

"I'd say in terms of domestic expansion, that is something we're continuing to look at," Silver said at a news conference before the NBA Cup final between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night. "It's not a secret we're looking at this market in Las Vegas. We are looking at Seattle. We've looked at other markets, as well. I'd say I want to be sensitive there about this notion that we're somehow teasing these markets, because I know we've been talking about it for a while.

"As I've said before, domestic expansion, as opposed to doing a new league in Europe, is selling equity in this current league. If you own 1/30 of this league, now you own 1/32 if you add two teams. So it's a much more difficult economic analysis. In many ways, it requires predicting the future.

"I think now we're in the process of working with our teams and gauging the level of interest and having a better understanding of what the economics would be on the ground for those particular teams and what a pro forma would look like for them, and then sometime in 2026 we'll make a determination."

The topic of expansion has been lingering for five years, since Silver first acknowledged the possibility in a news conference ahead of the 2020-21 season. But like in that news conference, when Silver changed his public stance for the first time, he had never announced a timeline for a decision to be made until now.

And, if the league chooses to move forward with expansion, the heavy favorites to land teams are Seattle and Las Vegas -- the former having been without a team for almost 20 years since the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City, and the latter having been referred to as the "31st NBA city" for a while between hosting the NBA's annual summer league in July and now the NBA Cup final.

Silver did nothing to dissuade that notion Tuesday.

"I think Seattle and Las Vegas are two incredible cities," Silver said. "Obviously we had a team in Seattle that had great success. We have a WNBA team here in Las Vegas in the Aces. We've been playing the summer league here for 20 years. We're playing our Cup games here, so we're very familiar with this market.

"I don't have any doubt that Las Vegas, despite all of the other major league teams that are here now, the other entertainment properties, that this city could support an NBA team."

Silver touched on several other topics Tuesday, including:

• As the WNBA and its players remain engaged in protracted negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement, Silver said he and deputy commissioner Mark Tatum are willing to do "whatever is necessary" to help the two sides come to an agreement.

"I'm tracking things very closely," Silver said. "We're integrated at the league office. I talk to the people who are at the negotiating table on a daily basis.

"As I've said before, we, the NBA, WNBA collective, acknowledged that our players deserve to be paid significantly more than they have so far based on the increased success of the league, and it's just a question now of finding a meeting of the minds in terms of what is a fair deal. It's going to require compromise on both sides.

"I remain optimistic we'll get something done."

Both sides agreed to an extension of the current CBA through Jan. 9, the second extension of the negotiations.

• When asked about future Hall of Famer Chris Paul being dramatically sent home by the LA Clippers a few weeks ago, Silver said that he had spoken to Paul, though not Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, about the situation and was "dismayed" it had reached that point.

"I'm particularly close to Chris because he was president of the [National Basketball] Players Association for many years," Silver said. "... I would love to see him finish off the season on another team. He's already announced this is his last season, so I'd love to see him finish strong."

When asked if he would have liked the situation to be handled differently, Silver said that was not for him to say.

• Silver pushed back on the notion that injuries are up across the league and that the schedule has more density to it because of the NBA Cup.

"All I can deal with is the data itself," Silver said. "And the data we have so far this season is we have the lowest number of injuries in the last three years.

"I'll stop there and say, regardless where the level of injuries stands versus prior years, of course the soft tissue injuries concern us. All injuries concern us, for that matter. The most frustrating issue right now, and the one that we have seemingly the least control over, is keeping star players on the floor.

"I think we have made progress. We've made adjustments in scheduling. We've made adjustments in the sharing of information among teams. We've made adjustments in the care of players. But there are no silver bullets here."

Silver touched on a variety of other things -- including players specializing in a single sport at a far earlier age than in the past, the faster pace of play today and the year-round training of athletes -- as all potentially playing a part, before saying the league is committed to studying the issue in every way possible.

"So the answer is it's frustrating," Silver said. "It's frustrating for our teams. It's frustrating for our fans. But I do think we have to be true to what the evidence is as opposed to saying there's a narrative out there that injuries are up or injuries are up because of scheduling. They're not."

 

[dmbrhs]

Aces get a shout out when the Storm have won four titles is certainly a choice lol