The expansion Seattle Sonics could be arriving at a Climate Pledge Arena near you as soon as the 2028-29 NBA season.
Really? No, really?
“The NBA will hold a vote at the Board of Governors meetings March 24-25 to explore adding expansion teams exclusively in Las Vegas and Seattle,” reported ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania, “with the two franchises targeted for the 2028-29 season.”
“If the league moves forward,” said USA Today, “there could potentially be a vote later this year to finalize the expansion to 32 teams. For the proposal to pass, it would need support from 23 of the 30 governors.”
Expansion Flame Burns Anew
Just when we thought the pilot light had been extinguished on NBA expansion, commissioner Adam Silver re-ignited the flame with comments at February’s NBA All-Star Game. Monday, that flame burst into a wildfire of news, all good. Sources have told Charania that momentum is building in the direction of expansion. As to what could potentially overcome previous resistance, “What industry executives project will be bids in the $7-to-$10 billion range for each team.”
Seattle NBA fans have suffered through almost two decades of false starts, false hopes, and empty outcomes. Charania told mynortwest.com that this time should be different. “This first vote next week on the 24th and 25th of the Board of Governors meeting is a formality to pass, from my understanding.” Charania said, “That will give the NBA permissionto go start a bidding process, start a franchise purchasing process to explore these two new expansion franchises in Las Vegas and in Seattle.”
At February’s All-Star gathering in L.A., commissioner Silver said, “We will make decisions in 2026. In fairness to the cities – Seattle and Las Vegas in particular – I don’t want to tease cities or mislead anyone. We will likely come out of those meetings ready, prepared to take a next step in terms of potentially talking to interested parties.”
Although that was a bit of a tease, commissioner, it was also a significant uptick in tone. Just last September, a Seattle Times headline poured cold water on hopes from earlier in 2025: “NBA expansion talk far down list after Board of Governors meeting.” At the time, a faction of owners wasn’t sure they wanted to dilute the profits from a gigantic new media rights deal. There were also reports of friction between New York Knicks owner James Dolan and the league office.
Expansion Framework Already Being Built
High-level meetings have already taken place in Nevada among potential expansion team investors, Gov. Joe Lombardo, and other state movers and shakers. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that a familiar name led the MAGI investor group – L.A. Lakers Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. Johnson already owns stakes in the MLB Dodgers, NFL Commanders, WNBA Sparks, MLS LAFC, and the NWSL Spirit.
So, to the tea leaves. Johnson is a highly successful businessman as well as NBA legend. Magic wouldn’t publicly put his reputation and muscle behind an expansion team effort if he didn’t think there would be one available. This is encouraging for Sonics fans, because both the newspaper article and the commissioner mentioned Seattle as well as Vegas by name.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has already had a Zoom call with Silver, which both sides described as productive. U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) chimed in on social media, “There is no better and deserving city than Seattle if you want to talk about expansion. HUGE fan base plus history equals a great future for NBA in Seattle.” These are important gestures, because the league – justified or not – has felt disrespected in the past by city and state politicians. So the niceties count.
What counts even more is trustworthy and deep-pocketed potential owners, and a team-ready arena. Seattle is positioned well on both counts. The NHL Seattle Kraken ownership group, led by Samantha Holloway and CEO Tod Leiweke, has already demonstrated its ability to build a 1st-class pro expansion franchise from the studs up (and roof down).
Along with the OVG construction company, the owners made sure the $1.15 billion renovation to what is now Climate Pledge Arena could immediately accommodate an NBA team. They spent $50 million specifically to comply with league specifications for locker rooms, etc. An already built, state-of-the-art showplace is a selling point even Magic Johnson can’t match.
Ready, Set, Speculate
Kraken owners have been prudent to avoid, as they have described it, “getting ahead of the process.” But that doesn’t apply to the rest of us, right? So let’s speculate.
Among the boatload of issues still to be ironed out, which team moves to the Eastern Conference when Vegas and Seattle are placed in the West. How will divisions be re-populated. How many players from each team will be made available in the expansion draft.
Then there’s the regular draft and the salary cap. Forbes.com wrote, “Between not being able to land the No. 1 overall pick right away and having a smaller-than-usual salary cap, the deck will be stacked against the expansion teams in Seattle and Las Vegas unless the NBA has a change of heart in the next few years.”
What’s that about no top overall pick? “All seven (most recent NBA expansion teams) were prohibited from landing the No. 1 overall pick in their first year of existence. The (Charlotte) Bobcats received the No. 4 overall pick in 2004, while the other six teams picked no higher than sixth. The NBA needs to figure out how to fit the two new expansion teams into the 2028 draft.”
As to the amount the new franchises can spend, “The league’s latest collective bargaining agreement says any expansion teams moving forward will have a salary cap equal to 66.6% of the NBA’s actual salary cap in their first year of existence and a salary cap equal to 80% of the actual salary cap in their second year.
“Granted, they might not have the opportunity to select many (if any) max players in the expansion draft. Any max players whom their respective teams leave unprotected will likely come with major medical and/or contractual red flags. Still, it may be tough for either expansion team to roster more than one max player in the first year or two of their existence due to those salary-cap restrictions.”
All of these granular issues will get resolved down the road. For the present, enjoy the renewal of optimism. After all, spring begins this week. And now we know why this guy was spotted at a recent Kraken game!
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