It's finally here! The NBA will officially discuss expanding to 32 teams Seattle and Las Vegas are very enthusiastic

On May 14, Beijing time, NBA commissioner Adam Shaw said that he expects the next meeting of league owners this summer to discuss the expansion of the league, and formally discuss the expansion of the NBA to 32 teams.

In an interview with SiriusXM NBA Radio, Shaw was asked how the league has progressed on its views on the expansion in the nearly eight weeks since the league's board last met in New York. At that meeting, an agreement had just been reached on the sale of the Boston Celtics, but it had not yet been reviewed by the league.

Shaw said the league has an opportunity to review the Celtics' plan to sell and is confident in the plan, which also provides an opportunity to advance discussions about expansion.

"I think at the coalition board meeting in Las Vegas in July, we're going to have the expansion on the agenda," Shaw said. I feel like we're going to have an in-depth discussion with the owners of the 30 teams about potential expansions, hear their views, and look at how we can move forward with them. ”

Previously, Shaw had said in September 2024 that he thought the bosses would start working on the expansion process sometime in the 2024-25 season. However, the sale of the Celtics has delayed the expected timeline for the league to discuss expansion.

At the alliance's board meeting in March, Mr. Xiao declined to disclose the timing of discussions about the expansion. Last month, Mr. Shaw hinted in a podcast that he would discuss the expansion of the army this summer.

Shaw's comments came an hour after Paul Allen's estate administrators announced that they would officially begin the process of selling the Portland Trail Blazers, which is expected to continue into the next NBA season. While this could be another obstacle to the expansion discussion, the Trail Blazers' position in the NBA market suggests that it may have a different impact on the expansion than the Celtics' sale, and is unlikely to cause the same delay.

At the end of 2024, sports media outlet Sportico valued the Trail Blazers at $3.6 billion, ranking 23rd in the league, while the Celtics were valued at $6.1 billion for sale. The Celtics' selling price has a greater impact on the expansion costs that the new team may have to pay than the Trail Blazers' final selling price.

In this interview, Xiao Hua once again expressed concerns about talent dilution and the possible economic impact of the potential addition of two new teams, which is in line with his past views. He also said that the "specific timeline" for the expansion was still up for debate. Again, however, he mentioned two cities that were often mentioned in discussions about military expansion.

"It's clear that Seattle has a lot of enthusiasm to join the league, and the same is true of Las Vegas, as well as several other cities," Shaw said. I learned from various sources about the intentions of these cities. To be clear, we have not initiated any relevant procedures. So, even when a city expressed interest, we replied, 'Thank you for your interest, but we're not ready to meet and have a more in-depth discussion.'" 'Earlier this summer, we'll have the opportunity to talk to the owners of NBA teams and hear what they think. ”