Adam Silver once called NBA expansion manifest destiny
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Silver made clear that any NBA expansion was not imminent, given there were still some major hurdles to get past before the league would be ready to add a new franchise. One such area is the regional television distribution rights, and how games would be distributed within local markets of an upstart franchise.
The NBA’s announcement of an expansion analysis was met with a muted response from potential expansion applicants and tepid optimism among fans in Seattle.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told reporters Wednesday that while the league prefers the for-sale Portland Trail Blazers new owners keep the team in the Rose City, the city "likely needs a new arena" to do so.