NBA expansion into Seattle reportedly on the table

After stealing the Sonics, could the NBA be giving Seattle a franchise again?

NBA commissioner Adam Silver is optimistic that the NBA Players Association and the league’s owners will be able to agree on a new collective bargaining agreement in time to avoid work stoppages like the ones that cost the league big chunks of its schedule in 1999 and 2011. It’s been pointed out that, because of the unprecedented cash flow that makes griping about money counterproductive, this gives the two sides a chance to get creative in their negotiations. Reportedly, that wiggle room has re-opened the possibility of expansion back into Seattle.

It’s remarkable that, just five years after one writer suggested the league might want to consider contraction, the NBA is in such a strong position financially and culturally that adding a team is a realistic possibility. Although the city would need to build a new arena to be considered for a new franchise, the path to bringing NBA basketball back to Seattle is otherwise clear. The Pacific Northwest currently only has one team, the Portland Trailblazers, after a heyday in the late ’90s and early 2000s when the region was home to three franchises (the third being the Vancouver Grizzlies).

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In addition, the Charlotte Hornets provide a precedent in the NBA for cities that had previously lost their team reclaiming the statistics, records and history of the old franchise. That would provide Seattle with a sense of closure after the messy nature of the SuperSonics eastward departure.

Expansion wouldn’t just benefit the long-suffering basketball fans of Seattle, though. The NBAPA would likely be thrilled about the 12-15 additional jobs a 31st team would provide its constituency; meanwhile, the current owners would split a new franchise fee that even two years ago was likely to be higher than $800 million.

Of course, until a new CBA is struck, Seattle fans should keep their hopes in check, as NBA expansion is a very rare thing, and other cities like Louisville, Pittsburgh and Vancouver would certainly want their own chance at a franchise. Still, with a hard-charging potential ownership group led by area native Chris Hansen, there’s perhaps more concrete reason for optimism in Washington state basketball circles than there has been at any time since 2008.