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Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson on Thursday previewed an upcoming meeting with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver ahead of a planned vote on league expansion that could bring men’s professional basketball back to Seattle.
ESPN has reported that the Tuesday and Wednesday meetings of the NBA’s board of governors next week in New York would include a vote on initiating expansion to Seattle and Las Vegas. The news has given SuperSonics fans their first dose of hope in years.
This vote would allow the league to formally open the bidding process for the new teams, focused on the two cities. It’ll need support from 23 of the 30 team governors to advance. A later vote would finalize the transactions.
Ferguson is set to meet Monday afternoon with Silver, according to his public calendar. It’s unclear if the meeting is in person or virtual.
“It’ll be a private conversation, but I plan to do a lot of listening,” Ferguson told reporters Thursday. “I want to hear as much as he’s willing to share about what’s going on, and I appreciated that in the past with him.”
“Obviously, if this is to happen, there will be a role for the state in some capacity to be helpful,” Ferguson continued. “What I’ve tried to emphasize with him and others is that the state stands ready to be helpful, that this is a priority for me.”
Ferguson called himself a “die-hard Sonics fan” who grew up watching franchise legends Slick Watts, Jack Sikma and Dennis Johnson. He attended Lenny Wilkens’ basketball camp multiple times, he said.
“I feel I have a pretty good appreciation for the loss that our community experienced with the loss of the Sonics,” Ferguson said. “And so I communicate that, as you might imagine.”
The governor couldn’t recall if he set the meeting or if Silver initiated it.
While the Seattle and Las Vegas markets would add revenue for the league’s owners, some could be reluctant to dwindle their share of the proceeds with 32 teams instead of 30.
Ferguson said Thursday he hadn’t made the case for expansion to owners.
The new franchise could cost an ownership group upwards of $7 billion. Seattle Kraken executives have been cited as potential owners of the new NBA team.
Critics of the income tax on millionaires that Ferguson supports and Democratic lawmakers passed this month have argued it could hamper the state’s chances of attracting an NBA team and free agents in all major pro sports. Ferguson disagrees.
“Steph Curry’s paid a lot of money in California. They have a pretty hefty income tax. So candidly, I just don’t think that’s got anything to do with anything,” Ferguson said. If Silver brings up the tax, “of course we’ll talk about it,” the governor added.
Ferguson and Silver met last month, sparking speculation that an NBA return to Seattle could be on the horizon. A Ferguson spokesperson said the meeting was an introductory call without a concrete update, and that the governor “offered to be helpful in bringing back the Sonics.”
The Sonics left for Oklahoma City in 2008. Their last glimmer of optimism for the franchise’s return came in 2013, when the Sacramento Kings came close to moving to Seattle.
One of the barriers to bringing back the Sonics has been addressed in recent years, with the replacement of the aging Key Arena with Climate Pledge Arena.
In his State of the State address in January, the governor mentioned wanting to see the SuperSonics return.
Washington State Standard is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Washington State Standard maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Bill Lucia for questions: info@washingtonstatestandard.com.
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