Adam Silver: NBA still isn't ready to tackle expansion

The league isnt quite ready to explore expansion talks, commissioner Adam Silver revealed during a Tuesday press conference.

Silver addressed the media after the leagues Board of Governors meeting.

There was not a lot of discussion in this meeting about expansion, but only largely not for lack of interest, it was that we had said to them that were not quite ready, Silver said, per ESPNs Tim Bontemps .

It was something that we told our board we plan to address this season, and were not quite ready yet.

But I think theres certainly interest in the process, and I think that were not there yet in terms of having made any specific decisions about markets or even frankly to expand.

Expansion has been put off while the league negotiated a new Collective Bargaining Agreement and reached new broadcast deals.

With those items in the rear view mirror, the league could eventully discuss expansion in the coming months.

The first step in that process, according to Bontemps, would be forming a committee of several owners to explore the topic and determine what the next steps would be.

Heres more from Silvers press conference and the BOG meeting: He would prefer that legalized sports betting had a federal framework, rather than being a state competition with varying rules.

I was in favor of a federal framework for sports betting.

I still am, he said.

I still think that the hodgepodge of state by state, it makes it more difficult for the league to administer it.

I think it creates competition, understandably, among states to get just think New York, New Jersey or a situation like that where youre both competing for the same customer, so you can compete on tax rates and other things and a regulatory framework.

The league is essentially in wait-and-see mode regarding the potential sales of two franchises, the Timberwolves and the Celtics, according to the Associated Press Tim Reynolds .

Minnesotas dispute between current majority owner Glen Taylor and potential majority owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez is headed to arbitration.

Thats a process that exists independent of the league that was set out in the sales agreement, Silver said.

Bostons ownership group, led by Wyc Grousbeck, intends to sell the majority of its shares later this year or early next year, then close on a sale of the balance of remaining shares in 2028.

I think that Wyc Grousbeck and his ownership group are in the process of working through what the steps will be, Silver said.

Raptors Governor and Chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Larry Tanenbaum has been re-elected as the Boards chairman, NBA Communications tweets .

Tanenbaum has served in that role since 2017.

The league could have a national streaming RSN platform as soon as the 2025-26 season, according to the Sports Business Journals Tom Friend .

Numerous teams were affected Diamond Sports bankruptcy proceedings.

Diamond is the parent company of Bally Sports.

I think coming out of this, when we look at the interest of streaming services to carry local games and all the additional functionality that will come to that, there will be a transition and transition for our viewers, as well, in terms of how they discover those games and how they watch them, that I think the end result will be a much better consumer experience, Silver said.

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