Adam Silver Hints NBA Expansion: Las Vegas Seattle Favored

Adam Silver used All-Star weekend to lay out multiple front-burner items. Expansion will be discussed in March with Las Vegas and Seattle viewed as favorites, while relocation is "not on the table" and Silver said "I don't want to tease cities." He warned "we're getting awfully close to the 11th hour" on the WNBA CBA, which remains deadlocked on salary structure and revenue sharing ahead of April 19 training camps. Silver also said he has "not come to any decisions yet" on the Clippers probe, noted the league is watching prediction markets like sports books, and called tanking "behavior" this year "worse" than in recent memory as fines hit the Jazz and Pacers. Merlin sees a league juggling growth, labor pain, integrity questions, and new betting-era risks. Expansion and a CBA deal could reshape calendars and paychecks, while a tightened draft lottery or clearer prediction market rules look likely if tanking and player investments keep surfacing.