Adam Silver expects NBA owners to urge 'formal' expansion talks - ESPN

OKLAHOMA CITY — NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday night that the NBA will discuss expansion at next month's board of governors meeting in Las Vegas and that he believes the league's owners will recommend the topic be formally explored.

Silver, speaking at his annual news conference ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers, said that he hopes to «take the temperature of the room» regarding expansion at the July meeting and believes that there is enough interest among the owners to take the next steps in the process.

«There's been no lack of interest,» Silver said. «I essentially have said to people from several different cities, 'We're just not engaging in that process right now.' I want to be fair to everyone. So I don't want to have meetings with some and not others. So if we were to say yes, we're now going to move into a more formal exploratory phase. We would take those meetings, and in addition likely we would engage with outside advisers who would look at markets, look at economic opportunities and media opportunities, etc.»

Silver has said several times in recent months that the NBA is beginning to turn its focus to expansion, which has been informally discussed in league circles for the past several years. But Thursday marked the first time he said he expects expansion to become a formal discussion point at a meeting of the league's owners.

Silver cautioned that expansion isn't a certainty.

«I'd say the current sense is we should be exploring it,» Silver said. «I don't think it's automatic, because it depends on your perspective on the future of the league.

»As I've said before, expansion in a way is selling equity in the league. If you believe in the league,