In a move to up the bidding price for expansion in Seattle, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has brought up Mexico City as a possible alternative for a new expansion franchise. According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the prospect of a new team south of the border came up at the NBA Board of Governors meeting last month.
With the bidding war for the Las Vegas expansion hitting a reported $10 billion, the gambling mecca is guaranteed to be one of the new cities joining the NBA. Meanwhile, the winning bid for Seattle
has been reported to be as low as $6 billion, with NHL Kraken and Climate Pledge Arena owner Samantha Holloway in the pole position.
Windhorst claims that may or may not have a ripple effect on Moda Center lease negotiations here in Portland.
Let’s stop short of the concept that the league could leave Seattle open as a leverage point for other teams trying to get arena deals — the Portland Trail Blazers being at the top of that list — because Silver is on the record saying relocation is currently not on the table. But it exists as a plausible, if private, reason the league wouldn’t expand to Seattle now.
So to break it all down for Blazers fans here in Portland, Seattle maybe not getting an NBA team shouldn’t be a threat to a Moda agreement unless the NBA changes its public stance on relocation to reflect what it might feel privately, but possibly not.
