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Commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA have been dragging their feet on expansion plans. That delay has given the league’s newest owner powerful leverage in his arena renovation demands.

Friday, the Portland Trail Blazers received a term sheet from the city for their $600M renovation plan for the Moda Center, which asked the team to sign a 20-year lease. Tuesday, a team official blasted the offer and suggested the Blazers could move if their demands weren’t met.

Portland Trail Blazers new owner has been immediately controversial

Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon led an ownership group that paid $4.5B to purchase the Trail Blazers from the estate of the late Paul Allen, and took over operations in April. Dundon immediately drew controversy with his cost-cutting measures, which included laying off 70 employees, refusing to bring two-way players to road playoff games and firing one of the team’s mascots.

Dundon played hardball in negotiations with incumbent head coach Tiago Splitter, who left to lead the Chicago Bulls. New coach Micah Nori has only one guaranteed year on his contract. League sources say that Dundon was surprised by how expensive it was to run an NBA team, compared to the NHL, which may explain his moves, and has earned him the nickname “El Cheapo.”

Now he and the Blazers have rejected a deal out of hand that would give the team over half a billion dollars from the city and state, but require the team to meet requirements: a unionized workforce, a requirement to play all home games in Portland and annual contributions in lieu of paying property taxes.

An anonymous team source told The Oregonian”It’s not like we lose money moving the team. It might be OK to spend a billion dollars on a relocation fee if the valuation of the team doubles.”

Delayed expansion allows NBA teams to threaten relocation

One reason Silver and the league office are taking their time deciding on expansion is that adding two teams takes away an NBA team’s leverage to move. Right now, Seattle and Las Vegas are two basketball-hungry destinations with arenas ready to go. It might be easier and cheaper for those cities to convince a team to move than to find a group to pay the NBA’s massive expansion costs — but there’s a finite number of NBA-ready cities.

Some Blazers sources contend the team isn’t interested in moving, but the official’s comment, “If they don’t want us, that’s fine” sounds very much like an implied threat to leave. If the team owner isn’t even willing to pay for a late hotel checkout for his staff, it’s hard to imagine he’ll be on board with paying the city fees or covering public benefits.

Portland is under the gun thanks to the team’s attitude and Dundon’s lack of connection to the city or state — he lives and works in Dallas. In addition, the state of Oregon has committed $365M to the project, but only if it’s agreed upon by the end of 2026.

That’s why the league doesn’t need to hurry on expansion. Seattle and Las Vegas will still be there no matter when the NBA decides to go to 32 teams. Until then, owners can continue to credibly threaten to move.