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Within a story about the Lakers’ shocking sale to Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin takes a look at how the pending transaction could impact expansion. Kushner and Iger’s group was one of several pursuing an expansion team in Las Vegas, and McMenamin hears from a league office source that the NBA is prioritizing a Vegas expansion fee over one for Seattle for future precedent.

“We’ll see what happens in September (at the next Board of Governors meeting),” the source told ESPN. “If they took a vote today, it wouldn’t pass. … It’s all about the (fee price).”

According to McMenamin’s sources, commissioner Adam Silver and many team owners view NBA Europe as a more pressing matter, since that league is expected to tip off in October 2027, whereas it could take a few years for domestic expansion to occur — assuming it’s eventually approved by the Board of Governors.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Shortly after the news broke that the Lakers were being sold on Wednesday, veteran agent Jeff Schwartz released a statement through his agency, Excel Basketball. “Incredible, the Lakers sell for $12 billion, yet teams won’t spend on older vets because of current CBA rules,” Schwartz said. “Thank you, Union.” The NBA issued a response to that statement on Thursday, as Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic relays (via Twitter). “Team spending on older veteran players has increased under the current CBA, not decreased,” a league spokesperson said. “In fact, players who have played at least 10 NBA seasons now account for 28% of total salaries, a higher percentage than under each of the last three CBAs.” Shamit Dua of In The N.O. recently took a closer look at this topic.
Several ESPN NBA insiders and Zach Harper of The Athletic share the games they’re most looking forward to watching after the league released its full 2026/27 regular season schedule on Thursday.
Clippers forward Rui Hachimura and former Grizzlies and Bulls guard Yuki Kawamurawho recently signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Clips, headline Japan’s roster for a pair of 2027 FIBA World Cup qualifying games later this month, per Sporting. The Japanese men’s national team also features former NBA forward Yuta Watanabe.