The sale of the Lakers on Wednesday for $12.5B, the richest sale in U.S. pro sports history, “raised the question of whether a number that massive is going to impact the ongoing NBA expansion process and the possibility of seeing the SuperSonics return to Seattle,” according to Tim Booth of the SEATTLE TIMES. Former Disney CEO Bob Iger, who paired with Thrive Capital founder Josh Kushner to buy the L.A. team, was “rumored to be kicking the tires” on a possible expansion bid in Seattle in early 2025 when the process was in its beginning stages. He then emerged with Kushner as a possible bidder in Las Vegas. The sale of the Lakers “shouldn’t impact wherever the final asking price comes in on NBA expansion for both Seattle and Las Vegas.” However, owners will “want to squeeze every penny possible out of the expansion process to gain approval.” What the price for an expansion fee should be and what owners want it to be “can live in two different realms.” One reality might say $5B or $6B is a “fair number to charge for a startup organization when compared across the valuations of all NBA teams.” The “concern is if owners squeeze too hard it could lead to groups saying the numbers don’t pencil out from a bottom-line business perspective and the expansion hopes fizzle.” There should be “additional clarity next month” when the NBA BOG holds its next meetings (SEATTLE TIMES, 8/12).
RAISING PROJECTIONS: In California, Ryan Anderson wrote the Lakers’ sale “may have revealed just how expensive the NBA’s long-awaited arrival in Las Vegas will be.” AP sportswriter Greg Beacham “argued that the Lakers’ sale makes an expansion fee north of $8 billion increasingly likely despite Las Vegas ranking only 29th among U.S. metropolitan areas and 40th among television markets.” The Lakers’ sale “gives the NBA a powerful negotiating point.” If a buyer was willing to pay $12.5B for L.A., the league “can argue that entry into an exclusive 30-team club should command significantly more than earlier projections” (CALIFORNIA POST, 8/12).