Image Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

NBA to Expand Beyond 30 Teams? Adam Silver Reveals League Will Study Issue as Part of In-Depth Analysis

Will NBA expand beyond 30 teams? Read what Adam Silver has to say.

Image Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The NBA may finally take a step closer to their long-pending plan of expansion. League’s President, Adam Silver was addressing the NBA Board of Governors meeting in Las Vegas on Tuesday. It marked the first occasion team owners officially discussed expansion of the league beyond 30 teams. However, Silver opined that things haven’t gone deeper than requesting more research on the issue.

Addressing the issue, Silver said, “There is a significant step now in that we’re now engaging in this in-depth analysis. It’s something we weren’t prepared to do before. But beyond that, it’s really day one of that analysis. In terms of price, potential timing, it’s too early to say. That also assumes the outcome of this analysis. It’s truly a complicated issue.”

Silver went on to say that there was no indication of how many franchise owners would be in favor of the expansion. He stated, “There was no sense in the room that people were taking sides. There was no straw poll. There was no requesting people to indicate pro or con in terms of expansion. There was a consensus that quickly formed that the league office should do the work. The appetite in the room I would define more as curiosity.”

Adam Silver Addresses Growing Scandals in Sports Betting

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver also addressed the growing scandals in sports betting in the league. He warned the players about the consequences of the activity but defended the league’s ties to legal gambling. He said, “The fact that there might be insider trading doesn’t mean you’re necessarily going to shut down those public markets. But often the way they are catching insider traders is because they have a system, a complex system, that detects aberrational behavior.”

Silver added, “We do not have control over the specific bets that are made on our game. I do think some of the bets are problematic. Nobody in this league, any player who engages in that activity, there’s no question they are putting their livelihood at risk. It’s a message that’s important that we deliver to our players or anyone who is in our community.”

Illegal betting has been growing at a rapid speed across multiple sports and the NBA is no different. Recently, Malik Beasley, who finished a season with the Detroit Pistons, is under federal investigation. He has also been sued by his barber, dentist, and former sports agency. Not only this, but Miami Heat’s Terry Rozier has also been under investigation and is yet to comment about it.

Adam Silver

NBA

Garima Ranawat

Garima is a sports writer with around two years of experience in Indian sports and a newfound interest in the NBA. Inspired by the leadership of cricketing legend MS Dhoni, she wishes to bring in newer perspectives to the NBA fanatics with her writing.