NBA to Begin Expansion Study

Significant step to add teams to league, but it's only the start of 'complicated' process

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LOS ANGELES - Team owners authorized league officials to begin an in-depth analysis regarding expansion on July 15, but National Basketball Association (NBA) commissioner Adam Silver said there was no timetable for any changes.

The NBA board of governors' meeting in Las Vegas on July 15 marked the first time team owners officially discussed expanding the league beyond 30 teams, but he said they went no deeper than requesting more research into the possibility.

"There is a significant step now in that we're now engaging in this in-depth analysis," Silver said. "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 said the NBA advisory finance committee "would have primary jurisdiction over this issue" while the league's audit and strategy committee "would be looking at the economics around it", with "roughly half the principal governors in the league" on those committees.