City of Las Vegas Rumors | Hoops Rumors

LeBron James Reiterates Desire For NBA Team In Las Vegas

October 6th, 2022 at 7:43am CST by Luke Adams

After playing a preseason game in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday, Lakers star LeBron James once again made it known publicly that he wants the NBA to expand to Las Vegas, and that he wants to be part of that expansion team’s ownership group, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

“I would love to bring a team here at some point. That would be amazing,” James said, before directly addressing NBA commissioner Adam Silver. “I know Adam is in Abu Dhabi right now, I believe. But he probably sees every single interview and transcript that comes through from NBA players. So, I want the team here, Adam. Thank you.”

James previously expressed a desire to own an expansion team in Las Vegas during an episode of his show ‘The Shop: Uninterrupted.’

Las Vegas has been arguably the fastest-growing U.S. sports city in recent years, getting an expansion franchise in the NHL (the Golden Knights) and serving as the new home base for the NFL’s Raiders, who relocated from Oakland. Basketball also has a significant presence in the city — in addition to hosting the NBA’s annual Summer League, Vegas is the home of the 2022 WNBA champions, the Aces.

“I remember a day when you barely knew the NBA was in the city during Summer League,” Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said on Wednesday, according to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. “Now it’s a huge extravaganza. It’s a whole rollout, a whole layout of excitement and entertainment built around those 14 or 15 days the guys are here. I think Las Vegas is a hotbed for entertainment, obviously, and having the Raiders here now and the Aces.

“… I think it’s only a matter of time before Jerry West shows up permanently — that logo is on the jersey representing the city of Las Vegas. I think it’s a great city, the natural organic energy that’s here built into the city, it goes hand in hand with the level of sports that have been considered to be placed here. … It’s a no-brainer. Down the road, I don’t want to speak for the NBA or the commissioner, but I think at some point you’ll see a permanent NBA team here calling Las Vegas home.”

While Las Vegas and Seattle have been the subject of expansion rumors for years, Silver and the NBA have consistently pushed that conversation down the road. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), the league intends to negotiate its new television deal and Collective Bargaining Agreement before seriously considering expansion. So while the prospect of expanding to Vegas and Seattle is legitimate, it’s probably still a few years away.

That timeline would work out well for James, who is under contract for at least two more years, with a player option for the 2024/25 season. He would have to be retired as a player in order to own a team, according to McMenamin, who notes that LeBron would also need to link up with a deep-pocketed partner — the longtime NBA star reportedly has a net worth exceeding $1 billion, but a new NBA franchise would cost significantly more than that.

As James makes a public push for expansion to Vegas, Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times explores where things stand in Seattle, another city that is hosting NBA preseason games this fall. Those preseason games are being played at the Climate Pledge Arena, which was developed by the Oak View Group at the site of the SuperSonics’ old home, KeyArena. CEO Tim Leiweke believes the building is ready for an NBA team, but said he doesn’t want to pressure Silver and the league into making a decision.

“You don’t want to get ahead of the league, you don’t want to force a decision,” Leiweke said. “You don’t want to think at the end of the day that you have leverage or you have the ability to force an issue like this. You don’t. This is really first and foremost if and when Adam and the Board of Governors want to even consider it.”

And-Ones: Expansion, Seattle, Vegas, Draft Assets, Ignite

September 7th, 2022 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Is the NBA ready to move forward on its long-rumored plans to expand to Seattle and Las Vegas? Willie G. Ramirez of The Associated Press (Twitter link) says he has heard from multiple sources that the league wants to announce expansion when those two cities hosts preseason games this fall. The Clippers will play in Seattle on September 30 and October 3, while the Lakers are set to play in Vegas on October 5 and 6.

Despite Ramirez’s report, it’s still probably premature to get excited about an impending announcement. Rumors of possible expansion have simmered off and on for years, and the NBA has repeatedly shot them down, indicating that any plans to add more teams are on the back-burner. Still, it seems increasingly likely that expansion is coming sooner or later, with Seattle and Las Vegas atop the league’s list of potential destinations.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

As rumors about expansion resurface, Evan Sidery of BasketballNews.com considers what an expansion draft might look like if the NBA uses the same rules it did for its last expansion draft (the Bobcats in 2004). Of course, Sidery’s hypothetical expansion draft is based on teams’ current rosters, and any expansion team is unlikely to enter the league for a few years, but it’s still an interesting exercise that shows what kinds of players might go unprotected.
Following the Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell blockbuster trades, the Jazz have the strongest collection of future draft picks of any NBA team, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link), who ranks Utah’s draft assets slightly ahead of the Thunder‘s. The Spurs have the third-best stash of future picks, per Marks. The Pelicans, Rockets, Knicks, Magic, and Pacers round out his top eight, in that order.
The G League Ignite have officially announced the additions of Australian prospect Mojave King and Canadian prospect Leonard Miller, confirming the signings today in a press release. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony previously reported that King and Miller would be joining the Ignite.

And-Ones: Wembanyama, Henderson, James Lawsuit, Cole, Las Vegas

September 6th, 2022 at 5:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The top two projected picks in next year’s draft will square off in Las Vegas next month, Jonathan Givony of ESPN reports.

Projected No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama and his team, Metropolitans 92 from Paris, will face the G League Ignite and projected No. 2 pick, Scoot Henderson, on October 4 and 6 in a pair of exhibition games in Henderson, Nevada.

Rafael Barlowe revealed earlier that discussions were ongoing about a potential matchup featuring those two teams (Twitter link).

They naturally won’t be guarding each other. Wembanyama is a 7’4” center with an eight-foot wingspan, while Henderson is a lightning-quick 6’3” point guard.

We have more from around the basketball world:

LeBron James and rappers Drake and Future are accused in a $10MM lawsuit filed by former NBPA executive director Billy Hunter of stealing the “intellectual property rights” to a film, according to Carl Campanile and Priscilla DeGregory of the New York Post. Hunter is seeking a share of profits from the documentary as well as $10MM in damages in a complaint filed in Manhattan State Supreme Court. The film, “Black Ice,” focuses on a segregated hockey league for black players in Canada.
Former NBA guard Norris Cole and Craig Sword combined for 28 points as Team USA rolled past Panama 88-58 in the AmeriCup basketball tournament on Monday, ESPN reports. Sword appeared in three games with the Wizards last season. Another former NBA guard, Jeremy Pargo, added 10 points.
A $3 billion sports and entertainment center, including a $1 billion, 20,000-seat arena, near the Las Vegas Strip could be a stepping stone for the city to get an NBA franchise, Tashan Reed of The Athletic writes. The complex, which will break ground in 2023 and is set to be completed in 2026, will also include an amphitheater, hotel and casino. “There are no guarantees the NBA is coming, and that’s been made very clear,” Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke said. “So, what you’ve got to do is go build (the arena) and make it work on everything else. My guess is they’ll get more interested and fascinated by Vegas if there is a world-class, billion-dollar arena.”

Expansion Considered Unlikely Until After Next TV Contract

June 11th, 2022 at 8:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

If expansion is in the NBA’s future, it probably won’t happen until after the next television contract is negotiated, Marc Stein writes in a story for Substack.

NBA owners aren’t in a hurry to add two new teams before working out the new deal, which could double the current revenue that they get from TV. That contract is valued at $24 billion over nine years and will expire following the 2024/25 season. The next television deal is expected to significantly raise the value of each franchise and will eventually increase the expansion fees that the new teams will have to pay.

The owners would also like to finalize a new collective bargaining agreement with the union before they consider expansion, Stein adds. Negotiations with the NBPA have already started, and either side can opt out of the current CBA in December.

During his annual NBA Finals press conference, commissioner Adam Silver dismissed the idea that Seattle and Las Vegas are being targeted for expansion teams in 2024. However, Stein states that those two cities should be considered heavy favorites when expansion does happen, noting that Silver was very complimentary to both of them at his media session.

“Those are wonderful markets,” Silver said. “We were in Seattle. I’m sorry we are no longer there. We have a WNBA team in Seattle in an almost brand-new building that’s doing spectacular. And Las Vegas, where we will be at our summer league in July, has shown itself to be a great sports market as well.”

And-Ones: Okobo, Cleveland, James, Rupert

June 9th, 2022 at 10:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former NBA guard Elie Okobo is expected to sign with Monaco, according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. The No. 31 pick of the 2018 draft, Okobo is still monitoring his NBA options but if he doesn’t get an offer, he’ll join the Monaco club. He averaged 14.5 PPG for ASVEL Villeurbanne last season. Okobo played in 108 NBA games with Phoenix from 2018-20.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Australia’s Adelaide 36ers have signed Antonius Cleveland on a two-year deal, according to Sportando. The 28-year-old shooting guard played last season with the Illawarra Hawks, averaging 14.2 PPG and 6.6 RPG and getting named the NBL’s Best Defensive Player. Cleveland played 28 games in the NBA, including 11 with Dallas during the 2019/20 season.
What does LeBron James want to do after his NBA career? He expressed a desire to become an owner of an NBA franchise in Las Vegas, Dan Feldman of NBC Sports relays. “I want to buy a team, for sure,” James said on his new “The Shop” show. “I want a team in Vegas.”
Potential 2023 first-round selection Rayan Rupert will play for the New Zealand Breakers next season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski writes. Rupert, a French 6’7” wing, is currently projected by ESPN as the No. 21 pick in next year’s draft. Rupert, 18, has drawn comparisons to Phoenix’s Mikal Bridges because of his defensive versatility.

Silver Addresses Expansion, Blazers, All-NBA Teams, In-Season Tournament

June 2nd, 2022 at 9:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA isn’t planning to expand in the near future, according to commissioner Adam Silver. During his annual press conference prior to Game 1 of the Finals, he shot down a report that the league is targeting Seattle and Las Vegas for expansion in 2024, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press reports.

“We are not discussing that at this time,” Silver said.

Silver said the league will inevitably expand and called Seattle and Las Vegas “wonderful markets.” However, he cited a lack of top-tier talent as a reason for pumping the brakes on expanding in the next couple of seasons.

“There still are only so many of the truly top-tier super talents to go around,” he said. “That is something on the mind of the other teams as we think about expansion.”

Here are some of the other highlights from Silver’s press conference:

With many teams moving toward position-less lineups, All-NBA teams may be determined differently in future seasons. “We’re going to discuss that with the players and sit down once again and see if there’s a better way to do it,” Silver said.
Amid reports that Nike co-founder Phil Knight and Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Alan Smolinisky made an offer to buy the Trail Blazers for more than $2 billion, Silver stated the Blazers will eventually be sold and he hopes they’ll remain in Portland. The Blazers released a statement on Thursday saying the team is not for sale. “At some point, the team will be sold,” Silver said. “I don’t have any sense of the precise timing. … This is a hugely a complex estate, and although it’s been several years, these things take time.”
An in-season tournament is still a possibility but “we’re not there yet,” Silver said. With so many teams giving key players nights off during various points of the season, Silver wants to ensure the tournament is competitive. “We want to make sure we have a system where our best players are incentivized to be on the floor,” Silver said.

And-Ones: Seattle, Las Vegas, Expansion, Baker, Tatum

May 29th, 2022 at 7:42pm CST by JD Shaw

The NBA may have earmarked Seattle and Las Vegas as potential expansion locations. According to John Canzano of 750 The Game, the league is eyeing both cities if it adds expansion teams, though no further details have been made available. Canzano made his comments on Seattle radio station 93.3 KJR (Twitter link).

It’s worth noting that a similar report was shot down by the league in March, as Chris Daniels of King5.com wrote at the time. However, several players and league officials hold Seattle in high regard, and Las Vegas is currently used by the NBA for its annual summer league, which will be held July 7-17 this year.

Here are some other odds and ends from the basketball universe:

The Thunder have received a summer league commitment from Robert Baker, his agent Jerry Dianis told Hoops Rumors. Baker, a 6’10” forward, played with the Kings’ G League affiliate this year. The 23-year-old also played collegiately at Harvard from 2017-20.
Celtics star Jayson Tatum would like to see some changes to the All-NBA Team voting, per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. Tatum received All-NBA First Team honors, but he was left off last year’s three teams — costing him tens of millions on his current deal, as Bontemps notes. Among Tatum’s adjustments would be making the teams positionless. He used Joel Embiid as an example, since Embiid finished second in Most Valuable Player voting this season, but was relegated to the All-NBA Second Team because the MVP winner, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, made the First Team. Tatum also voiced his concerns about the process back in February.

And-Ones: Key Dates, Las Vegas, 2021 Draft, Clemons

April 6th, 2022 at 12:09pm CST by Luke Adams

If a team wants to waive a player who is on an expiring contract, that move will have to be made by Thursday at 5:00 pm ET, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Players on multiyear deals can be cut after that, but a player in the final year of his contract must clear waivers before Sunday.

Sunday is also the last day for NBA teams to officially sign a player or convert a player from a two-way contract to a standard deal, Marks adds. That deadline has typically varied from team to team, depending on when the club plays its final regular season game — this year, all 30 teams will play their regular season finales on April 10.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Having bought a 66-acre parcel of land in Las Vegas, the Oak View Group intends to build and run an arena that could one day attract an NBA team, writes Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. The plan is to open the arena in 2026, and consultant Marc Badain says it will be “NBA-ready.” The league has long stated that expansion isn’t in its immediate plans, but if and when that changes, Seattle and Las Vegas are considered two of the top candidates for franchises.
Within the same story, Vorkunov also explores the increased number of fines the NBA has handed out to players who use profanity this season, examining why those penalties have become more frequent and where the league seems to draw the line.
John Hollinger of The Athletic takes an in-depth look at the NBA’s impressive 2021 draft class and considers whether it could end up rivaling the 1996 class, which Hollinger considers the best ever.
As Hoops Rumors’ JD Shaw first reported (via Twitter), Maine Celtics guard Chris Clemons was named the NBA G League’s Player of the Month for March. He averaged 29.0 points, 5.6 assists, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game in 11 appearances, including a 52-point outburst on March 17 vs Lakeland.

And-Ones: Vildoza, Las Vegas, Elite, Smart

October 14th, 2021 at 9:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Luca Vildoza announced on his Twitter feed that he underwent foot surgery and that he will continue to pursue his NBA dream (Twitter link).

The Knicks placed Vildoza on waivers on Oct. 3. New York signed the Argentinian guard to a four-year deal in May, but there was no guaranteed money beyond the 2020/21 season and he never played for the team.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Las Vegas is a possible destination if the NBA decides to expand, according to Mike Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (hat tip to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports). Commissioner Adam Silver made that statement at the CAA World Congress of Sports. “It’s on a list at the point that we do turn to expansion, which isn’t right now, but at some point, no doubt Vegas will be on the list,” Silver said.
Overtime Elite will begin its inaugural season on October 29, Jonathan Givony of ESPN writes. Overtime Elite – a developmental program comprised of 16-to-20-year-old prospects, many of whom were four- or five-star recruits – will be split into three teams. Those teams will also play each other as part of the OTE League Series.
Celtics guard Marcus Smart has been suspended for the team’s final preseason game on Friday, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Smart missed the team’s flight to Orlando for its preseason game on Wednesday, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Smart signed a four-year, $77.1MM extension in August.

And-Ones: Jrue, Vegas, Pangos, Payton, Big Markets

June 4th, 2021 at 2:29pm CST by Luke Adams

Bucks guard Jrue Holiday is the recipient of the Joe Dumars Trophy, having been named the winner of the 2020/21 NBA Sportsmanship Award, the league announced today in a press release.

The award, which aims to honor the player who “best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court,” is voted on by current NBA players. Each team nominates one of its players, a panel of league executives pares the list down to six finalists (one from each division), and the players vote on those six finalists.

Holiday, who earned 130 of 343 first-place votes, beat out runner-up Kemba Walker (74 first-place votes) for the award. Bam Adebayo, Harrison Barnes, Derrick White, and Josh Okogie were the other finalists.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

While it’s unclear when the NBA might seriously pursue expansion, Las Vegas has frequently been cited as a city the league would consider, and a Yahoo News report suggests one potential ownership group may be in place in Vegas. As Kurt Helin of NBC Sports relays, billionaire Jay Bloom heads a series of investors who reportedly have the funds and the connections necessary to be the frontrunners to own a Vegas NBA franchise if the opportunity arises.
Kevin Pangos, one of the top point guards in the EuroLeague, is drawing plenty of interest from European teams but may wait until NBA free agency to make a decision, says Aris Barkas of Eurohoops. There’s no indication that Pangos has an NBA offer awaiting him, but the former Gonzaga standout wants to consider all his options before making a decision.
Hall-of-Fame guard Gary Payton, who has spoken in the past about wanting to coach in the NBA, tells Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated that he has agreed to a multiyear contract to coach Lincoln University in his hometown of Oakland, California.
In the wake of teams like the Celtics, the Knicks, and especially the Lakers being eliminated from the postseason, Ethan Strauss of The Athletic explores just how dependent the NBA is on its marquee, big-market franchises, and what the league can do to reduce that dependence.