Seattle mayor 'pretty optimistic' NBA will return to city

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan is "pretty optimistic" the city will once again be home to an NBA franchise following discussions with commissioner Adam Silver.

"It is very good news for the city of Seattle that (the NBA is) thinking of an expansion team," Durkan told KING 5.

Silver spoke in December about the possibility of revisiting plans for expanding the league beyond 30 teams after the pandemic altered the NBA's financial outlook. However, he admitted discussions are "certainly not to the point that expansion is on the front burner."

Seattle has been without an NBA team since the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City following the 2007-08 campaign. That decision came on the heels of a drawn-out battle between then-Mayor Greg Nickels, team owner Clay Bennett, and late commissioner David Stern.

"I think (Silver) has said publicly that Seattle is at the top of the list," Durkan added. "Look, if there's basketball karma, we'll get the Sonics. If there's economics involved, we'll get the Sonics. If there's just smart, what's the best city in America, we'll get the Sonics. So, I'm pretty optimistic."

After Bennett failed to secure public funding for the outdated KeyArena, the team was moved to Oklahoma City. A potential venue for the SuperSonics is no longer an issue, as the renovated KeyArena - now known as the Climate Pledge Arena - is set to open its doors by late summer to host NHL expansion side Seattle Kraken and the WNBA's Seattle Storm.

Sports executive Tim Leiweke, whose Oak View Group was behind the Kraken, says an additional $50 million was spent on the $1-billion-plus Climate Pledge Arena to house an NBA franchise.

"This isn't a new market," Leiweke said. "This is a marketplace that has led the league in attendance."

The introduction of an expansion team requires the approval of club owners, though Leiweke believes there's enough pedigree in Seattle basketball and NBA executives with local roots to get the thumbs up.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has been linked with an expansion franchise in the city after purchasing the naming rights to the Climate Pledge Arena in June 2020 to bring attention to climate change threats. The arena vows to be the first zero-carbon one in the world. Bezos, however, has not publicly admitted any intention of becoming an owner of a team.