Once the National Basketball Association (NBA) finalises an expected long and lucrative media rights deal, commissioner Adam Silver said the focus can then turn to expansion.

Speaking on NBC Sports Boston’s pre-game show before Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Celtics and Dallas Mavericks on June 9, he said that no decisions have been made on expansion but that it will merit consideration.

The NBA has 30 teams, two fewer than the National Football League and National Hockey League.

“We have to understand what our long-term media relationships are before we look to expansion. We’re in the process of wrapping up those deals now,” Silver said.

“They’re going to be long-term deals. I’m hoping, we’re not done yet, but they’ll be successful in terms of generating more money for the league and the teams and then we’ll be in a position to look at expansion.”

The NBA is in negotiation with current and potential media partners for a deal beginning with the 2025-26 season.

The Wall Street Journal reported on June 7 that the package could run 11 years and be worth around US$75 billion (S$101.5 billion).

“It’s not preordained that we’ll expand,” Silver added.

“I’ve said it before, you’ve got to look at the dilution, potentially, of talent, but there’s so much great basketball being played around the world. I don’t think there’s any doubt that over time, this league can sustain two more teams. And there’s interest in the market, so once we finish our media deals, we’ll turn our attention to that.”

He also said Seattle and Las Vegas have drawn the most attention as sites for prospective expansion teams in the United States. Looking down the road, Mexico City could become the NBA’s second international city, following in the footsteps of the Toronto Raptors.

But he was not willing to commit to any combination of those three cities, saying there were “lots of other US cities and Canadian cities that have reached out to us to tell us they’d be interested”.

The league last expanded in 2004 with the addition of the Charlotte Bobcats, now the Hornets.

The previous Charlotte Hornets moved to New Orleans, later rebranded as the Pelicans, and returned the franchise name to the North Carolina city.

In other NBA news, Dan Hurley has rejected a six-year deal reportedly worth a total of US$70 million from the Los Angeles Lakers and is remaining men’s basketball coach at the University of Connecticut.

The 51-year-old American, who guided the Huskies to US college crowns in 2023 and 2024, turned down the deal after a meeting on June 7 with the Lakers.

“I am humbled by this entire experience,” Hurley said on June 10. “At the end of the day, I am extremely proud of the championship culture we have built at Connecticut.

“We met as a team before today’s workout and our focus right now is getting better this summer and connecting as a team as we continue to pursue championships.”

Hurley is 141-58 over six seasons with Connecticut and has an overall college coaching record of 292-163. He signed a six-year, US$32.1 million deal with the Huskies in 2023.

The Lakers fired Darvin Ham in May.

He went 90-74 over two seasons in which the Lakers reached the play-offs. But after battling into the Western Conference Finals in 2023 before losing to eventual champions Denver, the Lakers were ousted in the first round in 2024 by the Nuggets.

But there was some success for Los Angeles this past campaign as they won the first edition of the NBA In-Season Tournament, now called the NBA Cup.

The Lakers last won the NBA title in 2020 and hope to rebuild with Anthony Davis and four-time NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James, who turns 40 in December. REUTERS, AFP