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Adam Silver: Seattle will be on a 'short list of cities' as candidate for expansion

Seattle hasn’t had a pro basketball team since 2008. (Getty)
Seattle hasn’t had a pro basketball team since 2008. (Getty)

Seattle’s basketball roots run deep. The city has produced a long list of pros, including Jason Terry, Brandon Roy, Jamal Crawford and Isaiah Thomas. The one thing it doesn’t have right now is a pro team … but that could change in the years ahead.

The SuperSonics left Seattle in 2008, becoming the Oklahoma City Thunder. But according to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, a return to the Emerald City could be in the offing.

Speaking to Portland Trail Blazers Blazers guard C.J. McCollum for The Players’ Tribune, Silver said Seattle will “no doubt be on a short list of cities” for consideration if and when the NBA expands.

“I think it’s just a question of ‘When the right time is to seriously start thinking about expansion?'” the commissioner said. He acknowledged that as the league grows in the future, expansion will become “inevitable.”

The city certainly has the infrastructure to support the return of a basketball team. Seattle served as the Sonics’ home from 1967-2008, and the team’s most recent home, KeyArena, is still in use by several teams, including the WNBA’s Seattle Storm.