Within a story about the Lakers’ shocking sale to Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin takes a look at how the pending transaction could impact expansion. Kushner and Iger’s group was one of several pursuing an expansion team in Las Vegas, and McMenamin hears from a league office source that the NBA is prioritizing a Vegas expansion fee over one for Seattle for future precedent.

“We’ll see what happens in September [at the next Board of Governors meeting],” the source told ESPN. “If they took a vote today, it wouldn’t pass. … It’s all about the [fee price].”

According to McMenamin’s sources, commissioner Adam Silver and many team owners view NBA Europe as a more pressing matter, since that league is expected to tip off in October 2027, whereas it could take a few years for domestic expansion to occur — assuming it’s eventually approved by the Board of Governors.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

• Shortly after the news broke that the Lakers were being sold on Wednesday, veteran agent Jeff Schwartz released a statement through his agency, Excel Basketball. “Incredible, the Lakers sell for $12 billion, yet teams won’t spend on older vets because of current CBA rules,” Schwartz said. “Thank you, Union.” The NBA issued a response to that statement on Thursday, as Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic relays (via Twitter). “Team spending on older veteran players has increased under the current CBA, not decreased,” a league spokesperson said. “In fact, players who have played at least 10 NBA seasons now account for 28% of total salaries, a higher percentage than under each of the last three CBAs.” Shamit Dua of In The N.O. recently took a closer look at this topic.
• Several ESPN NBA insiders and Zach Harper of The Athletic share the games they’re most looking forward to watching after the league released its full 2026/27 regular season schedule on Thursday.
• Clippers forward Rui Hachimura and former Grizzlies and Bulls guard Yuki Kawamura, who recently signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Clips, headline Japan’s roster for a pair of 2027 FIBA World Cup qualifying games later this month, per Sportando. The Japanese men’s national team also features former NBA forward Yuta Watanabe.