May 13, 2025 • 10 mins
Komo’s Chris Daniels joins Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain to talk about the latest on NBA expansion as it relates to the Sonics return, the committee impact, how the sale of the Blazers will affect expansion, and if the news out of Portland affects the Seahawks.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Testing live from the R and R Foundation specialist Rod
Jazz Studio. Now back to Saftie and Dig powered by
Emerald Queen Casino, the Betty and Capital of the Northwest
on Sports Radio and nineties three point three kJ R FM.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Obviously, I know there's tremendous interests in Seattle. I know
there's tremendous interest in Las Vegas and several other cities
as well. That whether I've read about the interest or
you know, have heard indirectly from others. Just to be clear,
we haven't begun any sort of process. So even the
exten cities have reached out, We've said thank you for
your interest, but we're not ready to take meetings yet.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
That is the voice of Adam Silver. By the way,
just a random topic, cop. I love Jimmy's I love
being here. These seats make my button dumb? Now what
happened to you too? These are actually better than the
ones we have on Monday?
Speaker 4 (00:50):
Got Monday? Oh what the queen you means?
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Yeah, we gotta we gotta invest in some new chairs
for the queen man.
Speaker 4 (00:56):
But my ass is like numb sitting in these things.
It's we don't have any padding, very bony butts. I
also have no ass.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
You're right back when I was two seventy, man, it
was easy for it a huge ass.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
It's like a parachute freaking thing.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Speaking of a guy who's got a very very nice backside,
he's also very well dressed.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
I would vote for him as the best dressed member
of the CEM. He's always dapper. I love the handkerchief
is always a good call.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Unbelievable, Christaniels, how many how many different suits do you have?
Speaker 4 (01:25):
How many combinations do you have in your closet at home?
Speaker 5 (01:27):
By the way, I'd say a couple dozens. It's all
about the pocket square. I can tell you more about
pocket squares than they can't about patting.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
Really, what's the what's the key? What's the secret there?
Speaker 5 (01:40):
Yeah, it's all about matching up the pocket square with
the shirt. And really the pocket square is the new tie.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
That's right. I mean, are you a solid pocket square guy?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Or do you like the plaid and the you know,
the florals and all that sort of stuff.
Speaker 5 (01:52):
I love it all. I love to mix it up, Dick.
It's it's really all about the shirt, the shirt suit
in sport coat and pant combination. I can tell you
all about that, I cannot tell you about the patting
that Jimmy's on.
Speaker 4 (02:06):
Personal Well, you do it better than anybody mess up.
So keeping up. Whatever you're doing, it's working.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
But christ Angels again is with us on the radio show,
and Chris Let's first of all talk about the words
by Adam Silver today kind of I guess officially right
going on record, although I think he may have insinuated
this before that there will be some expansion discussion this
July at the owner meetings. How significant you think would
(02:33):
this be? Should this be for basketball fans?
Speaker 5 (02:36):
Well, you know, as we have discussed before the NBA,
Adam Silver, David's turn before him very very careful about
the verbiage that is used and exactly how the ball
is advanced in this particular case. I mean, we just
heard him in April say, hey, in July, we might
(02:57):
talk about this. We heard him last year say we're
going to talk about this in the fall and then
this season, and so he's always very careful with how
he words things. But this is the first time that
he said will be on the agenda, which seems definitive
that they're going to talk about something and likely. I
(03:18):
think if you read between the lines, talk about forming
an expansion committee to further study what they've already been
studying now for years. And you both know this that
they've been looking at the arena, they've been looking at
climate Pledge, They've obviously met with groups in Seattle. They've
studied this for a while. But the next step is
going to be an expansion committee. And I think if
(03:40):
you read between the lines and what he said to
serious XM, that's what he's laid out here is potentially
a July meeting to announce a expansion committee that could
make a decision by later this year.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
Do you believe the expansion committee is a simple rubber.
Speaker 5 (03:55):
Stamp at this point? You would think so. But I
also know that there has been pushback internally in the NBA,
James Dolan in particular, the owner of the Knicks, about
further expansion. What is interesting in this whole discussion, though,
is what happened just today with the Allen Estate announcing
(04:18):
that the Blazers are formally for sale. That they have
held off from that, as you know, making any sort
of declaration saying that they're going to put them up
for sale. That fits into this mix too, and it
may be I think a bit different than what we've
discussed with the Celtics in the past, with that deal
being or that team being put up for sale after
(04:41):
the NBA Finals last year. That seems to have been
one of the hurdles moving forward for the NBA on expansion,
the idea that they have to set a price, in
this case six billion dollars that still needs to be finalized.
The Blazers are not going to go for six billion dollars.
But what could happen in this scenario is the NBA
wants to set a price tag on expansion so they
(05:03):
can raise the price the value of the Blazers by saying,
let's do expansion first. Let's get it out there. Let's
set the bar at four or five billion, because overnight,
that will raise the value of the Blazers. If you
do it the other way around, you potentially have a
lower asking price for an expansion franchise. So I think
that all does play into this discussion. Whether it muddies it,
(05:24):
I think we're going to have to hear in the future.
I mean, those comments from Silver we made less than
twenty four hours before the announcement of the Blazers being
for sale, so it perhaps muddies the waters a bit
going forward, but it could also be good news because
the NBA will want to lay this out for expansion
before they go and sell the Blazers.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
Well, Chris Daniels, there was a senior reporter for Como News,
not a junior reporter or senior reporter for Como.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
News, otherwise known as old Man.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
The OG is with us on the air, and feel
free to fill in the blanks here in my timeline.
But Chris Hansen announces he's going after the return of
the NBA, and then he brings on Wally, he brings
on I think the Nordstroms he brings didn't Russell Wilson.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
Become a part of that at some point or whatever.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
So remember, there was a there was a public, very
public facing ownership group. Here's the people, here's who we are.
We're going after the NBA. Are we going to see that,
you think in the next maybe month or a couple
of months, where the ownership group comes forward, Here's who
we are, Here's who is in our group. Will Jeff
(06:34):
Bezos be a part of that? Will there be some
kind of announcement by them, like there was with Chris
Hansen before he got that deal done with the maloofs
that eventually fell apart.
Speaker 5 (06:44):
Yeah, I mean they were geared up to do that
back in September October when all the pieces were aligning
or seemingly aligning for an announcement about an expansion committee.
In September October. You know this, the NBA had the
exhibition game, the rain City Classic, at the Climate Pledge Arena.
There was a lot that was teed up to be
(07:05):
announced at that time before the NBA pulled back because
largely because of that Celtics transaction that needed to be settled.
I think what you know I'm hearing on the ground
is is people want to be very cautious here. You
hear the line over and over. We don't want to
get ahead of the commissioner. That is a card that
you play when you're trying to finalize a deal. A
(07:26):
lot like what we saw with the Kraken in getting
the NHL to commit to Seattle. It is, Hey, we
have David Bonderman, we have these other people involved. Let's
close this deal. Let's get this arena deal over the
finish line. That's when you play that card in this
big stakes poker game with the NBA. And I think
that's why you haven't heard from those people yet about
(07:50):
their interest in being the majority minority owner. Samanth Holloway
has said she's interested publicly in being part of an
NBA franchise, that her name is out there. Uh, but
others are are kind of hanging in the shadows right now.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (08:07):
Some of the whales that potentially want to be involved
here because of well, I think Andy Jassey is a
is a name to watch in the discussion here who
is leading Amazon right now? Bezos has has moved his
stakes to Florida. Uh in what he would come back, obviously,
(08:29):
the NBA would love to have him involved. Amazon is
already a partner uh with the NBA. So I think
there's a natural Uh, there's a natural line to draw
there climate Plage Arena being the name on the building
as well with the sponsorship agreement with Amazon there, So
I mean you can draw those lines. And Andy Jassy
already being involved with the Kraken I think is a
(08:50):
name to watch as well.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Chris is the timing of the Blazers sale announcements a
day impact the Seahawks sale at all.
Speaker 5 (08:59):
I don't think so, but it's the most forthright comment
we've had from the Allen of state that this was
part of his wishes to sell the Blazers after his
death for that money to go to philanthropy. The Seahawks,
they are saying, are not for sale, but now that
(09:20):
that provision has sunset, and so to speak on the
ten percent tax that the Allen estate or a new
owner would have to pay to the state. And just
for a quick background, that was written into the referendum
to the deal to build lumen Field back in nineteen
ninety seven was if the team was sold before last year,
(09:42):
that there would be a ten percent tax that would
have to be paid to the state that is now
sunset it. So that seems to be out of the
way in terms of a hurdle for the Seahawks to
be sold. But I don't believe that the Blazers sale
is connected one way or the other to the Seahawks sale.
But we are talking about a lot of money with
those two teams eventually going to philanthropic efforts in the community.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Chris Daniels COMO News phenomenal stuff. As always, keep up
the great work and we will talk down the road.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
My friend.
Speaker 5 (10:13):
Thanks Chris, good luck with the cushions.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
Thank you, my friend. My ass is still number. By
the way, it's getting numbered by the hour.
Testing live from the R and R Foundation specialist Rod
Jazz Studio. Now back to Saftie and Dig powered by
Emerald Queen Casino, the Betty and Capital of the Northwest
on Sports Radio and nineties three point three kJ R FM.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Obviously, I know there's tremendous interests in Seattle. I know
there's tremendous interest in Las Vegas and several other cities
as well. That whether I've read about the interest or
you know, have heard indirectly from others. Just to be clear,
we haven't begun any sort of process. So even the
exten cities have reached out, We've said thank you for
your interest, but we're not ready to take meetings yet.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
That is the voice of Adam Silver. By the way,
just a random topic, cop. I love Jimmy's I love
being here. These seats make my button dumb? Now what
happened to you too? These are actually better than the
ones we have on Monday?
Speaker 4 (00:50):
Got Monday? Oh what the queen you means?
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Yeah, we gotta we gotta invest in some new chairs
for the queen man.
Speaker 4 (00:56):
But my ass is like numb sitting in these things.
It's we don't have any padding, very bony butts. I
also have no ass.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
You're right back when I was two seventy, man, it
was easy for it a huge ass.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
It's like a parachute freaking thing.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Speaking of a guy who's got a very very nice backside,
he's also very well dressed.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
I would vote for him as the best dressed member
of the CEM. He's always dapper. I love the handkerchief
is always a good call.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Unbelievable, Christaniels, how many how many different suits do you have?
Speaker 4 (01:25):
How many combinations do you have in your closet at home?
Speaker 5 (01:27):
By the way, I'd say a couple dozens. It's all
about the pocket square. I can tell you more about
pocket squares than they can't about patting.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
Really, what's the what's the key? What's the secret there?
Speaker 5 (01:40):
Yeah, it's all about matching up the pocket square with
the shirt. And really the pocket square is the new tie.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
That's right. I mean, are you a solid pocket square guy?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Or do you like the plaid and the you know,
the florals and all that sort of stuff.
Speaker 5 (01:52):
I love it all. I love to mix it up, Dick.
It's it's really all about the shirt, the shirt suit
in sport coat and pant combination. I can tell you
all about that, I cannot tell you about the patting
that Jimmy's on.
Speaker 4 (02:06):
Personal Well, you do it better than anybody mess up.
So keeping up. Whatever you're doing, it's working.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
But christ Angels again is with us on the radio show,
and Chris Let's first of all talk about the words
by Adam Silver today kind of I guess officially right
going on record, although I think he may have insinuated
this before that there will be some expansion discussion this
July at the owner meetings. How significant you think would
(02:33):
this be? Should this be for basketball fans?
Speaker 5 (02:36):
Well, you know, as we have discussed before the NBA,
Adam Silver, David's turn before him very very careful about
the verbiage that is used and exactly how the ball
is advanced in this particular case. I mean, we just
heard him in April say, hey, in July, we might
(02:57):
talk about this. We heard him last year say we're
going to talk about this in the fall and then
this season, and so he's always very careful with how
he words things. But this is the first time that
he said will be on the agenda, which seems definitive
that they're going to talk about something and likely. I
(03:18):
think if you read between the lines, talk about forming
an expansion committee to further study what they've already been
studying now for years. And you both know this that
they've been looking at the arena, they've been looking at
climate Pledge, They've obviously met with groups in Seattle. They've
studied this for a while. But the next step is
going to be an expansion committee. And I think if
(03:40):
you read between the lines and what he said to
serious XM, that's what he's laid out here is potentially
a July meeting to announce a expansion committee that could
make a decision by later this year.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
Do you believe the expansion committee is a simple rubber.
Speaker 5 (03:55):
Stamp at this point? You would think so. But I
also know that there has been pushback internally in the NBA,
James Dolan in particular, the owner of the Knicks, about
further expansion. What is interesting in this whole discussion, though,
is what happened just today with the Allen Estate announcing
(04:18):
that the Blazers are formally for sale. That they have
held off from that, as you know, making any sort
of declaration saying that they're going to put them up
for sale. That fits into this mix too, and it
may be I think a bit different than what we've
discussed with the Celtics in the past, with that deal
being or that team being put up for sale after
(04:41):
the NBA Finals last year. That seems to have been
one of the hurdles moving forward for the NBA on expansion,
the idea that they have to set a price, in
this case six billion dollars that still needs to be finalized.
The Blazers are not going to go for six billion dollars.
But what could happen in this scenario is the NBA
wants to set a price tag on expansion so they
(05:03):
can raise the price the value of the Blazers by saying,
let's do expansion first. Let's get it out there. Let's
set the bar at four or five billion, because overnight,
that will raise the value of the Blazers. If you
do it the other way around, you potentially have a
lower asking price for an expansion franchise. So I think
that all does play into this discussion. Whether it muddies it,
(05:24):
I think we're going to have to hear in the future.
I mean, those comments from Silver we made less than
twenty four hours before the announcement of the Blazers being
for sale, so it perhaps muddies the waters a bit
going forward, but it could also be good news because
the NBA will want to lay this out for expansion
before they go and sell the Blazers.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
Well, Chris Daniels, there was a senior reporter for Como News,
not a junior reporter or senior reporter for Como.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
News, otherwise known as old Man.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
The OG is with us on the air, and feel
free to fill in the blanks here in my timeline.
But Chris Hansen announces he's going after the return of
the NBA, and then he brings on Wally, he brings
on I think the Nordstroms he brings didn't Russell Wilson.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
Become a part of that at some point or whatever.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
So remember, there was a there was a public, very
public facing ownership group. Here's the people, here's who we are.
We're going after the NBA. Are we going to see that,
you think in the next maybe month or a couple
of months, where the ownership group comes forward, Here's who
we are, Here's who is in our group. Will Jeff
(06:34):
Bezos be a part of that? Will there be some
kind of announcement by them, like there was with Chris
Hansen before he got that deal done with the maloofs
that eventually fell apart.
Speaker 5 (06:44):
Yeah, I mean they were geared up to do that
back in September October when all the pieces were aligning
or seemingly aligning for an announcement about an expansion committee.
In September October. You know this, the NBA had the
exhibition game, the rain City Classic, at the Climate Pledge Arena.
There was a lot that was teed up to be
(07:05):
announced at that time before the NBA pulled back because
largely because of that Celtics transaction that needed to be settled.
I think what you know I'm hearing on the ground
is is people want to be very cautious here. You
hear the line over and over. We don't want to
get ahead of the commissioner. That is a card that
you play when you're trying to finalize a deal. A
(07:26):
lot like what we saw with the Kraken in getting
the NHL to commit to Seattle. It is, Hey, we
have David Bonderman, we have these other people involved. Let's
close this deal. Let's get this arena deal over the
finish line. That's when you play that card in this
big stakes poker game with the NBA. And I think
that's why you haven't heard from those people yet about
(07:50):
their interest in being the majority minority owner. Samanth Holloway
has said she's interested publicly in being part of an
NBA franchise, that her name is out there. Uh, but
others are are kind of hanging in the shadows right now.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (08:07):
Some of the whales that potentially want to be involved
here because of well, I think Andy Jassey is a
is a name to watch in the discussion here who
is leading Amazon right now? Bezos has has moved his
stakes to Florida. Uh in what he would come back, obviously,
(08:29):
the NBA would love to have him involved. Amazon is
already a partner uh with the NBA. So I think
there's a natural Uh, there's a natural line to draw
there climate Plage Arena being the name on the building
as well with the sponsorship agreement with Amazon there, So
I mean you can draw those lines. And Andy Jassy
already being involved with the Kraken I think is a
(08:50):
name to watch as well.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Chris is the timing of the Blazers sale announcements a
day impact the Seahawks sale at all.
Speaker 5 (08:59):
I don't think so, but it's the most forthright comment
we've had from the Allen of state that this was
part of his wishes to sell the Blazers after his
death for that money to go to philanthropy. The Seahawks,
they are saying, are not for sale, but now that
(09:20):
that provision has sunset, and so to speak on the
ten percent tax that the Allen estate or a new
owner would have to pay to the state. And just
for a quick background, that was written into the referendum
to the deal to build lumen Field back in nineteen
ninety seven was if the team was sold before last year,
(09:42):
that there would be a ten percent tax that would
have to be paid to the state that is now
sunset it. So that seems to be out of the
way in terms of a hurdle for the Seahawks to
be sold. But I don't believe that the Blazers sale
is connected one way or the other to the Seahawks sale.
But we are talking about a lot of money with
those two teams eventually going to philanthropic efforts in the community.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Chris Daniels COMO News phenomenal stuff. As always, keep up
the great work and we will talk down the road.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
My friend.
Speaker 5 (10:13):
Thanks Chris, good luck with the cushions.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
Thank you, my friend. My ass is still number. By
the way, it's getting numbered by the hour.
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