SEATTLE — NBA commissioner Adam Silver indicated that expansion in Seattle was “no longer a lock” at the board of governors meeting last month, according to a report from ESPN on Friday.

The report, which attributed the information to “multiple ownership sources,” comes as the NBA’s self-imposed end of year deadline ticks closer.

Silver also reintroduced the idea of a team in Mexico City, according to the ESPN report. Owners were told about “at least one Mexico City-based group that has approached NBA expansion partner PJT Partners with a plan about launching a team and developing a new arena district there that apparently has caught the league’s attention,” per ESPN sources.

The report said that, while Silver appears to be a “full-go” on expansion in Las Vegas, the league isn’t happy with the bids that they’ve seen in Seattle so far.

There are three known potential ownership groups in Las Vegas, where the team could go for more than $10 billion. But, unlike Seattle, there’s uncertainty about arena plans or solutions when it comes to a Vegas team.

Silver has said the league is looking at more than one bid for Seattle, however the group led by One Roof Sports and Entertainment is considered the lead group. It’s a calmer market with less competition to drive up the price.

Seattle also has a venue for the team.

“If we were opening in five weeks, we could be ready in Seattle,” Silver said of Climate Pledge Arena at the board meeting last month.

With fewer questions about what expansion in Seattle would look like, discussion about the Emerald City was put on the back burner during the September board meeting in New York, Silver said.

The league is expected to make a decision on Las Vegas before Seattle. The offers in Seattle are “substantially lower than what the bidding war for the Vegas franchise is driving,” according to ESPN sources. There is the potential that a losing bidder in Las Vegas might turn to Seattle and help drive up the price of the team.

Still, the goal remains to make a final decision by the end of the calendar year. That decision could be to add zero, one or two teams.

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