As many people feared, we might be heading toward the end of the Inside the NBA era very soon. With the league’s current media rights deal expiring next year, everyone’s beloved show starring the legendary panel of Shaq, Kenny, Barkley, and Ernie will likely have their final TV run this upcoming season. That has become more evident with Adam Silver and the NBA’s latest $76 billion move. However, the NBA Commissioner does not plan on stopping after deciding Shaq and Co’s fate, as he has an even bigger plan in mind.

With the NBA’s Board of Governors setting up a meeting in Las Vegas on Tuesday, the group approved and finalized the upcoming media deal with new partners NBC and Amazon Prime Video while keeping the partnership with ABC and ESPN intact. While the reported 11-year contract has gotten the go-ahead from both parties, Warner Bros. and TNT still have 5 days to match one of the deals by either partner and extend their ties with the NBA.

But the idea seems far-fetched, as the value of the new deal is significantly higher than their current $24 billion deal. As everyone waits to see if TNT will make a move to continue their iconic Inside The NBA show, Adam Silver is now planning to shift his focus toward league expansion. Although the idea of adding more teams to the NBA has always been around, Silver previously made it clear that he would only start working toward it once he gets more clarity on the new media rights deal.

And now that he is closing in on that aspect, the Commissioner revealed on Tuesday that he might grant the people’s wish after all, “We’re not quite done with our media deals yet. But once we are, we will turn to consideration around expansion,” Adam Silver said, via The Athletic. Coincidentally, two NBA veterans will also benefit from this expansion.

Adam Silver’s plan could also help fulfill LeBron James’ dream!

With Silver hinting at a possible expansion, fans and several players across the league would be very happy, especially superstars like LeBron James and Kevin Durant. Why? As they are heading toward retirement, LeBron and KD have publicly revealed that they want to become team owners in the future. Two cities that Silver had said would be in consideration for expansion are Seattle and Las Vegas.

As you would know, Seattle is where KD started his career and he wants to own a part of the team if the league ever brings a franchise back to the city. “That would be cool for sure in a perfect world, but I can’t be, whatever opportunity comes up, hopefully, I can be part of something special. But, yeah, Seattle would be the ideal spot. They deserve to have a team there again and I would love to be a part of the NBA in that fashion,” KD said in an interview last year.

Even his long-time rival LeBron James wants a piece of NBA ownership as he revealed his interest in beginning something in Las Vegas. “It’s a sports town. Hopefully, I can bring my franchise here one day,” he said last year.

While Silver’s latest comment hints at those doors opening soon, he also revealed that the expansion depends on a lot of factors, “I will say it’s a bit more complicated than is suggested sometimes, because just think of the new media deals, for example. Once they’re completed, when you bring in new partners, you’re diluting those payments, of course, to teams.”

“Sometimes it seems as if we’re printing money when we expand. Actually, it’s no different than selling equity in any business… Having said that, I think we will engage this fall in earnest in the process of making those determinations. Should we expand? If we were to expand, how many teams should we expand and what markets should we be looking at?”.

Although there is still time left before we actually see a 31 team in the NBA, it’s great to know that Silver has started working towards that idea.

Before you go, though, be sure to check this video of Leonard Armato’s take on the deadly duo, Shaq and Kobe. Don’t forget to check back in for more such updates from our ES Fancast!