The SuperSonics Are Coming Back: Here's Exactly How Seattle Could Land Zion in the Expansion Draft
Well, it's actually happening. After nearly two decades of waiting, NBA expansion is moving from rumor to reality. ESPN dropped the bomb on Monday: the league's owners are voting next week on exploring expansion teams in Las Vegas and Seattle. Yeah, Seattle. Our city. And this time it looks legit.
Here's what you need to know: if the owners greenlight this thing, we're talking bids in the $7 to $10 billion range. The financial side has to make sense for current owners, but the momentum is clearly building toward at least taking those bids in these two lucrative markets. An official expansion vote probably won't happen until July at the earliest, but if Seattle and Vegas get the nod, we could have new SuperSonics and Vegas squads ready to tip off in the 2028-29 season. That's less than three years away.
How the Expansion Draft Actually Works
This is where it gets fun. Each existing NBA team gets to protect up to eight players, but has to leave at least one unprotected. The new expansion teams then get to raid those unprotected rosters. Here's the catch: each current team can only lose one player to the draft. With two new teams and roughly 15 roster spots to fill per team, you're looking at one player coming from most of the league's 30 teams.
The expansion teams also start with a $132.9 million salary cap figure, which isn't the full amount but enough to build a competitive roster. And get this: if a team wants to protect an unprotected player or dump a bad contract, they can negotiate trades with the expansion teams. It's a wild dynamic that could create some fascinating behind-the-scenes maneuvering.
The Mock Draft: Seattle Gets Its Star
CBS Sports ran a mock expansion draft to show what this could actually look like. In their simulation, Seattle landed Zion Williamson. Las Vegas got Tyler Herro. To determine picking order, they used a coin flip like the Raptors and Grizzlies did back in 1995. Vegas won and chose the higher NBA Draft pick, which meant Seattle got first dibs in the expansion draft.
Remember: this is a projection based on current rosters and protections. By 2028, everything changes. Players get traded, drafted, signed, and released. The talent pool available will look completely different. But it gives you a taste of how explosive this could be for the Emerald City when the SuperSonics finally come home.
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This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.