Adam Silver on Seattle team: 'We're not planning on expanding right now'

Nearly six years have passed since basketball fans in Seattle were able to cheer on their beloved SuperSonics at KeyArena.

And according to the new NBA commissioner Adam Silver, the SuperSonics won't be returning any time soon, at least via expansion.

"Seattle is a wonderful market," Silver told ESPN. "But we're not planning on expanding right now, so it's not a function of price."

Of course, Silver's comments mention nothing about the possibility of relocating a team to Seattle, and the league is currently dealing with a problematic situation in Milwaukee.

Silver told a group of sponsors in September that the Bradley Center was unfit and that the Bucks needed a new arena. The franchise's lease at the Bradley Center is set to expire in 2017, meaning the Bucks essentially have until then to deal with the situation. A new arena would also involve using public money, something that might not go over well in a city where politicians fought mayor Tom Barrett for trying to allocate $175,000 in parking revenues to help the team with building maintenance.

Furthermore, Bucks owner Herb Kohl announced in December that he was planning on selling a portion of the franchise. Kohl mentioned that he only wanted investors with zero interest in relocating the team, but Bucks fans are obviously concerned about the potential outcome.

Until Milwaukee sorts out its arena dilemma and its ownership situation, Silver is unlikely to push for any kind of expansion. And those wanting to see the return of NBA basketball to Seattle would be unwise to hold out hope that the Bucks will relocate. After all, it wasn't until the threat of relocation to Seattle became serious enough that the Sacramento Kings got their deal for a new arena.