Seattle got screwed 15 years ago when the Sonics were stolen from them. For the past decade, it's felt like Portland's friend (or friendly rival) to the north has gotten breadcrumb after breadcrumb regarding the NBA returning to the Emerald City in the form of an expansion team. The presumption has been that when the NBA decides to expand, Seattle will be one of the (likely) two cities it expands to — but that expansion has always felt like a very distant future.
In the past few weeks, we've gotten some big clues that expansion is finally, actually on the table for the league. First, NBA commissioner met with Washington Governor Bob Ferguson for a preliminary conversation about bringing the league back to Seattle, according to Jack Bilyeu of KIRO 7 News in Seattle:
"His {Ferguson's] office confirmed it was about bringing the Sonics back home... Eventually, the Governor's office got back to us, they told us this was an introductory meeting held at the governor's request. They say the pair had, "A good conversation," and that the Governor offered to be helpful."
Then, during Silver's media availability at All-Star weekend in Los Angeles, he once again named Seattle and Las Vegas as cities that could be looked at for expansion, noting that the "Board of Governors" (team governors, not state) will meet next month to talk expansion.
In the past, Silver danced around the topic. Now, he's being much more upfront about expansion, making it feel like we're inching closer to the Blazers getting a real rival once again in the PNW.
Blazers could regain a real rival in Seattle expansion team
The Blazers have a bunch of "rivals" in the NBA. I put that in quotes because they all feel sort of half-baked. Blazers fans think the Lakers are their rival, but I don't think Lakers fans think of the Blazers at all. Sure, games and playoff series with the Rockets were fun in the 2010s, but it feels like that's fizzled as the years have gone on, and Blazers vs. Nuggets had potential until the Nuggets got really good and the Blazers got really bad the past five years.
In short, a Portland / Seattle rivalry will always hit — Timbers vs. Sounders is the best rivalry in MLS and Storm vs. Fire is going to be electrifying if the WNBA ever figures out a CBA. Bringing back the I-5 rivalry to men's professional hoops will mean much to these two cities than the rest of the country realizes.
This isn't the first time Seattle has been on the 1-yard line of getting an NBA team back, though. It appeared in 2013 like the Kings were about to head up to Washington state, but that obviously fell through at the eleventh hour. That wasn't how Sonics fans wanted to get a team, anyway — sealing the franchise from a dedicated fan base is what happened to them in 2008.
Blazers fans will be happy to cheer for Seattle to get a team again — and even happier at the chance to cheer against them when the new Sonics (and they better still be the Sonics) come to Moda Center for the first time.