Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton Says NBA Expanding to Las Vegas, Seattle Would Be 'Dope'

Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton is fully on board with the NBA adding expansion franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle.

"I hope that I'm around when we have expansion teams," he said to The Athletic's Mike Vorkunov. "I think having a team in Vegas would be dope. I think having a team in Seattle will be really cool. Hopefully I'm still in the league when that happens. … The talent in the world right now is amazing, so to add two more teams would be good for our league."

The financial health of the NBA has never been better, and the league's next media rights deal could raise revenue even higher.

On the court, former commissioner David Stern's quest to globalize the NBA is bearing fruit with more international players suiting up than ever. That has raised the overall level of talent on show in the Association.

Because of those two factors, expansion is all but inevitable, and Seattle and Las Vegas have emerged as the two strongest contenders on that front. The NBA could welcome its first franchise in Mexico as well.

Unfortunately for Haliburton and those fans in markets where the NBA could expand, they might be waiting a while.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported in October the likelihood of expansion is "real, but likely years away." For league officials, the new media rights contracts and agreeing to a new collective bargaining agreement with the players are bigger short-term priorities.