"Me and my team have been working behind the scenes with the NBA" - Floyd Mayweather interested in owning expansion team in Las Vegas; LeBron James also a candidate

Floyd Mayweather watching New Orleans Pelicans vs Phoenix Suns - Game Two

There have been reports in the last month about the possibility of adding two expansion teams to the NBA. The two new teams are rumored to be in Seattle and Las Vegas. One person interested in owning a team in Las Vegas is Hall of Fame boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Mayweather revealed to Sam Gordon of the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he wants to get involved in a possible expansion of the NBA. "Money" told Gordon that he has spoken to people over the past six months regarding the matter.

"I've been talking to certain individuals for the last six months," Mayweather said. "That's something I've been working on behind the scenes, but I've never came out and publicly talked about that with the media."

"Me and my team have been working behind the scenes with the NBA. I can't say exactly where, but I'm working on getting a team," he said.

Floyd Mayweather on owning an NBA team, possibly in Las Vegas:

“I've been working on that for a good while
now.” https://t.co/LdDsmnWvhg

Floyd Mayweather Jr. did not specifically mention Las Vegas, but he has been living there since the late 2000s. However, he's not the only athlete interested in owning a team in Sin City. LeBron James also expressed his intention to become an owner, on "The Shop."

"I want to own a team; I want to buy a team, for sure," James said. "I would much rather own a team before I talk. Yeah, I want a team in Vegas."

James recently became a billionaire, so owning a team is entirely possible. Only a handful of NBA players are part of ownership, though. Michael Jordan is the only majority owner, having owned the Charlotte Hornets since 2010.

Grant Hill is a minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks. David Robinson has ownership shares with the San Antonio Spurs, while Dwyane Wade recently became a minority owner of the Utah Jazz.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver shuts down expansion talks

John Canzano of 750 The Game reported late last month that the league will have two new expansion teams in Seattle and Las Vegas. Canzano noted that it could happen in the next few years. However, league commissioner Adam Silver shut down those rumors before Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

In a news conference (h/t The Associated Press), Silver denied any reports of league expansion. The commissioner did acknowledge that Seattle and Las Vegas are wonderful and future markets for the NBA. He added that having two expansion teams could dilute the current talent pool.

"We are not discussing that at this time," Silver said. "Expansion does create a certain amount of dilution and and even sort of adding another 30 players or so that are roughly comparable."

"There still are only so many of the truly top-tier super talents to go around. That is something on the mind of the other teams as we think about expansion," he added.

Some notes from Adam Silver:

🏀 NBA isn’t quite ready for an in-season tournament

💰 All-NBA teams might go positionless ($ implications)

💼 Denied speculation re expansion after 2024

🍀 Mentions possibility of an All-Star game in Boston https://t.co/tMXz9U30RA