The cord-cutter’s guide to legally watching the NBA

Adam Silver was a guest on the NBC Sports Boston broadcast of Celtics-Knicks on Monday night. During the game, the topic of NBA expansion came up. Silver all but confirmed it’s on the NBA’s to-do list after they finish the new media rights deal.

Silver said that there are “couple of cities in the US” that the NBA will look at first. It’s expected those cities will include Seattle and Las Vegas. Silver was asked about international expansion. He said that Vancouver and Mexico City remain in consideration for NBA involvement.

Silver added that Montreal has reached out to the NBA to express interest in an expansion team. Silver talked about how rapidly the game of basketball has grown in Canada. He also mentioned how successful the league has been with the now-annual Mexico City game, as well as the G League presence in Mexico City.

The Philadelphia 76ers and Joel Embiid sought out approximately six medical opinions before they signed a three-year, $192 million extension in September, sources tell ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. All of those consulted believed Embiid’s knee could be managed by a combination of strategic rest and procedures to promote healing.

Embiid and the Sixers hoped his knee would be healthy enough to play to start the season. They anticipated him needing more time to work his way into shape after the Olympics, but it became clear over time his knee wasn’t right.

Embiid has not played with the same force since his return and is averaging just 19.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 31.4 minutes over his first four games. Embiid averaged more than one point per minute last season. Embiid’s PER has dropped from 33.4 last season to 16.4 this season.