The NBA Board of Governors is expected to follow the recommendation by the relocation committee, coincidentally headed by Thunder owner Clay Bennett, already a reviled figure in Seattle.
The NBA has been enamored with a team moving to Seattle to replace the SuperSonics, who relocated to Oklahoma City in 2009 and were rechristened the Thunder.
The city had once been home to the Seattle SuperSonics, which was founded in 1967 and remained in Seattle until 2008, when the team was moved to Oklahoma City and became known as the Thunder.