Adam Silver is keeping a close eye on negotiations between the Portland Trail Blazers and the city, and will step in if required.
Tom Dundon bought the Portland Trail Blazers for $4.25 billion in April, but threat of relocation has hung over the city ever since.
Framework for a $586 million renovation to their 30-year-old home Moda Center has been set, but it has not been agreed by Dundon.
It is thought that a binding 20-year agreement requiring the Trail Blazers to play all home games at the Moda Center is stopping the owner from signing.
Dundon's start as Trail Blazers owner has come with plenty of backlash, facing criticism for replacing free T-shirts for fans at home playoff games with towels andÃÂ the dismissal of 70 employees.
NBA commissioner Silver has said a deal that works for both Dundon and the city must be found.
"I'm offering myself and the league office to assist all parties there,' Silver said during a press conference after the NBA Board of Governors meetings in New York.
"But as I said, we've had a great track record in Portland, and no doubt in my mind it would be a failure if we weren't able to get to a result that makes Portland basketball, NBA and WNBA, viable for the long term."
The state of Oregon have committed $365 million to the renovation, but that funding will expire on Dec. 31 if an agreement is not in place.
While talk of NBA expansion centers on Seattle and Las Vegas, Dundon will likely use the threat of relocation, with Kansas City emerging as a potential site, to negotiate team-friendly terms.
Silver emphasised the importance of a renovation or new facility built in Portland.
"We need a state-of-the-art arena," Silver added.
"I think, by any objective measure, the current building there is in the bottom measure of any arena in the league.
"I think everyone in the community acknowledges that, not just for NBA and WNBA basketball, but for all the multi-uses of these modern arenas: concerts, conventions, graduations, you name it.
"It's my hope that we can lower the temperature honestly a bit in these negotiations."
"I had an opportunity to spend a significant amount of time with Tom Dundon while he was here in New York at our meetings.
"We did discuss the situation around Portland in one of our committee meetings with Tom.
"I think he was able to bounce ideas off other owners who have been through similar negotiations in other communities. I think there's some lessons to be learned there."
Beyond the political tension between a spending-wary city council and a notoriously cost-conscious billionaire, OregonâÂÂs $365 million funding pledge hangs entirely on meeting the year-end deadline.
With Silver stepping in as a mediator, the league hopes to bridge the divide, lower the temperature, and secure a deal that keeps Rip City grounded in Portland for decades to come.