From the NBA court to the ownership table, Kenny Smith is taking a step toward team ownership, joining a group bidding for a potential expansion franchise in Las Vegas, NBA TV's Chris Haynes reported on Friday. Smith has raised 20 percent of the total bid, according to Haynes.

The group is led by former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry and Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos. Apostolopoulos controls the real estate firm Triple Group of Companies, the private equity company Six Ventures and the fintech company Caary.

Smith's involvement was first raised by ESPN's Stephen A. Smith on the Oct. 1 edition of First Take.

The 61-year-old played 10 NBA seasons from 1987 to 1997 and won back-to-back championships with the Houston Rockets in 1994 and 1995. He is currently a member of the Sports Emmy Award-winning Inside the NBA crew and also appears on ESPN's NBA Countdown and CBS' March Madness coverage.

The NBA has been reviewing three finalist groups for the Las Vegas franchise. The other two are led by Nancy Walton Laurie and Bill Laurie, joined by Silver Lake co-CEO Egon Durban, and by Bill Foley and Jerry Colangelo.

Article Continues Below

On Friday, Sports Business Journal reported that the Lasry-Apostolopoulos group, which bid around $9 billion to $9.5 billion, has effectively dropped out of the process. The league told all bidders the cost of the franchise would rise to $10 billion or more, and the group said it would not raise its bid. The group could still win the franchise if the other two groups also refuse to reach $10 billion.

The NBA is expected to award the Las Vegas franchise within the next month or sooner. The team would begin play in either the 2028-29 or 2029-30 season, depending on how quickly a new arena can be built.