As Fenway Sports Group continues to assess its options in terms of adding another football team to its portfolio, a major development in the US has moved another potential acquisition a step closer.

It is an open secret that the Liverpool owners want to add an NBA expansion team to the list of sports assets it already has in its possession, with Las Vegas a clear frontrunner, with basketball icon and current Los Angeles Lakers star, and FSG partner, LeBron James tipped to helm the project.

It is something that James himself has been open about, while Liverpool and FSG chairman Tom Werner has previously spoken on the potential expansion into the NBA, as has another FSG partner, RedBird Capital founder Gerry Cardinale.

There are a number of hurdles that the NBA have needed to clear before expansion from 30 to 32 teams comes into consideration, with the need for a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to be in place for the next few years, while a new media rights deal had to be negotiated with the current $26bn deal having just 12 months left

Last summer the CBA was agreed, and this past week the NBA looks to be on the cusp of agreeing a staggering $76bn (£59.8bn) deal for the next set of rights over 11 years. Once that is agreed and delivered the attention will then turn to expansion, and FSG are already preparing themselves for that.

“We want to figure out what our media relationships are going to look like, but then we will turn to expansion,” said Adam Silver, NBA commissioner. “Vegas is definitely on our list.”

That moment is close, and with Seattle another potential market for an NBA expansion franchise, the process to expand the league could begin before the end of the year, although getting a team on the court will take some time.

Initially the price talk around NBA expansion franchise was around $2bn, with that money to be divided up among the NBA’s 30 teams, who have to agree to expanding the league in the first place. But with a bumper media deal, the price point will likely be closer to $5bn. It will be an expensive venture for FSG and its partners.

Another key development is that James wanted to finish his playing career by playing a season with his son, Bronny, in the NBA. James Jnr is eligible for this summer’s NBA draft and is expected to be picked up in the first round, opening up the potential for father and son to take to the hardwood together before James Snr calls time on a glittering career.

Potential venues in Vegas have been mooted over the past two years, the most recent being back in April with land on the Las Vegas Strip identified by a development company, LVXP, for a resort and NBA arena as Sin City looks to add professional basketball to NFL and NHL teams, as well as the Formula One grand prix to its sporting offering.

FSG, which created FSG International to look after its overseas sporting portfolio, which will include a football team in the not-too-distant future, took a slice of the PGA Tour’s commercial operations most recently and is focused on growing and expanding its portfolio of sporting assets, now worth some $12bn, with Liverpool accounting for around $5.5bn (£4.3bn) of that, with the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins, and NASCAR team RFK Racing also part of the growing list of sporting investments.