Does the NBA have to have two expansion teams start playing at the same time?

Now that the media deal is over the NBA will switch gears to expansion. Seattle and Las Vegas are the favorites, but there’s one clear difference between the two cities: Seattle has an NBA-ready arena built and Las Vegas does not. Can the NBA announce the two teams but have the Seattle team start play earlier than the Vegas team? Would the LV team wait for their new arena or could they start but play somewhere else for a couple seasons?

As a Seattle resident I’m rooting for us to get a team that starts play as early as possible, if the NBA announces a team this summer we can have one ready to go playing at Climate Pledge Arena for the 2025-2026 season.