As the NBA hashes out plans for its new basketball league in Europe, it also continues negotiating with the EuroLeague on a possible deal that would bring the continent’s incumbent preeminent league together with the entity that wants to take its place.
While NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday that the NBA is still in talks with the EuroLeague about a possible merger or buying an ownership stake, EuroLeague CEO Chus Bueno told The Athletic in an email on Thursday that the NBA has not formally made an offer yet.
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It is uncertain what a deal between the NBA and the EuroLeague could look like. Silver has made it clear that the NBA would want to operate any basketball league it joins. The EuroLeague has rebuffed NBA offers in the past under its former CEO. Both sides have said they are open to combining forces, though no one has elaborated on specifics.
“As of today, we have not received anything from the NBA about what a potential partnership or collaboration could look like,” Bueno said in the email. “Also, we have signed (non-disclosure agreements) in place, so we will not comment on anything if we share any documents until we both decide together we have something to share.
“If an offer or a concrete proposal comes from the NBA, we would evaluate it carefully and, as appropriate, present it to our owners. More broadly, we are always open to exploring collaboration with the NBA or with any other relevant property that can contribute to the growth of the EuroLeague and European basketball.”
Neither Silver nor Bueno has said the two leagues need to come together. Silver said this week that the NBA’s expected European league would be “strengthened” by joining with the EuroLeague in some capacity but noted it didn’t have to happen. The EuroLeague has also left the door open — though Bueno has called a potential marriage a “partnership” and “collaboration” — but it is moving ahead with its own expansion blueprint.
The NBA wants to launch its first European season next fall, and Silver did not move off that timeline this week. Bueno said a deadline is in place for when the EuroLeague and the NBA would need to reach a deal. Bueno, a former NBA executive in Europe, said that a deal of this nature cannot be rushed.
“We have both publicly stated that we believe collaboration is the best way to grow basketball in Europe,” Bueno said, “and I think there is a shared understanding that the European basketball ecosystem can create more value by working together rather than fragmenting the market.”
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It is uncertain whether Europe can support two competing basketball leagues. The EuroLeague has been in its current format since 2000 and is widely regarded as the world’s second-best basketball league. It has 13 license holders and five wild-card teams.
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The NBA, working with FIBA, wants to launch a 16-team league that would include 12 permanent members, made up of some existing basketball clubs and some newly created ones likely associated with top European soccer brands. It intends to put teams in Europe’s largest cities — such as London, Paris and Berlin — and the owners of AC Milan, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain have shown interest.
“Depending on where we stand with the EuroLeague, I do think it’s important that we introduce competition into the market next summer,” Silver said. “The initial product you’d likely see a year from now will be different than when we ultimately will have brought all the teams together and are formally operating the league. I think the answer is, we want to get going.
“As I alluded to earlier, there will be announcements coming over the next few months. Those conversations are proceeding in earnest. It seems like everything takes longer than people outside the league would like it to take. These things are very involved. For us, in terms of NBA Europe, we truly see it as a once-in-forever opportunity. As I mentioned before, historic from our standpoint in terms of what this could mean, not just for basketball but the European sport landscape. And we want to get it right.”
The EuroLeague has also begun efforts to refurbish and steel itself for the future. It is transitioning from a league with license holders to one with permanent franchises. It also intends to expand to 24 teams. Napoli has said it has been approved as an expansion franchise.
Bueno said the league intends to grow by next season. He said the EuroLeague has received interest from potential new teams with binding offers totaling approximately $918.2 million (€800 million). The bids and expansion options will be presented to the EuroLeague team owners on Oct. 6.
That strategy, Bueno said, does not get in the way of the league’s discussions with the NBA.
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“For now, our franchise and expansion plan is moving forward in parallel with the dialogue we are having with the NBA,” he said. “We are not yet at a stage where we need to determine how our plans could interact with a potential collaboration.
“But, again, I would say: ‘Why not?’ If there is genuine interest in finding a way to work together, we should always be open to exploring what is possible.”