The NBA, EuroLeague and FIBA held what was described as “constructive discussions” Wednesday on a potential NBA Europe collaboration and, with momentum gaining, have scheduled a follow-up meeting for early July.
Staged in Mies, Switzerland, Wednesday’s widely anticipated get-together was reportedly attended by NBA Europe Managing Director George Aivazoglou; EuroLeague CEO Chus Bueno and President Dejan Bodiroga; and a FIBA delegation led by Secretary General Andreas Zagklis. A core issue for EuroLeague is what a potential merger would look like and whether EuroLeague clubs -- which are about to become franchises in their own league -- would need to pay the full $500M-to $1B entry fee the NBA is seeking for the 12 permanent spots in NBA Europe.
The NBA has been clear with the EuroLeague and its members clubs that the only way to guarantee a permanent spot is a successful bid through the NBA’s investment process.
“We all understand that if an investor wants to participate in whatever league, not just in the NBA, in every single league, an investor has to invest money because that’s what they do, right?” Bueno had said last week. “But for a team, it’s different. A team like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, or Olympiacos is bringing the IP, the fan base, the 100 years of history, the tradition and the city. They already ‘own’ their cities, and that needs to be taken into account.”
While EuroHoops reported there was no significant progress Wednesday, other sources said the exchange was positive and negotiations were picking up. In a joint statement, the three entities would only say: “Representatives of FIBA, NBA and Euroleague Basketball met today at the FIBA Headquarters in Mies, Switzerland, where they continued the constructive discussions on the future of European basketball and on potential opportunities for collaboration. A new meeting will take place in early July.”
Both NBA Europe and EuroLeague had prefaced the session by saying they are willing to move on with or without each other. In EuroLeague’s case, Bueno told EuroHoops last week that, if a deal is to happen, he’d prefer a full merger with all 13 of his franchises. That remains problematic, however, considering NBA Europe will have only 12 permanent spots available at launch. The other four slots are available only through an annual merit-based system.
Meanwhile, NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum said last week that a 16-team NBA Europe without EuroLeague “would not be ideal” and that he believed “all parties should align here for the best interest of basketball.”
One complicating factor would presumably be that Tatum has said the NBA wants final bids by the end of June and the next EuroLeague meeting isn’t on the calendar until early July. But sources said the June 30 deadline will not change.
