Chus Bueno, the CEO of EuroLeague, is set to meet with NBA executive George Aivazoglou this week as they enter into conversation to determine if the two leagues will be able to collaborate on a joint venture in Europe, Mike Vorkunov writes for The Athletic.
Previous iterations of the NBA’s plans to expand into Europe had not included the EuroLeague, which had rejected the NBA’s previous partnership offers, but Vorkunov notes that those negotiations took place under former EuroLeague CEO Paulius Motiejunas, and the change in leadership has made the matter a possibility again.
Bueno, a former NBA executive, says that he’s open to the possibilities that the negotations could allow for.
“We think that everything is on the table,” he said. “And I know what the NBA brings to the table, and I know that the NBA would like to operate (a league). And let’s have a discussion. If it makes sense for the teams, why not? You’re going to hear this from me. If it makes sense, why not? And this makes sense. Everything is on the table. But it has to make sense — business reasons, basketball reasons, and I think it’s (too early) to define because I want to hear from the NBA first. But we are open to any scenario.”
The NBA is seeking expansion fees between $500MM and $1 billion, as has previously been reported, and Vorkunov writes that while there would likely be newly created teams, the American league is interested in bringing existing teams into the fold as well.
Bueno says that his ideal outcome would be a merging of the NBA and EuroLeague into one larger enterprise, but didn’t rule out the NBA outright buying EuroLeague. Adam Silver had previously expressed that the joining of the two leagues would be his preference as well.
“I think that I could be a little bit of glue, because I know both organizations,” he said. “And I know there is trust among us. So, if I say something, I mean it. We will both negotiate, and we both are trying to do what’s the best deal for our partners. We have to win (for) everyone. If there is someone that is winning the negotiation, but isn’t balancing the execution, the execution is not going to work.”