NBA, EuroLeague To Meet This Week To Talk Partnership
Chus Bueno, the EuroLeague CEO, 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. The change in leadership has put a possible partnership back on the table. Bueno, a former NBA executive, says that he’s open to the possibilities that the negotiations 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. While the NBA’s European league would almost certainly result in the creation of new clubs, the league is interested in bringing existing teams into the fold as well, Vorkunov writes. That means the 13 core EuroLeague teams have had to weigh whether to commit to their current league or explore jumping ship to NBA Europe.
“If they come, our recommendation to all the clubs is: sit down all together and have a conversation with the NBA and investors and everything that they have to the table,” Bueno said. “Sit down, trying to see how we can merge, partner, you name it, put the name and create the best basketball ecosystem and the best league possible. Because what I believe is that if we have two colleagues appearing on fragmentation, one team here, one thing there is not going to be good for anyone.”
Bueno says that his ideal outcome would be a merging of the NBA and EuroLeague into one larger enterprise, but he didn’t rule out the idea of the NBA outright buying the EuroLeague. NBA commissioner Adam Silver has 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,” Bueno told Vorkunov. “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. … I think that both organizations can help each other a lot.”
Latest On NBA Europe
Final bids for the NBA’s proposed European league, known as NBA Europe, are due at the end of March. But it certainly sounds like the NBA doesn’t want to be in direct competition with the EuroLeague, whose new CEO, Chus Bueno, previously worked for the NBA.
Bueno spent 12 years with the NBA as vice president of Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The veteran executive also held the title of managing director of NBA Spain.
The NBA, FIBA and the EuroLeague are expected to have a meeting in the next few days about a possible joint venture involving NBA Europe that could feature 24 teams, sources tell Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.net.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said last Wednesday that the ideal outcome would be for the NBA and the EuroLeague to work together, specifically mentioning his relationship with Bueno. Marc Stein of The Stein Line reported on Sunday that Bueno becoming EuroLeague CEO has led to optimism that the leagues might be able to collaborate, and Barkas has heard the same.
“Chus used to be a colleague of mine at the NBA for many years. I think for the better of European basketball, the best outcome would be if we come together with the EuroLeague,” Silver said, per Stefan Acevski of Eurohoops. “And that we came up with a systematic approach to growing the game throughout Europe. And that means complementing the country leagues, working together with the EuroLeague, and with FIBA.”
For his part, Bueno recently suggested the EuroLeague would be open to exploring that scenario, as Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops relays.
According to Barkas’ sources, EuroLeague powerhouses Real Madrid and Fenerbahce are “very close” to signing new 10-year licenses, with the timing seeming to mirror the upcoming talks between the NBA, FIBA and the EuroLeague.
There’s a good deal of interest in NBA Europe, Barkas reports, with many of the bidders coming from the United States. However, “nobody is willing to pay a $500M fee to enter the new league,” Barkas writes.