The league wants to get bigger.
National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver has apparently said all that is needed at the moment to say about expansion following the NBA Board of Governors meeting in mid-September at least in North America. The process of evaluating the Las Vegas and the Seattle markets continues. But there is another expansion on the table. Starting a league in Europe. The NBA wants to establish a 16-team circuit on the continent while the established EuroLeague wants to add teams to its circuit with the goal of 24 clubs. The EuroLeague has 20 teams. There have been reports that the NBA has made a formal offer to the EuroLeague about a potential collaboration. EuroLeague CEO Chus Bueno said he would “evaluate it carefully” and be open to forming a partnership with the NBA. The EuroLeague has a general meeting on October 5th where it is possible the league officials can discuss a deal. In the past, Silver has said that the NBA would be strengthened if some sort of collaboration with the EuroLeague is worked out.
“If we don’t get a deal in Europe, we’re going to compete in Europe. That’s the discussion that we had internally, and if we have to, we’re ready,” Bueno said. “It has to be a partnership that works for both of us, not just for one of us.” The NBA would like to have teams in London, Manchester, Paris, Lyon, Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Munich, Milan, Rome, Athens and Istanbul. Meanwhile, it appears the NBA is moving very slowly in its approach to adding teams to the 30 franchises. Jerry Colangelo, the former owner of the Phoenix Suns franchise and now part of a group looking to land the Las Vegas expansion franchise, said the “process is still playing out.” But there is no guarantee that the NBA will even expand to 32 teams.
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