It is a bomb that Marca has just released, but one that must undoubtedly be handled with caution.
The Spanish newspaper thus ensures that the NBA and FIBA are discussing very seriously the creation of a division of the American league for Europe, on the model of the BAL, the Basketball Africa League.
It would not be for Adam Silver to incorporate European clubs in the NBA calendar, but therefore to set up a fifth championship, alongside the NBA, the WNBA, the G-League and the BAL.
The idea is undoubtedly attractive for the big European clubs which have a guaranteed place in Euroleague (Anadolu Efes, ASVEL, Baskonia, Bayern Munich, CSKA Moscow, FC Barcelona, Fenerbahçe, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Milan, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, Real Madrid and Zalgiris Kaunas), especially for the seven of them who are worried about the financial difficulties of the biggest European competition, as well as the management of Jordi Bertomeu.
A sudden internal pressure?
According to Marca, Adam Silver has also already sent a letter to Jordi Bertomeu to inform him of these negotiations, which Eurohoops for his part refutes …
The problem is that the Euroleague signed a partnership of 630 million euros with IMG in 2015, over ten years, and that breaking this contract to join a European division of the NBA would be extremely expensive for the clubs of the competition. . Marca therefore logically explains that the presidents of the “slingers” are therefore extremely cautious, with no doubt also in mind the example of the Super League fiasco in the world of football.
But this “scoop”, an old sea serpent in Europe, is perhaps above all a means of internal pressure for the seven “slinging” clubs in relation to the current management of the Euroleague.
