I have been wanting to publish an article about the project for some time. NBA Europe and the position of Madridfaced with a decision that can mark the future of the section in the medium-long term. If I have not written before on the subject it is because I had not even formed a clear opinion myself. Now that the deadline for the club is approaching, I’m starting to have it, and it could be summarized as: “not now and not like this”.
With the information I have, having read with interest everything published (by the way, great coverage of Juanma Rubio in AS), it seems to me that NBA Europe is still too green a project. The music can sound better or worse, I’m not even going to evaluate that now, what worries me regarding Madrid is that the competition is still in a very preliminary stage = risk.
They say that Florentino He is (or was) very convinced with the idea, seduced by the economic aspect, the promise of greater income that will help the sustainability of the section, historically very deficient. As a fan, my priority is certainty, that my team competes against the best and does not make me dizzy with the acronyms, but I also understand the importance of money as a guarantee of the long-term viability of the section. One day Florentino will not be there and perhaps the substitute will not be so happy about investing in basketball at a loss.
The importance of timing
Money matters… but so does timing. And the decision whether or not to continue in the Euroleague It must be taken in the coming days, perhaps with an extension until June, and the NBA still does not seem like a sufficiently solid and concrete alternative. For example, you will keep this week in London meetings with investors interested in franchises in Europe. I repeat, “INTERESTED”. It’s not that they are already choosing the logo in Paris or profiling a squad in Rome, it’s that they are still raffling off the ownership of franchises to the highest bidder. Those would be Madrid’s traveling companions 18 months after starting to compete. I don’t know, Rick, it’s dizzying.
I see first and foremost a question of risk/benefit. Strategically, when you have a lot to lose, that is when you should be more cautious, a law of life. And no one has more to lose if NBA Europe goes badly than Madrid. It is still the most important basketball club on the continent in terms of achievements and budget. We are talking about jumping into the void, leaving everything to move to a league that does not yet exist with clubs that do not yet exist, or almost. And do it practically alone, once the FCB has also gotten off the boat.
What does the sheikh risk interested in a franchise in Manchester? All he would lose if the adventure goes wrong is a few million, which he has plenty of. Madrid, on the other hand, has a social mass behind it, a lot of money committed to player contracts, etc., it risks being left hanging by the brush, stranded in the BCL due to a failed bet, to becoming a fallen FIBA soldier in its war with the Euroleague for ownership of the main continental competition.
At this juncture, as the scoreboard stands on January 13, the most reasonable strategy for Madrid would seem to me to make a common front with FCB y Fenerbahce to scratch the Euroleague with viable escape conditions. Leave the door ajar to the NBA to get on the train later, once it is already underway, if that day arrives. Because, if I’m honest, if the NBA doesn’t move quickly with some major announcement, it’s looking like a losing horse.
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