LAS VEGAS (AP) — The NBA will be doing some international business alongside the FIFA World Cup final in the coming days, as it moves closer to the planned launch of a new league in Europe sometime in the fall of 2027.
Commissioner Adam Silver, speaking after the league's Board of Governors meeting on Tuesday night, said he and Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum plan to talk to a number of groups interested in owning teams that will play in the new league.
And since many of those interested parties will be heading to the New York area for Sunday's World Cup final, it made sense to take meetings, Silver said.
“We’ve had tremendous interest from multiple cities in Europe, including cities that we didn’t ask for bids from," Silver said. "And we discussed with our board today that we’re in the process of finalizing those bids for an initial group of cities.”
The NBA and FIBA, the sport’s global governing body, announced plans last year to pursue a new European league — ending years of speculation about when or if such a move would happen. The plan remains in place for the new league to launch just over a year.
“Things are where I hope they would be,” Silver said.
The lengthy probe into whether the Los Angeles Clippers circumvented salary cap rules related to an endorsement contract between Kawhi Leonard and a now-bankrupt California-based digital bank that touted itself as environmentally friendly remains active, and Silver said he wants it completed sometime this summer.
It is now a thornier issue, given that a trade is in place to send Leonard from the Clippers to the Toronto Raptors. The teams put that trade on hold last week pending the outcome of the probe, and that could take weeks to decide.
The teams made that decision and the issues “were well-known to the teams,” Silver said.
“They chose not to live with that uncertainty,” Silver said.
The NBA enlisted outside counsel — Wachtell Lipton, a New York-based firm — to conduct the investigation and Silver said he gets regular updates from the league's general counsel on certain elements of the probe.
“The investigation needs to run its course,” Silver said.
The probe, as detailed by the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, could lead to penalties that include a substantial fine, the loss of draft capital — and, potentially, even the voiding of a player contract — if the league finds there was a deliberate circumvention of cap rules.
The league's process of deciding on whether to expand to Seattle, Las Vegas, either or both continued with multiple conversations this week. Silver reiterated something he's said several times, that he's hopeful a decision will be made by the end of 2026.
A handful of potential ownership groups have declared interest publicly.
"Some groups have been public," Silver said. “The majority of groups have not been public.”
If the league expands, the likely target is for the 2028-29 season.
Silver said he believes the collective bargaining agreement is working as intended, and defended the “second apron” — one of the salary-related elements of the deal between the league and its players.
“Every collective bargaining agreement is a result of a series of compromises," Silver said. "And that’s what this one is as well, but certainly from my standpoint, from a competitor’s standpoint, this is working very well.”
The current collective bargaining agreement includes aprons — payroll levels that, if exceeded, seriously limit a team’s options on player movement and acquisition. And they have come under fire in recent days, with newly installed National Basketball Players Association executive director David Kelly saying the union will fight it in the next collective bargaining agreement.
“We are not fans of the second apron,” Kelly said last week. “We did not propose the second apron. We should have done a better job of fighting back against the second apron, and in the future, we will have a much more unified union, and we will do a better of fighting it back against a second apron.”
Kelly was responding to a question surrounding something NBA veteran Kyle Kuzma wrote on social media earlier this month. Kuzma said “the first and second apron are starting to function like a hard cap on player value, team continuity, and player movement.”
The current CBA is scheduled to remain in place through at least the 2028-29 season. And for the record, not all players are up in arms about how the CBA is working.
“Thank God for second aprons and the first aprons,” Houston star Kevin Durant said during the regular season when asked about the league's run of parity — with eight different franchises having won titles in the last eight seasons.
Miami Heat managing general partner and Basketball Hall of Famer Micky Arison was unanimously elected as the board’s next chairman. Arison will take over the role at the league’s September board meeting.
Arison — who has the second-longest tenure of any current NBA team governor at 31 years and is the longtime chair of the board of directors of Carnival Corporation — is assuming the role that outgoing Toronto governor Larry Tanenbaum has held since September 2017.
“I am grateful for Larry’s nearly three decades of stewardship of the Raptors and his commitment to helping guide our league as NBA Board Chairman over the past nine years,” Silver said. “Micky’s long record of service on the Board, his strong relationships with his fellow team owners and his deep understanding of our game and business make him an exceptional choice to assume this important leadership role.”
Tanenbaum thanked the league’s owners for their support and said he wishes Arison success.
“I look forward to working closely in this new capacity with Adam, the league office and my fellow team governors to champion our teams and players, ensuring we continue to deliver exciting and unforgettable experiences for our fans,” Arison said.
Silver said he's hoping to have a decision on the format of the All-Star Game by the start of the regular season.
The league tried a U.S. vs. World mini-tournament this past season, and it generally was well-received. Talks between the league and its players are ongoing on the format and if any potential tweaks are needed. "I think we're off to a good start," Silver said.
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