PARIS – Fiba Europe president Jorge Garbajosa said on Sept 13 he believes the National Basketball Association (NBA) will launch its project to expand into Europe in 2027.
Garbajosa said at a news conference on the eve of the Eurobasket final in Riga that he fully expected a project backed by the US league would take shape in Europe, but that it was a complicated process to decide what form it should take.
“It is not easy to create a competition like the one we, and the NBA, want to create. It will take time but it will happen,” the Spaniard said.
“Some have talked about 2027 and I think that’s a good year, but honestly, the NBA is working on it,” he added.
Garbajosa, who played in the NBA for the Toronto Raptors, had announced in March the NBA was exploring the possibility of launching a new basketball league in Europe, in partnership with Fiba.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has said talks are under way with Fiba but the Euroleague of European clubs, dominated by Greek, Turkish and Spanish clubs, has expressed strong opposition to an NBA expansion.
Germany face Turkey in the Eurobasket final on Sept 14 (Sept 15, Singapore time).
Meanwhile, a group led by Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has reached a formal agreement to purchase the Portland Trail Blazers from the estate of Paul Allen, a deal that will require approval from the NBA board of governors to become official.
The Trail Blazers announced the agreement on Sept 12. The Oregonian reported the transaction values the franchise at US$4.25 billion (S$5.45 billion).
Under the agreement, the team will remain in Portland.
At least two members of the ownership group have connections to Oregon. Sheel Tyle is the founder of Collective Global, based in Portland. And Peggy Cherng, part of the family that owns Panda Express restaurants, attended Oregon State.
No date has been scheduled for the NBA governors to vote, but the closing date for the sale is set for no later than March 31, 2026.
The Dondon group has a task ahead of it – rebuilding the team and figuring out its arena situation.
The Blazers, once a perennial play-off participant, are 117-211 (.357) under head coach Chauncey Billups over the past four seasons. Their only NBA championship came in 1977 with Bill Walton at centre and Jack Ramsay as coach.
The home Moda Centre, which opened in 1995, also is in need of renovation or replacement and is seen as the centrepiece of the revitalisation of the Rose Quarter section of the city.
Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, purchased the Trail Blazers for US$70 million in 1988. He died in 2018, with his will directing his estate to sell the team to fund philanthropic efforts.
Allen’s estate also owns the National Football League’s Seattle Seahawks and a 25 per cent stake in the Seattle Sounders of Major League Soccer. AFP, REUTERS
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