Milan and Inter want to cooperate with the NBA for a basketball team in Milan

An NBA championship will start in Europe in two years, with European teams and an American organization. Milan and Inter aspire to have a role in a Milanese franchise, which the NBA decisively wants to create. Not bad news for a quiet week in October. The plan is not an absolute novelty but the NBA has definitely changed its pace in recent days: it speaks about it openly, even with journalists, and makes it clear that it wants to move forward quickly.

milan, inter and nba

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The first tap-off of the new championship is scheduled for autumn 2027. As for Milan and Inter, the match is very open and complex. The NBA wants a team in Rome and one in Milan. Commissioner Adam Silver, for Milan, has been talking for some time with Gerry Cardinale, founder of the RedBird fund that owns Milan. Inter with Oaktree has the dossier on the table and is equally interested in the nascent business. It’s decidedly early to understand how it will end, also because Olimpia Milano and the Armani company will have a central role in the match, which has every intention of continuing with basketball even after the passing of King Giorgio.

the words of the NBA

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Mark Tatum, the NBA deputy commissioner, spoke about the NBA Europe project in a conference call with around sixty international media, including La Gazzetta dello Sport exclusively for Italy. Tatum clarified that the idea is to start “in two years, obviously if the Fiba board and that of the NBA owners approve the project”. His most significant sentences: “The initial plan is to have permanent teams in 10-12 cities, mainly in the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France and Germany. Perhaps in Turkey and Greece. We are thinking of a mix of existing teams, new teams and football teams that also want to invest in basketball. In addition to the permanent teams, in this initial phase there will be 4 slots that will be assigned annually, in a transparent way, on the basis of sporting merit. This is at the beginning, but we hope in 7-10 years to be able to double the number of fixed teams so that we can also involve other countries.” Entering the League will cost 250-500 million (a lot). Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​PSG, Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Fenerbahçe, according to rumours, are almost certain to enter.

Euroleague: what role?

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The plan is obviously commercial first and foremost. The first question is related to the relationship with the Euroleague. Will there be a merger? Will there be a clash? Tatum again: “We believe that in the basketball system we have in mind there is a place for every club in Europe, including those in the Euroleague. We think there is a way to do it, we will continue to work with Fiba and the Euroleague to find a solution.” In short, for now the tension between the two giants of world basketball is not rising.

Cardinal’s moves

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Milan and Inter will soon be called to decide. The impression is that Gerry Cardinale moved first. Two days ago Adam Silver, NBA commissioner, was a guest at the RedBird general assembly in New York, which was also attended by the president Paolo Scaroni, the CEO. Giorgio Furlani and advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic. A consolidated relationship. Cardinale was already talking about an ownership with franchises in different sports in 2022 and it cannot be forgotten that LeBron James, at the time of the closing between Elliott and RedBird, became a passive investor in Milan having shares in Main Street Advisors.

inter, the oaktree interest

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Inter, on the other hand, can count on Oaktree, which has its headquarters in Los Angeles and is unrivaled in terms of financial availability and contacts. He has an interest and will certainly play his cards: in Viale della Liberazione they are aware that the basketball dossier is one of the big issues for the near future. Will a derby arise to manage the Milanese NBA Europe franchise or will Milan and Inter cooperate? Will the new franchise be an alternative to Olimpia or will the two realities – one history, one brand new – be one? Nobody knows this, not even the NBA. The certainty is that the next two months will be decisive. The revolution is around the corner.