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“It’s very difficult to do a lot of things that you need to do to make the sport successful (in London),” Balan had told me much earlier in the day. The words seemed prescient in the moment. “And in order for it to work, the sport needs a catalyst,” Balan said. “I think the NBA and Euroleague’s interest in the U.K. market is going to be a catalyst.”
There are legitimate pro teams in each of those cities already, other than Rome, but not all of those teams may apply for a license. Two high-ranking basketball officials, one with the NBA in the U.S. and another in Europe, said the NBA wants “to start with a clean slate” in London, where it could cost a new team more than $1 billion to obtain a license. “Just walking the streets here and being in the hotels, I hear from people all the time saying, ‘I’m sleep deprived following your league,’ (in the U.S.),” Silver told The Athletic during an interview in London, prior to the Memphis Grizzlies-Orlando Magic game at London’s O2 Arena.
“There are more people approaching us and saying, ‘I’d love to have the London franchise,’ and I think it’s not just because it’s such an attractive market, but because there’s no top-tier basketball team right now,” Silver continued. “So, there’s lots of groups seeing an opportunity to create a new brand here.” For the NBA, the London discussion is one of the sheer size, wealth and untapped basketball potential of the market. There are numerous potential suitors. Soccer powerhouses like Arsenal or Chelsea could create a team. The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund could do it. As could investment firms like Sixth Street.
Following the NBA commissioner’s press conference in Berlin and the subsequent meeting in London, the NBA Europe project appears to be laying its groundwork. “The feeling we have is that this has gotten underway, that this is going to happen,” confirmed Garbajosa himself.
FC Barcelona traveled to London to learn firsthand about the NBA's proposal . Josep Cubells, the section's top executive, and Jordi Trías, who joined the sporting department a few months ago, participated in a meeting that included Pau Gasol as part of an attempt to entice the club, but the meeting offered few new developments or concrete details . Barça, and perhaps it's significant that this meeting with Silver and his team didn't change anything, has a clear position: EuroLeague (which will be ratified by the board of directors), without completely closing the door on the new competition… but only once it has taken shape or is clearly going to do so. Why take the risk before then? The buyout clauses for those who have renewed, or will renew, their EuroLeague contracts until 2036 are the same as in previous contracts: ten million euros .
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Morant posted 24 points and 13 assists in just 28 minutes during Saturday's win over the Orlando Magic in London, which marked his first contest back following a six-game injury absence. "I have not found a team that has definitively said to me, 'We're definitely trying to get Ja Morant,'" Lowe said around the 22:40 mark of Tuesday's episode of The Zach Lowe Show by The Ringer. "And I have not heard anything since one good game happened."
Passion and entertainment for the NBA’s Magic-Grizzlies game in London on Sunday “were high,” but the “concern is that attendance was low,” according to Alex Pattle of the London INDEPENDENT. The NBA is “trying to boost its fandom and presence” outside the U.S. The O2 Arena “looked about” 70% full on Sunday “despite being touted as a sellout.” Many fans took to social media to “make this observation and complain about ticket prices,” while it does feel that “promotion for the event was lacking” -- especially when compared to the ”resounding success of October’s Sumo at the Royal Albert Hall, which captured the general public’s imagination in the days before the wrestling itself.” Fans present at the O2 for the NBA game were “generous with their enthusiasm, no doubt relieved to be experiencing the action up close and in real time.” The media desks were “oddly low, too”
Tim Bontemps on Ja Morant after win vs. Magic in London: I don't think this moves the needle at all as far as people around the league go. To be honest, I think there's very limited interest in Ja Morant around the league. I have spent a lot of time asking people where they think he could go. There's not a lot of teams that you can really come up with as really credible options for him.
NBA Communications: Anthony Black’s fastbreak dunk over four defenders in Berlin is the most-viewed highlight of the season across NBA social platforms, generating 85 million views and counting. The Magic and Grizzlies face off again in Europe today at the O2 Arena in London, live NOW on Prime Video.
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Jason Beede: Update: The #Magic say Moe Wagner is OUT today vs. Memphis in London due to left knee injury management.
Marc Stein: Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo would only say Ja Morant is “trending” toward playing today in London and would do so under a minutes restriction. Morant has missed the past six games (calf contusion) and has played in only 18 of 40 games this season. Noon ET tip … @NBAonPrime
On Saturday, Adam Silver took it further, saying that the potentially heavy involvement of sovereign wealth funds in NBA Europe could translate into an eventual rule change regarding how much those countries can invest in the NBA. “It may be that over time there are practices that we learn from in Europe that will then work in the U.S.,” Silver said in London during a roundtable discussion with European-based reporters, ahead of Sunday’s NBA Game between the Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies. “It means looking at this opportunity from scratch here in Europe, we are open to different kinds of investors, as principal investors, that aren’t currently allowed in the U.S.,” Silver said.
Marc Stein: Grizzlies coach Tuolas Iisalo tells @talkSPORT “there’s a good possibility” that Ja Morant plays Sunday in London after missing the past six games with a calf contusion. Said Iisalo: “He went through the whole practice today. He was able to go even full speed (for) periods."