NBA -- A Call for European Expansion on a Big Scale

[Henderson]

There's been some chatter about NBA expansion and whether there should be a team or two in Europe. That seems pointless to me, because you'd just have a couple teams very very far away with no one else to play. Instead, I suggest two Euro Divisions of the NBA. Add to the Western Conference the Euro-West Division: Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, London and Paris. Add to the Eastern Conference a Euro-East Division: Milan, Naples, Athens, Munich and Istanbul.

Each Euro team makes one long US road trip per year, and each North American team makes one long European tour per year. Interesting local rivalries with native clubs. Great travel/vacation packages for fans ("5 games in 7 days through the great cities of Europe!"). Great exposure for the league. The Euros would love to watch established NBA stars on a regular basis, especially the home-grown talent. Stand back when Athens plays Istanbul. And it gives the NBA four divisions per conference, balancing out the playoff picture without diluting the U.S. fan base. The TV deals would be huge. And I'll bet the NBA could compete pretty successfully for those Euroleague fans and sponsors.

There would be some dilution of the talent pool, but that would be compensated for by the increased number of good European players who would love to play in the NBA but don't want to live in North America.

It would be a bold giant step forward. And I'll bet there are 10 billionaires in the world who would jump at the chance to own an NBA franchise in Europe.

[burnspbesq]

No team in Moscow? No way that's happening.

[gus]

There's been some chatter about NBA expansion and whether there should be a team or two in Europe. That seems pointless to me, because you'd just have a couple teams very very far away with no one else to play. Instead, I suggest two Euro Divisions of the NBA. Add to the Western Conference the Euro-West Division: Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, London and Paris. Add to the Eastern Conference a Euro-East Division: Milan, Naples, Athens, Munich and Istanbul.

Each Euro team makes one long US road trip per year, and each North American team makes one long European tour per year. Interesting local rivalries with native clubs. Great travel/vacation packages for fans ("5 games in 7 days through the great cities of Europe!"). Great exposure for the league. The Euros would love to watch established NBA stars on a regular basis, especially the home-grown talent. Stand back when Athens plays Istanbul. And it gives the NBA four divisions per conference, balancing out the playoff picture without diluting the U.S. fan base. The TV deals would be huge. And I'll bet the NBA could compete pretty successfully for those Euroleague fans and sponsors.

There would be some dilution of the talent pool, but that would be compensated for by the increased number of good European players who would love to play in the NBA but don't want to live in North America.

It would be a bold giant step forward. And I'll bet there are 10 billionaires in the world who would jump at the chance to own an NBA franchise in Europe.

I can't even imagine how much more complicated their tax filings would get. Holy cow.

[hudlow]

Yeah, We need more one and dones in college bball......

[awhom111]

There's been some chatter about NBA expansion and whether there should be a team or two in Europe. That seems pointless to me, because you'd just have a couple teams very very far away with no one else to play. Instead, I suggest two Euro Divisions of the NBA. Add to the Western Conference the Euro-West Division: Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, London and Paris. Add to the Eastern Conference a Euro-East Division: Milan, Naples, Athens, Munich and Istanbul.

Each Euro team makes one long US road trip per year, and each North American team makes one long European tour per year. Interesting local rivalries with native clubs. Great travel/vacation packages for fans ("5 games in 7 days through the great cities of Europe!"). Great exposure for the league. The Euros would love to watch established NBA stars on a regular basis, especially the home-grown talent. Stand back when Athens plays Istanbul. And it gives the NBA four divisions per conference, balancing out the playoff picture without diluting the U.S. fan base. The TV deals would be huge. And I'll bet the NBA could compete pretty successfully for those Euroleague fans and sponsors.

There would be some dilution of the talent pool, but that would be compensated for by the increased number of good European players who would love to play in the NBA but don't want to live in North America.

It would be a bold giant step forward. And I'll bet there are 10 billionaires in the world who would jump at the chance to own an NBA franchise in Europe.

This is an interesting idea. How do you see the teams existing alongside existing European clubs? I am not sure you will be able to find fans that support both to the point where the European club fans might actually attack the NBA fans, especially in places like Athens and Istanbul. I am also not sure you could get the endorsement of local federations, at least without cash, which could lead to FIBA action against the NBA. I think it would be more likely for the NBA to pull off a big Asian expansion in Manila, Seoul, Tokyo, and any number of cities in Australia or China, but that is pretty unlikely too.

Cities I could see this working in:
London
Paris
Rome
Siena
Bologna
Moscow

Possibilities?
Zagreb
Berlin
Jerusalem
Kiev
Istanbul

[tommy]

Interesting idea, and one that will undoubtedly happen in some form. Who knows when, though.

Couple of reactions right off the top. First, politics will play a role here. For instance, if the NBA were to be making this move right now, Vladimir Putin's aggression in Crimea and Ukraine would be a big problem in Moscow getting a team. I just don't think any American administration would allow it.

Second, while you could set up European divisions, and those would work fine in the regular season theoretically, how would you structure playoffs between US-based teams and those that emerge from the European divisions? If you've got the Heat vs. Bologna, you can't really do a standard 2-2-1-1-1 playoff format, or even a 2-3-2 unless there's a lot more of a break when they switch cities. Just can't do quick turnarounds to Europe and back, as the product would suffer big time.

Third, the players union is going to have a lot to say about this. Like, what if guys don't want to play in Europe, for a host of financial, cultural, family, or basketball reasons? That's going to be a real problem.

Anyway, I'm sure there are many, many other issues that would have to be figured out. These are just a few. Interesting though, and like I say, I think it'll happen at some point in some form.

[wilson]

Cities I could see this working in:
London
Paris
Rome
Siena
Bologna
Moscow

Possibilities?
Zagreb
Berlin
Jerusalem
Kiev
IstanbulI see what you're getting at, but I'm not sure there's any smart money investing in Kiev these days...(at least not non-ruble money)

[Billy Dat]

I would really worry about the talent dilution. Look what happened when the NBA added a mere 4 expansion franchises in the 80s and 90s. Adding 10 more teams would really water things down. I'd rather they try and incorporate a collection of NBA teams into the Euroleague. NBA guys always value in season breaks and complain about the length of the season. Let's cut the season from 82 to 68 games and make 4 NBA teams participate in the Euroleague once a year. It will be done at random under the assumption that the NBA is that much of a higher quality league and any of our franchises would have a respectable showing (an arrogant and perhaps untrue assumption, but I am trying to make this work). Every 6 weeks, the NBA takes a week off and these 4 teams go and play their Euroleague games - some home and some away.

[Li_Duke]

I think you're more likely to see the NBA swallow an existing European basketball league than to start multiple new franchises overseas. But I think Asia is a better market than Europe (denser cities and more fan interest) as soccer is and always will be king in Europe.

[CDu]

I would really worry about the talent dilution. Look what happened when the NBA added a mere 4 expansion franchises in the 80s and 90s. Adding 10 more teams would really water things down. I'd rather they try and incorporate a collection of NBA teams into the Euroleague. NBA guys always value in season breaks and complain about the length of the season. Let's cut the season from 82 to 68 games and make 4 NBA teams participate in the Euroleague once a year. It will be done at random under the assumption that the NBA is that much of a higher quality league and any of our franchises would have a respectable showing (an arrogant and perhaps untrue assumption, but I am trying to make this work). Every 6 weeks, the NBA takes a week off and these 4 teams go and play their Euroleague games - some home and some away.

Yeah, between diluting the talent pool and the logistical nightmares, I'm not sure it is a good idea. At least not until someone invents a viable teleportation devise and the ability to clone LeBron James.

[theAlaskanBear]

Not to mention that any expansion in Europe will negatively NBA American TV ratings and packages. If the Lakers are on a 2-week swing through Europe, that is two weeks of games during the middle of work day, tape-delayed, etc etc.

I just don't see professional sports leagues being able to overcome the logistical problems with integrating divisions of European and Asian teams.

What I could see is the affiliation/association of Euro teams with US teams to turn them into farm/NBDL teams. But would that benefit the European teams, who make money off of NBA contract buyouts and player transfers like soccer? It's a thorny question. I would prefer the NBA fully realizing its US potential and fleshing out teams in Seattle, St. Louis, Vancouver first.

[Henderson]

1. The NBA teams compete with the existing teams. Could be winner takes all like in the USFL/AFL where the weaker teams just fold. Or perhaps some assimilation of local teams. Panathenikos becomes an NBA team, and Olympikos Pireus has to deal with it. Like a local european software vendor had to deal with Microsoft. Or like the AFL had to deal with the NFL.

2. The local federations just get bypassed. Who needs 'em? An NBA teams sets up shop in town, and the local federation is ... whatever it is....

3. Taxes. Yeah, no American has any experience working in Europe and dealing with that issue.

4. Moscow and Tel Aviv: Sorry, but this is west of the 30th line of longitude. We ain't looking for problems with Israel, Ukraine, and Russia. Let them get their own damn league.

5. Travel is really not the issue it was. You can manage it with scheduling, even for the playoffs. If you are the Knicks, do you care if you are flying to LA or Madrid? And for an LA team, the flight over the pole isn't much if you are staying there for a couple weeks of basketball. Or even a couple playoff games. Today's travel makes this not an issue.

6. TV deals: Do you have any idea how much TV money there is in Europe? It's huge. So you can't get up to watch the Lakers at noon your time? Well, guess what. It's prime time in Athens, and they're all in at the plaka crowding around the big screens, watching all the ads.

[gocanes0506]

I really hope this doesnt happen. I think the NBA should start a minor league in Europe and then turn the D league into a minor league as well. The minor league teams would be same level not a MLB AAA, AA, A level deal. There would just be a NBA-E and NBA-W champs for minor league. Can explore an overall minor league system champ if interest is there.

NBA gets some of the top Pro teams in the big countries to be a part of the NBA league (that way the culture factor and fan base is still there)
Europe would keep their current Pro system which would be lower than the NBA league.
NBA would be able to gain a market in Europe.
Expand the NBA draft to 5 rounds to help with NBA rosters and 2 minor league teams.
Some preseason games would be played in Europe to bring some big stars to Europe.

The details with international rules vs American rules will have to hammered out. This eliminates the travel nightmare that this would be. Also, a lot of players expressed disinterest in having its home team being in Europe.

[awhom111]

I would really worry about the talent dilution. Look what happened when the NBA added a mere 4 expansion franchises in the 80s and 90s. Adding 10 more teams would really water things down. I'd rather they try and incorporate a collection of NBA teams into the Euroleague. NBA guys always value in season breaks and complain about the length of the season. Let's cut the season from 82 to 68 games and make 4 NBA teams participate in the Euroleague once a year. It will be done at random under the assumption that the NBA is that much of a higher quality league and any of our franchises would have a respectable showing (an arrogant and perhaps untrue assumption, but I am trying to make this work). Every 6 weeks, the NBA takes a week off and these 4 teams go and play their Euroleague games - some home and some away.

This is an interesting idea although logistics would be incredibly thorny. I think it would create a lot of tension on the European side. There is already a divide between the money men who run EuroLeague and the historic hardcore fanbases that keep it in business. Reading this thread and comparing it to what I see on international basketball forums, it seems like people here think that Europeans think of the NBA the same way that Americans think of the Premier League. Frankly that is not really the case there. Many people there find elite European basketball to be more enjoyable to watch and resist any additional American influence on the game there.


I think you're more likely to see the NBA swallow an existing European basketball league than to start multiple new franchises overseas. But I think Asia is a better market than Europe (denser cities and more fan interest) as soccer is and always will be king in Europe.

Other than Asia being too far away, I really could see this idea working over there. Put two teams in Australia and the Philippines, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong in China, Seoul, Tokyo, and Taipei and you suddenly have two new divisions. It still seems like a crazy idea to attempt to expand a league by a third in one swoop though. On the flipside, with two Asian divisions in the Western Conference instead of two European divisions in the Eastern Conference, we could probably avoid complaints about the East being way weaker than the West.


Not to mention that any expansion in Europe will negatively NBA American TV ratings and packages. If the Lakers are on a 2-week swing through Europe, that is two weeks of games during the middle of work day, tape-delayed, etc etc.

I just don't see professional sports leagues being able to overcome the logistical problems with integrating divisions of European and Asian teams.

What I could see is the affiliation/association of Euro teams with US teams to turn them into farm/NBDL teams. But would that benefit the European teams, who make money off of NBA contract buyouts and player transfers like soccer? It's a thorny question. I would prefer the NBA fully realizing its US potential and fleshing out teams in Seattle, St. Louis, Vancouver first.

I do not really see any benefit to major European teams to do this not just financially, but giving up control for no real reason. Maybe some of the smaller teams might want to share resources with the NBA, but in most cases I do not really see why the NBA would benefit either. Interestingly, the NBA push into marketing in Australia (which could be on the verge of a second basketball boom as the children of the first generation when basketball exploded in popularity in the country is now starting to enter the professional ranks) includes a working relationship with their national league. I believe that their league will have tryouts in Las Vegas this year after the Summer League which is what the South Korean League has done for a while now.


1. The NBA teams compete with the existing teams. Could be winner takes all like in the USFL/AFL where the weaker teams just fold. Or perhaps some assimilation of local teams. Panathenikos becomes an NBA team, and Olympikos Pireus has to deal with it. Like a local european software vendor had to deal with Microsoft. Or like the AFL had to deal with the NFL.

2. The local federations just get bypassed. Who needs 'em? An NBA teams sets up shop in town, and the local federation is ... whatever it is....

3. Taxes. Yeah, no American has any experience working in Europe and dealing with that issue.

4. Moscow and Tel Aviv: Sorry, but this is west of the 30th line of longitude. We ain't looking for problems with Israel, Ukraine, and Russia. Let them get their own damn league.

5. Travel is really not the issue it was. You can manage it with scheduling, even for the playoffs. If you are the Knicks, do you care if you are flying to LA or Madrid? And for an LA team, the flight over the pole isn't much if you are staying there for a couple weeks of basketball. Or even a couple playoff games. Today's travel makes this not an issue.

6. TV deals: Do you have any idea how much TV money there is in Europe? It's huge. So you can't get up to watch the Lakers at noon your time? Well, guess what. It's prime time in Athens, and they're all in at the plaka crowding around the big screens, watching all the ads.

3 and 5 could probably be worked out if we ever got to that point.

6, I am not sure there is enough potential TV revenue that it would be incrementally beneficial. Why would the NBA make more money from TV for a team in Athens than one in Seattle? Even though you have more people in the country than in Washington, they have less income and there are less of them who like basketball. Why would they be watching an NBA game on TV if they have soccer on TV or in person to choose as well?

4, Those are two of the markets that could probably actually financially sustain a working NBA franchise. Where do you expect potential owners to come from? If they want to own an NBA team, why would they not just buy an existing team in the United States like what happened with the Nets? Are these new teams going to pay expansion fees to the NBA? How much would you charge a Real Madrid or FC Barcelona to join? How much would they be willing to pay? Who would get to tell Milwaukee's new owners that they seriously overpaid for their team?

2, Local federations and local fans are a huge issue. They can hold things up politically forever if they want due to how connected the individuals are. The NBA coming in and waving money around works here, but it would not do so over there. They would probably try to pass all kinds of laws that would make it not appealing to the NBA. That is why this would only really be feasible in markets where basketball is not established.

1, So the NBA puts a new team in Athens, Madrid, or Barcelona. Why would any fans of existing teams support them? How many basketball fans that are not fans of an existing team are there? Let's say you let Anadolu Efes into the NBA, which would probably be relatively painless. They already don't have many fans because they are not one of the big three Istanbul clubs. Where are they getting fans from? You get Panathinaikos into the league, what do you mean by Olympiakos dealing with it? The fans already have violent conflicts right now, what would prevent a fan riot the moment this is announced? Do you not think this would have an effect on the soccer teams too with Olympiakos potentially taking revenge there politically?

On another subject, what kind of arena requirements are we putting on the new teams? The cities with the best arenas have the least basketball history. There are not even that many Barclays Center sized buildings that can be used (Brooklyn will have the smallest arena once the supposed Sacramento one is done, which seems weird, but is the truth). I tried to think about and study this more.

Cities that could probably handle this right now and survive:
London
Paris
Moscow

Possibilities, but may not get enough fan interest or not financially feasible:
Bilbao
Helsinki
St. Petersburg
Various German cities
Zagreb
Siena
Rome
Somewhere in Lithuania

Teams, that could probably be added directly to the NBA without excessive issues:
Alba Berlin
Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Cities with arenas, but probably not financially feasible:
Lisbon
Prague
Stockholm
Bern
Vienna
Manchester
Minsk

Arenas but significant local hurdles:
Palau Sant Jordi (Barcelona)
Kombank Arena (Belgrade)
Sinan Erdem Dome (Istanbul)
Olympic Arena (not OAKA) (Athens)

Future arenas, but plenty of question marks:
Kiev
Jerusalem


I really hope this doesnt happen. I think the NBA should start a minor league in Europe and then turn the D league into a minor league as well. The minor league teams would be same level not a MLB AAA, AA, A level deal. There would just be a NBA-E and NBA-W champs for minor league. Can explore an overall minor league system champ if interest is there.

NBA gets some of the top Pro teams in the big countries to be a part of the NBA league (that way the culture factor and fan base is still there)
Europe would keep their current Pro system which would be lower than the NBA league.
NBA would be able to gain a market in Europe.
Expand the NBA draft to 5 rounds to help with NBA rosters and 2 minor league teams.
Some preseason games would be played in Europe to bring some big stars to Europe.

The details with international rules vs American rules will have to hammered out. This eliminates the travel nightmare that this would be. Also, a lot of players expressed disinterest in having its home team being in Europe.

How far do you think the D League is from a true minor league right now? We are moving towards a one-to-one ratio and there could be further changes to the rights system when the next CBA comes up. Why would the top European teams want to join NBA D League East? I am not sure how familiar you are with those teams, but the salary difference is huge. Nenad Krstic makes twice as much in one week (to be completely useless) as a D League player would make in an entire season at that level. CSKA Moscow hired an existing NBA assistant away to be an assistant (probably a smart move for Quin by the way) and have a payroll of around $30 Million.

[throatybeard]

Isn't it great that oil is inexhaustible and will always be cheap? Oh, wait.

I think I like the OP's idea of keeping the Euro NBA teams to themselves most of the season.

[greybeard]

Yeah, between diluting the talent pool and the logistical nightmares, I'm not sure it is a good idea. At least not until someone invents a viable teleportation devise and the ability to clone LeBron James.

I'm not getting this dilution business. The NBA would be nothing near what it is without International players. Integrate playing in class european cities with an infusion of NBA money, how many internationals would prefer a european lifestyle over what living in the States has to offer them. Add first class travel and hotel arrangements, much larger salaries, exposure to the US market, and I don't see the dilution of American talent but rather the lose of international talent. That, to me, is not the same thing. The NBA now buys international talent with the money stolen from cities held hostage to blackmail and by driving ticket costs and cable fees through the roof. Like to see them try that in Barcelona. Hey, this European expansion thing might have some feet. I can't afford arena prices now. So, does it really matter whether my "favorite" team is around the corner or on the other side of the pond. Yes. On the other side of the pond would cost me less.

[gwlaw99]

What about trades? Could you imagine how a player would like being traded to Moscow? I could see no trade to Europe clauses being the norm for players.

[gwlaw99]

I'm not getting this dilution business. The NBA would be nothing near what it is without International players. Integrate playing in class european cities with an infusion of NBA money, how many internationals would prefer a european lifestyle over what living in the States has to offer them. Add first class travel and hotel arrangements, much larger salaries, exposure to the US market, and I don't see the dilution of American talent but rather the lose of international talent. That, to me, is not the same thing. The NBA now buys international talent with the money stolen from cities held hostage to blackmail and by driving ticket costs and cable fees through the roof. Like to see them try that in Barcelona. Hey, this European expansion thing might have some feet. I can't afford arena prices now. So, does it really matter whether my "favorite" team is around the corner or on the other side of the pond. Yes. On the other side of the pond would cost me less.

If there were that many NBA caliber players in Europe, many would be playing in the NBA instead of the many bench warmers.

[COYS]

I'd rather see a Champions League type of set up modeled after soccer in which the top Euro teams play the top NBA teams in home and home competitions. I'd have to figure out what the tie-breaker would be in case of a series split. Soccer weights away goals as worth more than home goals, but in an NBA game, I'm not sure it's fair to just go with the sheer number of points. Perhaps they could use scoring margin and add some bonus points for away wins? Anyway, take the top 4 or 8 NBA teams and pit them against the top 4 or 8 Euro teams and see who emerges as the champion. The competition could run while the NBA regular season goes on. Maybe drop 8 games from the NBA schedule and replace them with the Basketball Champions League.

You could even have a lower-tier competition that would mirror the Europa League in soccer that would give some of the smaller leagues in Asia and elsewhere a chance to compete. This would also give the non Champions League NBA teams games to play on those days.

I would imagine that NBA coaches might want to be able to have larger rosters so the teams have more depth and are able to compete in multiple competitions. This would make the payroll go up a bit, but I think this would be offset by the increase in TV revenue (I would imagine that pitting Olympiacos against the Miami Heat would make for some big $$ in European markets. After an American team loses, the American market would perk up, too!). Plus, it would open up new markets for jersey sales, etc. Finally, it would increase exposure to the best European teams and players in the USA, making things like the Olympics and the Basketball World Cup more compelling, as there would already be familiarity with the European players who don't play in the NBA.

Another reason this would be fun is that we'd get to see college stars who wound up in Europe play against the NBA teams that cut them. I think that the NBA teams would be pretty dominant, as long as they take the competition seriously. However, there would definitely be some surprises along the way. Over time, I would imagine that the teams would get closer and closer in overall strength.

[awhom111]

I'm not getting this dilution business. The NBA would be nothing near what it is without International players. Integrate playing in class european cities with an infusion of NBA money, how many internationals would prefer a european lifestyle over what living in the States has to offer them. Add first class travel and hotel arrangements, much larger salaries, exposure to the US market, and I don't see the dilution of American talent but rather the lose of international talent. That, to me, is not the same thing. The NBA now buys international talent with the money stolen from cities held hostage to blackmail and by driving ticket costs and cable fees through the roof. Like to see them try that in Barcelona. Hey, this European expansion thing might have some feet. I can't afford arena prices now. So, does it really matter whether my "favorite" team is around the corner or on the other side of the pond. Yes. On the other side of the pond would cost me less.

European clubs steal money from their local governments too, so that's not much comparison. There are lots of reasons that American and European player stay in Europe under the current system. Less games and less travel. Being a starter overseas is a better way of making sure that you will have a next contract than the possibility of washing out after being a backup in the NBA. Want to save money on following a pro team? Become a CSKA Moscow fan and buy the streaming package for international leagues and pay $130 to watch all of their games and a bunch from other leagues around the world.


I'd rather see a Champions League type of set up modeled after soccer in which the top Euro teams play the top NBA teams in home and home competitions. I'd have to figure out what the tie-breaker would be in case of a series split. Soccer weights away goals as worth more than home goals, but in an NBA game, I'm not sure it's fair to just go with the sheer number of points. Perhaps they could use scoring margin and add some bonus points for away wins? Anyway, take the top 4 or 8 NBA teams and pit them against the top 4 or 8 Euro teams and see who emerges as the champion. The competition could run while the NBA regular season goes on. Maybe drop 8 games from the NBA schedule and replace them with the Basketball Champions League.

You could even have a lower-tier competition that would mirror the Europa League in soccer that would give some of the smaller leagues in Asia and elsewhere a chance to compete. This would also give the non Champions League NBA teams games to play on those days.

I would imagine that NBA coaches might want to be able to have larger rosters so the teams have more depth and are able to compete in multiple competitions. This would make the payroll go up a bit, but I think this would be offset by the increase in TV revenue (I would imagine that pitting Olympiacos against the Miami Heat would make for some big $$ in European markets. After an American team loses, the American market would perk up, too!). Plus, it would open up new markets for jersey sales, etc. Finally, it would increase exposure to the best European teams and players in the USA, making things like the Olympics and the Basketball World Cup more compelling, as there would already be familiarity with the European players who don't play in the NBA.

Another reason this would be fun is that we'd get to see college stars who wound up in Europe play against the NBA teams that cut them. I think that the NBA teams would be pretty dominant, as long as they take the competition seriously. However, there would definitely be some surprises along the way. Over time, I would imagine that the teams would get closer and closer in overall strength.

The generally accepted format for a two game series is aggregate score with either game allowed to end in a tie. If the aggregate is tied they play five minutes of overtime after the second game. I think I had a thread about this once.

Interestingly enough, the Intercontinental Cup was revived last year and will be contested again this year. European Champions Olympiakos defeated FIBA Americas League winners Pinheiros with both games played in Brazil. In the past, there were tournaments with teams from multiple continents.

As will Billy Dat's idea earlier, I am sure the NBA could figure something out if they really felt they had to do this, but I think the obstacles in Europe would be too large. Carving more space out of their already crowded schedule would probably not benefit them. I do like how TV revenue is now the magical solution to all problems with money. I do not see things progressing beyond preseason games and NBA games played in certain markets like London and possibly Asia in the future.

That said, I would like to see how the NBA stars would react in high stakes games on certain European homecourts. I suspect they would need to hire Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson for security in Belgrade, Athens, and Piraeus. Not to mention the refereeing and some wacky owners there.