Former Euroleague chief: NBA smelled blood and saw Euroleague weakness

The former long-term president of the Euroleague, Jordi Bertomeu, is the last in a series of basketball workers who gave their verdict on NBA Europe.

Bartomeu was in charge of the Euroleague for 22 years, and his opinion is highly valued by the public. Speaking to 'Corriere della Sera', the 66-year-old shared how he views this situation.

He primarily touched on the Euroleague.

"It is true that in the last three years the Euroleague changed two general directors after 22 years with only one. It is unclear in which direction the Euroleague is going, and it is clear to everyone that there are internal disagreements between the clubs," he said.

He believes that the NBA is taking advantage of the current situation in the Euroleague.

"The NBA smelled blood and saw an opportunity to take advantage of the weaknesses of the Euroleague and its lack of new projects. This created the conditions for someone to come and take over everything. Five years ago, that scenario was unthinkable".

He also referred to the decision of the current managers to move the Final Four to Abu Dhabi.

"No. To be clear, I am not against opening up the market in the Middle East because everyone is doing it, there is money there. The finals of the football cups of some countries are played there, not here. But the Champions League final is not played there (but at the Alijanc Arena prim.aut). Moving the Final Four there is very risky. From the business side, it is certainly positive, but the beauty and value of the Final Four is not in the work, but in the experience itself. The Final Four is a celebration, the fans create a unique atmosphere that divas even in the United States. To move the decisive moment in the season so far from the fan base is, I repeat, very risky."

Agreement

The former first man of the Euroleague is not sure whether an agreement will be reached at all.

"The reality is that FIBA ​​and NBA have not yet said anything concrete about their project. There is no clear idea, everything that was said under 'maybe'. This means that the project has not yet been developed or they do not want to announce it yet.

The idea of ​​the NBA is not ideal for everyone, but there are those who like such an idea.

"Some clubs like the NBA idea. But some don't. Clubs from the Balkans, from Greece and Turkey, do we want to lose their passion for basketball. At the same time, the NBA league in Europe would only be a development league".

He also mentioned Africa.

"The NBA has been in Africa for several years and no one is talking about it. The Americans control all the talents there, and basketball on that continent has not risen much".