WTH!? ESPN Just said Stern has plans...

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

...to create an entire 5 team NBA division in Europe!

 

[GorrilaLips]

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/breakingnews/feedstory/0,,-7307521,00.html

NBA aiming to set up in Europe - report
MIAMI, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The NBA is weighing up a plan to create up to five European teams to play in their league, U.S. media reported on Wednesday.
Sports Illustrated's Web site SI.com (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com) said they had been told by a source that NBA commissioner David Stern will announce the proposal at a news conference on Saturday.
A spokesman for the NBA told Reuters that the idea had been circulating within the organisation but could not confirm details.
"We have been talking about this for some time as a possibility or as one of many scenarios," he said.
According to SI.com, the idea is to create five new teams in large markets to create a fully-fledged European division within the NBA. The teams would participate in the entire 82-game schedule and compete for the title as any other team would.
The report said the location of possible European franchises was linked to the availability of large arenas which could be NBA-ready and cited London, Berlin, Rome and Madrid as possible venues.
The SI.com source said that Stern's idea was to move the NBA into recently built arenas before a potential rival might start up a Europe-wide league.
The report is the latest sign of increasing globalisation of top sports leagues - the NFL and NHL have both played games in London in the past year and in March Major League Baseball teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres will play games in China.
Last week, English soccer's Premier League announced plans to play a round of league matches internationally.

this will get interesting

 

[jbeecham]

So can they still call it the NATIONAL Basketball Association? This just seems like a stupid idea simply because of the travel times for teams to get to Europe. Are they going to expand the regular season to make up for the 12-16 hour flights?

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

Just when baseball keeps getting black eye after black eye, Stern has to shoot himself in the foot instead of attempting to boost national ratings and get the NBA back to where it was in the showtime and jordan eras.

• The average fan isnt going to be interested in whatever the hell some french, chinese or italian team is doing,
• theres going to be more and more names that cant be pronounced by the average american,
• more and more athletes will be introduced that cant speak english,
• the travel time and jet lag will absolutely diminish the quality of play if 82 games are actually going to be spread out over the ocean.

None of those things are going to improve the standing of the NBA in America today or in the next ten years. But that would take hard focused work instead of broad expanding work. Who cares if your foundation crumbles, you have a billion chinese viewers to cater to!

Establish yourself as the #2 american sport behind football first, THEN make it international.

 

[jbeecham]

Hell, the NBA couldn't even keep 2 teams in Canada.....so creating European teams sounds like a great idea.....

Note to David Stern: Take your head out of your ass because your ideas stink!

 

[green machine]

Striking the iron while it is hot after the success of Euro-Disney...

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

Striking the iron while it s hot after the success of Euro-Disney...

I lol'ed

 

[Griffin]

The SI.com source said that Stern's idea was to move the NBA into recently built arenas before a potential rival might start up a Europe-wide league.

This seems like the biggest reason Stern might want to go ahead with this. Right now NBA is still the most popular basketball league in the world, but it could lose a lot of the overseas market if an European league is created (Euroleague doesn't really count, since it's just a tournament and the teams that participate come from various national leagues).

I don't see how this would work though. The travel times alone would be prohibitive. Also many American players may not want to play in Europe and refuse trades, etc. I would much rather see a separate European league with 20-30 teams and then a special American/European 7-game series between the two teams that win championships.

 

[Mathew81]

many American players may not want to play in Europe and refuse trades, etc. I would much rather see a separate European league with 20-30 teams and then a special American/European 7-game series between the two teams that win championships.

You're right about players not wanting to play over there. It would be a big problem for their endorsements. Does Nike want LeBron playing in Europe? NO!

 

[dreamcastrocks]

If NBA wants to sponsor a league over there, fine.

No way in hell players are going to want to play there.

I agree with you Griffin in your ideas.

 

[abomb]

Great, water down the league further.

 

[elindholm]

• The average fan isnt going to be interested in whatever the hell some french, chinese or italian team is doing,
• theres going to be more and more names that cant be pronounced by the average american,
• more and more athletes will be introduced that cant speak english,

Uh, you understand that this would just be normal NBA players on normal NBA rosters, right? Just because someone plays for the Suns doesn't mean he's from Phoenix. The new division would be expansion franchises or relocated current teams, not a "Euroleague" under the NBA's wing.

Edit: That said, travel would be a major hassle and should be a deal-breaker.

 

[Chaplin]

Uh, you understand that this would just be normal NBA players on normal NBA rosters, right? Just because someone plays for the Suns doesn't mean he's from Phoenix. The new division would be expansion franchises or relocated current teams, not a "Euroleague" under the NBA's wing.

Edit: That said, travel would be a major hassle and should be a deal-breaker.

Not if they group it all together. A single team or two (or perhaps all the teams from a division) could travel to Europe and play every team there over the course of a week and a half--scheduling would be difficult, but not horrible. The Euro teams, however, would have a much tougher time because they would have to have a lot of away games in a row to cut down on time in the air.

 

[abomb]

Not if they group it all together. A single team or two (or perhaps all the teams from a division) could travel to Europe and play every team there over the course of a week and a half--scheduling would be difficult, but not horrible. The Euro teams, however, would have a much tougher time because they would have to have a lot of away games in a row to cut down on time in the air.

I wonder if there is anything in the CBA regarding such travel.

 

[boisesuns]

Man, the flopping will go through the roof if this happens.

 

[Mainstreet]

IMO, NBA teams in the U.S. would probably take European tours perhaps playing each team a couple times over there and likewise when the European teams travel to the U.S. doing the same. This would reduce fatigue but make for horribly long trips which undoubtedly would not be popular with the players.

It would make more sense to have more NBA teams formed in Europe and let them play over there and then somehow work it into a NBA playoff format.

 

[Skumbag]

Terrible Idea... UGH! **** YOO STERN!

 

[Covert Rain]

Stern has gone over the deep end. I think the guys actions over the last year or so speak volumes it's time for a new commish.

 

[JS22]

Why not just create a small 10-15 team NBA league in Europe? Have these teams play each other to determine a European champion. Then, have the Euro champion face the American champion in a 5-7 game series for the "World Championship."

Even that seems like a less-than-attractive idea but it's all I could think of. Expanding the NBA into Europe would be a terrible idea due to reasons already stated.

 

[BeeBeard]

Man, the flopping will go through the roof if this happens.

Don't tell David Stern, but there already are professional basketball leagues in Europe. Shhhh...it will be our little secret!

 

[Rab]

I might stop watching basketball all together if this happens. It's just a stupid idea.

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

Uh, you understand that this would just be normal NBA players on normal NBA rosters, right? Just because someone plays for the Suns doesn't mean he's from Phoenix. The new division would be expansion franchises or relocated current teams, not a "Euroleague" under the NBA's wing.

Edit: That said, travel would be a major hassle and should be a deal-breaker.

My comments dont refute that, I was just listing cons that dont help the core fanbase of the sport. If oversea teams are added, more players will be needed from overseas, as most nba players arent going to want to live on the other side of the atlantic ocean.

 

[TucsonDevil]

David Stern did his best work in the 1980s. Since then, he rode the wave of Jordan and seems frustrated since his retirement. Its time to hand the league over to others and find a nice villa to settle down and donate time to 'greenpeace'.