The ball is in the NBA’s court, so to speak.
After days of reports about the future of the NBA on TV, weeks of speculation surrounding the possible end of TNT’s relationship with the league (plus the dissolution of its award-winning studio show), and months of negotiations with multiple media conglomerates, the NBA has announced The Finals were tipped off Thursday evening with no set public timeline for when deals could be announced.
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“Nobody likes this uncertainty,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said during a pre-game press conference, pointing in particular to the troublesome limbo workforce at TNT parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, right down to the cast of Within the NBA, which they have had to deal with as their careers may be at stake. “It is up to the league office to bring these negotiations to a head and conclude them as quickly as possible.”
As it stands now, ESPN is expected to retain the top package, including NBA Finals rights, with NBC and Amazon seen as likely returning and new partners for the league, respectively. But how Warner Bros. Discovery fits into that equation remains uncertain. One reported issue concerns the matching rights that WBD might try to use to keep a package. Silver declined to comment on the details of how that language might come into play.
Once the ink is dry, there is obviously more work to be done. Silver reaffirmed that the league plans to explore expansion options once the new media agreements are in place.
“I’m actually really excited to get into that process,” Silver said of the expansion. He even hinted at the possibility of adding a franchise outside the US – the NBA has now played fourteen regular-season games in Mexico City – although he added that “this may not be the right time to do that.” doing.” Instead, the league’s players expect Seattle and Las Vegas to be frontrunners for the 31st and 32nd NBA teams.
Playing internationally was a top priority for Silver, who mentioned in his opening statement that the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics had a combined finals record of 13 players born outside the US. the third internationally born NBA Finals MVP in four years, joining Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic. (San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker was the only previous recipient in 2007.)
“I was watching Luka yesterday…someone who grew up in Slovenia, trained in Madrid, Spain, and did interviews in three different languages,” Silver said. “He just exemplifies the modern NBA.”
Meanwhile, institutional capital has continued to find its way into the capital tables of franchises in the United States. While Silver said he doesn’t expect pooled investors to gain control of a team, he is open to expanding the criteria for the types of funds that can invest at the team level.
“Institutional investors who do not comply with our current policies and funds have come to us, [asking], ‘Would you consider changing some of your policies?’” Silver said. “To relax some of the restrictions, and that’s something we’ll continue to look at.”
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