NBA aim for response from European league investors by the end of March

[p]"[b]We've told the potential investors we need to know their level of interest by the end of March[/b]," Tatum told a group of journalists in Los Angeles ahead of the NBA's All-Star weekend.[/p][p]"[b]That's the timeline where we're expecting these dozens of investors to come back and say, 'Yes, we're interested in this market, at this price,'[/b]" Tatum added.[/p][p]The league aims to finalize the project by autumn 2027, Tatum said.[/p][p]The proposed competition would feature 12 permanent franchises and four qualifying teams, created in partnership with FIBA, basketball's global governing body.[/p][p]Target cities include Paris, Lyon, London, Berlin, Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Rome, Manchester, Munich, Athens, and Istanbul.[/p][embed guid="a4cf53c8-8d29-40c5-90be-577c1dac63ac" url="https://x.com/iacopodesantis/status/2021476796844343760?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Major football clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan, and AC Milan have been approached to form franchises for the league.[/p][p]The plan has sparked tension with the EuroLeague, Europe's current top competition, which recently named Spaniard Chus Bueno as president.[/p][p]Tatum, though, is optimistic that Bueno, a former NBA executive, will help the league come to fruition.[/p][p]"[b]We do know Chus Bueno, he obviously worked for us for a dozen years or so,[/b]" Tatum said.[/p][p]"[b]We've always said from the very beginning we've wanted to work together with the EuroLeague to align everyone and get everyone from the ecosystem aligned.[/b][/p][p]"[b]I think with having Chus there, somebody who knows us well, who knows European basketball well, perhaps he can be a bridge between us, FIBA, and the EuroLeague.[/b]"[/p]