GdS: Cardinale in talks with the NBA over Milan-based basketball franchise – the details

Gerry Cardinale is one of the people talking to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver about the possibility of creating an NBA-linked basketball league in Europe.

La Gazzetta dello Sport speaks about AC Milan having ‘a little brother who plays basketball?’. While It’s too early to be certain, an idea exists and it also involves RedBird Capital, who are of course the owners of the clubs.

Contact has already been made, and it brings to mind an old project of Cardinale’s: having multiple clubs – multiple franchises, if you will – in different sports. In 2022 he said: “An ownership with multiple clubs in different sports is interesting; I believe this can yield strategic benefits. You can grow through synergies.”

NBA in Europe and Milan?

The project is large and complex. The NBA are considering creating a European basketball league as an alternative to the NBA. The Athletic revealed that Silver and several NBA executives met with representatives of Real Madrid in Paris to discuss this plan.

Real Madrid and Barcelona are key clubs in this project, as their Euroleague contracts expire in 2026. At that time, they will be free to sign agreements with other associations.

Bill Simmons, a well-known American journalist with over 5 million followers on X, discussed the initiative in the latest episode of his podcast, analysing the possibility of having franchises in various cities: Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, London, Istanbul, Berlin and more.

Image: AC Milan

When he spoke about Milan, he said: “Milan is essentially in favour. It’s owned by RedBird and doesn’t have a basketball team tied to it. The basketball team in Milan is Olimpia, which renewed its contract with the Euroleague for 10 years. Consider Milan involved, in some way.”

Naturally, everything is very complex, and the road to an NBA league in Europe is still long. However, the project is extremely serious, as demonstrated by the fact that the NBA has chosen JP Morgan as its advisor, as revealed by the Financial Times.

As for Milan, the idea is quite clear: to have a Milanese club linked to Milan, with Cardinale and RedBird as key figures. It certainly wouldn’t be a step into an unknown world. Cardinale has connections with top-level American sports (the New York Yankees above all) and knows LeBron James well.

At the time of the closing of the deal between Elliott Management and RedBird, LeBron became a passive investor in Milan, holding shares in Main Street Advisors, a Los Angeles-based fund that supported RedBird in its acquisition of the Rossoneri club.

Recent rumours suggest further links with other soccer clubs (PSG, Manchester City), and as of early August, only one thing is certain: we’ll be hearing more about this story.