Major NBA Merger News Emerges After Adam Silver’s Latest Proposal

Adam Silver has spent much of this year signaling that the NBA would rather partner with EuroLeague than compete against it. He told reporters back in June that "we believe the league would be strengthened by joining forces with the EuroLeague."

That preference drove months of behind-the-scenes negotiations between the two sides. According to new reports, those talks have now reached a decisive stage. Eurohoops' Aris Barkas reported that multiple sources have confirmed the NBA has formally submitted an offer to EuroLeague, with both sides currently weighing their options.

"The question is if a joint league can be created as soon as next season, or there will be two rival leagues," Barkas wrote.

The offer is set to be formally discussed at the NBA's owners' meeting on Oct. 5 in Lake Como, Italy. Regardless of how those discussions go, Barkas noted the NBA intends to launch its European league next season one way or another, either as a joint venture with EuroLeague or as a standalone competing tournament. That same meeting is also expected to address potential new franchises for the league, with Red Star Belgrade and Partizan among the candidates.

The stakes attached to the Oct. 5 meeting reflect just how long this process has been building. Silver first got board approval to explore a European league in 2023, and the project has steadily evolved from an early-stage pitch into a concrete plan for a 16-team competition.

The plan includes 12 permanent clubs and four rotational qualifiers, built in partnership with FIBA and targeting cities like London, Paris, Madrid, Milan, Berlin, and Athens. An October 2027 launch has been the target date circulating for months, giving both sides a real deadline pressuring them toward some kind of resolution.

Why the Two Sides Still Haven’t Fully Aligned

The path to this proposal hasn't been smooth. EuroLeague sent the NBA a warning letter back in January threatening potential legal action if the league continued holding direct discussions with clubs still under long-term EuroLeague contracts, according to Front Office Sports.

EuroLeague CEO Chus Bueno reinforced that stance more recently. He told Reuters the league is fully prepared to compete head-on with NBA Europe if a partnership doesn't materialize.

That tension is part of why Silver has repeatedly emphasized wanting to "respect the traditions" of European basketball rather than simply importing an American model wholesale. He went as far as praising clubs like Alba Berlin as examples of the kind of franchise the NBA would want involved.

At the same time, the NBA has made clear it isn't waiting indefinitely. Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum has already briefed owners on strong interest from bidders for permanent franchise slots, giving the league a fallback plan if EuroLeague ultimately decides to compete rather than cooperate.

That's what makes the Lake Como meeting such a pivotal date. A formal proposal is now on the table, owners are set to weigh in, and for the first time, both sides appear close enough to an actual decision that the outcome - partnership or parallel leagues - could be determined within weeks rather than dragging into another year of open-ended talks.