Europe league, expansion, Kawhi
probe, second apron all topics at NBA's board of governors meeting
[July 15, 2026]
By TIM REYNOLDS
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The NBA will be doing some international business
alongside the FIFA World Cup final in the coming days, as it moves
closer to the planned launch of a new league in Europe sometime in
the fall of 2027.
Commissioner Adam Silver, speaking after the league's Board of
Governors meeting on Tuesday night, said he and Deputy Commissioner
Mark Tatum plan to talk to a number of groups interested in owning
teams that will play in the new league.
And since many of those interested parties will be heading to the
New York area for Sunday's World Cup final, it made sense to take
meetings, Silver said.
“We’ve had tremendous interest from multiple cities in Europe,
including cities that we didn’t ask for bids from," Silver said.
"And we discussed with our board today that we’re in the process of
finalizing those bids for an initial group of cities.”
The NBA and FIBA, the sport’s global governing body, announced plans
last year to pursue a new European league — ending years of
speculation about when or if such a move would happen. The plan
remains in place for the new league to launch just over a year.
“Things are where I hope they would be,” Silver said.
NBA hoping Leonard investigation to wrap this summer
The lengthy probe into whether the Los Angeles Clippers circumvented
salary cap rules related to an endorsement contract between Kawhi
Leonard and a now-bankrupt California-based digital bank that touted
itself as environmentally friendly remains active, and Silver said
he wants it completed sometime this summer.
It is now a thornier issue, given that a trade is in place to send
Leonard from the Clippers to the Toronto Raptors. The teams put that
trade on hold last week pending the outcome of the probe, and that
could take weeks to decide.
The teams made that decision and the issues “were well-known to the
teams,” Silver said.
“They chose not to live with that uncertainty,” Silver said.
The NBA enlisted outside counsel — Wachtell Lipton, a New York-based
firm — to conduct the investigation and Silver said he gets regular
updates from the league's general counsel on certain elements of the
probe.
“The investigation needs to run its course,” Silver said.
The probe, as detailed by the terms of the collective bargaining
agreement, could lead to penalties that include a substantial fine,
the loss of draft capital — and, potentially, even the voiding of a
player contract — if the league finds there was a deliberate
circumvention of cap rules.
Seattle, Las Vegas expansion update
The league's process of deciding on whether to expand to Seattle,
Las Vegas, either or both continued with multiple conversations this
week. Silver reiterated something he's said several times, that he's
hopeful a decision will be made by the end of 2026.
A handful of potential ownership groups have declared interest
publicly.
"Some groups have been public," Silver said. “The majority of groups
have not been public.”
If the league expands, the likely target is for the 2028-29 season.
Silver defends CBA's ‘second apron’
Silver said he believes the collective bargaining agreement is
working as intended, and defended the “second apron” — one of the
salary-related elements of the deal between the league and its
players.
[to top of second column] |
“Every collective bargaining agreement is a result
of a series of compromises," Silver said. "And that’s what this one
is as well, but certainly from my standpoint, from a competitor’s
standpoint, this is working very well.”
The current collective bargaining agreement includes aprons —
payroll levels that, if exceeded, seriously limit a team’s options
on player movement and acquisition. And they have come under fire in
recent days, with newly installed National Basketball Players
Association executive director David Kelly saying the union will
fight it in the next collective bargaining agreement.
“We are not fans of the second apron,” Kelly said
last week. “We did not propose the second apron. We should have done
a better job of fighting back against the second apron, and in the
future, we will have a much more unified union, and we will do a
better of fighting it back against a second apron.”
Kelly was responding to a question surrounding something NBA veteran
Kyle Kuzma wrote on social media earlier this month. Kuzma said “the
first and second apron are starting to function like a hard cap on
player value, team continuity, and player movement.”
The current CBA is scheduled to remain in place through at least the
2028-29 season. And for the record, not all players are up in arms
about how the CBA is working.
“Thank God for second aprons and the first aprons,” Houston star
Kevin Durant said during the regular season when asked about the
league's run of parity — with eight different franchises having won
titles in the last eight seasons.
Miami’s Micky Arison to chair Board of Governors
Miami Heat managing general partner and Basketball Hall of Famer
Micky Arison was unanimously elected as the board’s next chairman.
Arison will take over the role at the league’s September board
meeting.
Arison — who has the second-longest tenure of any current NBA team
governor at 31 years and is the longtime chair of the board of
directors of Carnival Corporation — is assuming the role that
outgoing Toronto governor Larry Tanenbaum has held since September
2017.
“I am grateful for Larry’s nearly three decades of stewardship of
the Raptors and his commitment to helping guide our league as NBA
Board Chairman over the past nine years,” Silver said. “Micky’s long
record of service on the Board, his strong relationships with his
fellow team owners and his deep understanding of our game and
business make him an exceptional choice to assume this important
leadership role.”
Tanenbaum thanked the league’s owners for their support and said he
wishes Arison success.
“I look forward to working closely in this new capacity with Adam,
the league office and my fellow team governors to champion our teams
and players, ensuring we continue to deliver exciting and
unforgettable experiences for our fans,” Arison said.
All-Star Game future
Silver said he's hoping to have a decision on the format of the
All-Star Game by the start of the regular season.
The league tried a U.S. vs. World mini-tournament this past season,
and it generally was well-received. Talks between the league and its
players are ongoing on the format and if any potential tweaks are
needed. "I think we're off to a good start," Silver said.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
