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Sport5 reports that Hapoel Tel Aviv are in negotiations with Guerschon Yabusele over a potential deal. The forward is described as a high-profile target, with multiple European clubs keeping close tabs on his case. The report frames it as a “big move” Hapoel want to complete in the next few days. It also notes Panathinaikos AKTOR among the teams linked to the former Real Madrid Baloncesto player.
EuroLeague shareholders met on Friday to vote for the new CEO of the competition, replacing Paulius Motiejunas in the role. Having the support of Real Madrid, among others, Chus Bueno was voted in as the new EuroLeague CEO. The interest shown by the Spanish giant after two years of distance from EuroLeague decision-making is also seen as a signal of its future intentions regarding the competition.
Miguel Ángel Paniagua announced this Thursday on El Partidazo de COPE that Real Madrid will join the NBA Europe project . It is 99% certain that the club will be one of the 12 founding members of the new competition starting in the 2027-2028 season, thus bypassing the EuroLeague, with which FC Barcelona has extended its license for the next 10 seasons .
The future of Real Madrid basketball is at a crucial juncture. As revealed by Pilar Casado on Deportes COPE , the club has yet to sign the renewal of its EuroLeague license , which expires on June 30th and could be extended at any time. Barcelona, ??however, has already signed a license renewal to remain part of the EuroLeague until 2036, provided that "a series of essential requirements are met ," according to EFE.
Talks between Real Madrid and the NBA have been ongoing for some time , and this interest is now gaining momentum. This new European competition project would be led by FIBA ??and the NBA , although, according to Pilar Casado, many details still need to be finalized despite more progress than has been officially announced.
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However, the operation is not without significant risks. Real Madrid 's main fear is the possibility of being left "in limbo ," as Pilar explained, by leaving the EuroLeague without a guarantee that the new competition will start immediately. In fact, "the first date being considered is 2027 ," and even that is not certain, but rather tentative.
The Euroleague had set the 15th as the deadline for the four undecided owners, out of the thirteen , to make a final commitment. Barça has given its word, but hasn't signed ; Fenerbahçe has played cat and mouse, but is expected to stay as well. Even ASVEL, practically out the door and for whom the Euroleague doesn't seem likely to shed much light, hasn't finalized its position. And Real Madrid, the crux of the matter, hasn't officially committed either. They're eyeing the NBA and are the ones most keen on that big leap , but they also met with the Euroleague (with a positive feeling , according to competition sources) and left the meeting firmly believing that their deadline is June 30th, when their current contract expires, and not January 15th. So, like everyone else, they're giving themselves time to see what develops. The what , when , and how questions remain unresolved, especially on the part of the NBA-FIBA side .
The three largest Real Madrid supporters’ groups—“Berserkers,” “Los Ojos del Tigre,” and “PM La Gran Familia”—have stated their position on the NBA Europe project through a joint statement released on social media. The fans believe that Real Madrid leaving the EuroLeague to join NBA Europe would be a mistake, despite their disagreements with how the EuroLeague is currently run.
Silver also confirmed that he has spoken to Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris St-Germain as he looks to mix established European teams with new ones. However, reports say the existing EuroLeague - which features Real and Barcelona - has concerns about the new venture, threatening legal action against the NBA should clubs break existing agreements to take part in the new competition.
The Real Madrid legend even told the YouTube show TIMEOUT - Basketball Channel last summer that Harden personally called him to come to the Rockets, who offered him a three-year, $17 million contract , according to reports in the United States at the time. “I had a very good season and we were on a winning streak. I was close to leaving; a delegation from the Rockets came and we went out to dinner. During dinner, they put James Harden on the phone. I left that dinner saying, ‘I’m going,’ I was almost convinced,” Llull explained. “We told Real Madrid. Florentino called me and offered me a six-year contract with a raise, although still far from what the NBA was offering. In the end, you weigh everything up and my decision leaned towards staying,” said the three-time EuroLeague champion, among other achievements.
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James, yesterday at the NBA game in Germany, your former teammate Dwight Howard was asked about some players in the Spanish league. One of the players he was asked about was Sergio Llull. "Who?" Harden asked. -Sergio Llull- "I don't remember," said the star, even though the point guard's name was repeated several times. "Don't you remember? He told a story in the summer, he recalled a story about how Houston wanted to sign him and you personally called him to convince him to go to Houston, but he ultimately decided to stay at Real Madrid." "I don't know the story," Harden said to end the discussion, not wanting to talk about it much despite being in a good mood after his performance leading the Clippers' comeback from an 18-4 deficit.
With the NBA setting up shop in Europe this week for its Global Games, and with EuroLeague teams facing a soft deadline of Thursday to re-up for another decade, reports out of Spain have Real Madrid poised to exit EuroLeague for the fledgling NBA Europe. Spanish newspaper AS (Diario AS) reported Wednesday that, although Real Madrid has not officially signed, the team’s interest in NBA Europe “is permanent in what is expected to be an alliance that changes the map of basketball.”
Adam Silver said talks with Real Madrid, who play in the EuroLeague and are regarded as one of the greatest basketball clubs in Europe, were "more in the category of fact-finding", but he confirmed discussions had taken place with another EuroLeague side, Alba Berlin, whose Uber Arena hosted the NBA game. "We're trying to find the best combination of the old and the new; the tradition and the innovation," said Silver. Alba Berlin, he said, was "the model of the type of club that we would like to see in a potential European league".
While NBA teams such as the Detroit Pistons, Cleveland Cavaliers, and others have monitored Malik Beasley’s legal situation, the sharpshooter has also drawn significant overseas interest from teams, including Euroleague’s Partizan Belgrade, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich, along with Liaoning, Guangdong, and Shanxi in the Chinese Basketball Association, league sources told HoopsHype.