Reporter: The NBA European League wants 500-1 billion franchise fees per team. If you can t receive it, you are willing to give up the plan.

August 2nd News TomFriend of Sports Business Magazine recently wrote an article about the progress of the NBA's European expansion plan. The following is some of the original text. (For the convenience of reading, the order of some paragraphs has been adjusted.)

Several sources said that for teams interested in joining the potential NBA European League, the NBA is seeking more than $500 million in franchise fees, while the league-oriented figures range from $500 million to $1 billion. After the board meeting in Las Vegas two weeks ago, an executive told Sports Business Magazine that the European League is currently “high priority” in the NBA’s business plan. However, another source said the league is willing to give up the plan if it fails to obtain the entry fee within the ideal amount. Sources confirmed that NBA president Adam Silver and vice president Mark Tatum have been in Europe this week, advancing negotiations with potential NBA European shareholders. The team's valuation is also said to be part of an auxiliary discussion with banks and private equity groups, with the aim of determining a dollar figure.

Executives of an Euro-Basketball League team had earlier scoffed at the $500 million proposed amount, and – considering that the NBA Europa League model includes existing Euro-Basketball League clubs – it is unclear whether teams will not be able to join due to the high price.

"Look, teams like Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City can put out $500 million to $1 billion," said a source who knows the NBA's plans.

Meanwhile, sources said that the NBA seems to be fully committed to the NBA European League because it believes that the European basketball team is not operated as a high-end industry and has untapped commercial potential. The vision is to build or renovate the gym and add high-end seats, which is why the proposed team's valuation is prohibitive.

As of a year ago, the European basketball teams had annual revenue of about $100 million. Sources say this is another reason the NBA regards the proposed 16-team league as its next financial growth target, especially as the NBA's domestic media broadcast rights contract has been finalized for the next 11 years. This could also be a windfall for NBA team owners, as they will work with the league office to make money from it without running NBA European teams.