The consortium led by Donnie Nelson, former GM of Dallas, with Kaukenas at the helm, is moving forward: an agreement has been reached to acquire Cremona’s rights

Since Virtus Roma announced its withdrawal from Serie A on December 9, 2020, the capital has no longer had a team in the top league. Today, not even in A2; you have to go down to B Nazionale to find Luiss Roma and Virtus 1960. A void that is destined to be filled soon. Rumors of this kind have been circulating for years. What’s more, this time, one of the consortiums interested in bringing back big-time basketball has reportedly presented the basketball institutions with a written preliminary agreement to purchase the rights to Cremona, whose salvation (10 points above the last place team) now seems imminent. The leader of the consortium is Donnie Nelson, born Donn, 63, son of Don, who was the assistant coach with the second most wins in the NBA. In 24 years in Dallas, Donn, a visionary who was among the first to look abroad, particularly to Europe, was the executive who launched Nash, who had the intuition to choose Nowitzki (two NBA MVPs) and who then also chose Doncic. It is precisely them, Dirk Nowitzki (although the German’s spokesperson denies it for now) and, drum roll, Luka Doncic, who are among the partners that Nelson has declared to have on board in his Italian negotiations. Since last summer, Nelson has been a special advisor to Doncic’s Slovenia. It is not known what their stakes are, and it is unclear who the big investors are in a consortium recognized as having considerable resources, given the names involved. From LeBron and Durant in soccer to Tony Parker, who did it at Asvel while still playing, there are many NBA players who invest in professional clubs.

The working group also includes Roberto Carmenati, the long-time international scout for the Mavs who looked to the world. But a central figure, presented to the Federation by Nelson as his Italian representative, is Rimantas Kaukenas, who played in Italy for ten seasons, winning five championships in Siena. The 48-year-old already has experience as president of the Vilnius Wolves and is a basketball institution in Lithuania, where Nelson was assistant coach of the national team for many years between 1990 and 2000. The first moves were made in October, until talks and meetings intensified a couple of weeks ago. These included discussions about the venue: pending work to cover the Foro Italico Tennis Center, which will increase its capacity to 13,500 seats (Sport e Salute in the Federal Council has spoken of completion in mid-2027, but delays are always around the corner), Nelson’s company has already met with the owners of the PalaEur, Eur Spa, a company owned by Roma Capitale and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, reaching a multi-year agreement to start playing there next season, waiting to move to the Foro and at that point without any rush.

NBA—  In the background is the most important reason why Nelson, and consequently Doncic, want to invest in Rome: the arrival, announced for 2027/28, of NBA Europe, a league featuring the best basketball on the continent along the lines of the current Euroleague, but organized by the NBA, also in different cities and with different strategies to attract more resources. In the announced plans, which envisage starting with 16 teams, 12 of which with permanent licenses, Italy will be represented by Milan, where Olimpia and Milan are evaluating the deal and were present on January 19 at the meeting in London with the interested stakeholders, and by Rome. Paul Matiasic, a San Francisco lawyer now owner and president of Trieste, has also made a move in the capital, as the leader of American investors, apparently less present in the Roman game in recent weeks, and local clubs, ready to join forces with whoever wins the bid, bringing roots in the territory and tradition. Nothing changes with the possible one-year postponement of the new league. Everything is in flux, but an important upcoming event is already this weekend at the All-Star Game in Los Angeles, where the NBA has set a meeting with all parties interested in the deal.