USA Basketball has reached a deal with Abu Dhabi to bring Team USA to the Middle East for exhibition games in August, which is another sign that the United Arab Emirates' investment in American basketball could lead to NBA team ownership.
The event is being sponsored by the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism, the government vehicle that made a multiyear deal with the NBA to bring exhibition games to the United Arab Emirates beginning last fall. USA Basketball will be the host and play Germany on Aug. 18 and Greece on Aug. 20. The showcase is serving as a warmup event for the FIBA World Cup, which will begin the following week in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines.
In December, NBA owners approved a plan that would allow foreign sovereign wealth funds to purchase minority stakes of up to 20% in teams. Abu Dhabi's fund, Mubadala, has shown an interest in potentially making such an investment in an NBA team, according to multiple reports.
That’s not good.