The emerging global basketball league currently known as Project B, which has already signed several top women’s players, is now eyeing the men’s game. And LeBron James’ right-hand man is involved.
Grady Burnett, one of Project B’s co-founders, told The Athletic Tuesday that the new league plans on “extending the careers of established players” when it launches next fall and is also working once again with Maverick Carter, a longtime friend and business partner of James. Carter, 44, who oversees day-to-day operations of James’ businesses, had been a consultant for Project B until this fall but is now back in the fold as an adviser and board director, Burnett said. A spokesman for Carter confirmed Carter was a friend and advisor to Burnett but said Carter had no formal role with the new league. Carter did not respond to a message seeking comment.
Project B is also working with European-based NBA agent Miško Ražnatović, who represents Nikola Jokić and a slew of European players in the league. Both appeared on a boat with James this summer in an viral Instagram post where they discussed the league.
Project B publicly rolled out its women’s league first, signing a number of WNBA stars including Alyssa Thomas, Jonquel Jones, Nneka Ogwumike, Jewell Loyd and Sophie Cunningham, among others. It attracted them with large sums to play in the league, which intends to barnstorm to seven cities across Asia, Europe and South America. Project B intends to launch both leagues next fall, run from November through April, and broadcast games on YouTube.
Burnett said it will follow a similar model with the men’s league. It intends to add players from the NBA and Europe and sign young players from outside the NBA for its development program.
“We have a blueprint that we followed on the women’s side that brought us those top players,” he said in a conversation with The Athletic. “We’re applying the same blueprint on the men’s side that focuses on developing the best young talent in the world and extending the careers of established players.”
Burnett said that Carter has been an important part of building the league and helping to understand what appeals to players.
When asked if that meant that Project B would try to sign current NBA players, which would mean a direct competition for talent, Burnett did not shy away from that idea. The women’s division has attracted top WNBA players by offering them high salaries and equity and a league that plays outside the WNBA’s schedule, much like Unrivaled. The men’s division would run simultaneously with the NBA season, which means NBA players, if pitched, would have to choose one or the other.
“This is similar to what we’ve approached on the women’s side, right? These are the top stars of today,” he said. “We want real culture-setters that can help and connect us to fans globally. And I think if you look at the track record of Maverick, you look at the track record of Miško, you look at the track record of what we’ve done on signing the top women’s players, we’ll follow a similar format and bring the stars of today and the stars of tomorrow. And for us, it’s just creating an opportunity and saying, ‘Hey, this is a real new opportunity that is great to expand the game, expand your brand and grow from there.”
Burnett said that players will receive equity in the league, as they have on the women’s side. He said that Project B has not signed any men’s players yet or approached any players directly. He expects announcements to come in the summer. Unlike in the WNBA, NBA players are forbidden from signing and playing for any other league.
Burnett said Project B has not had any discussions with James, 41, yet about playing in the league. The Los Angeles Lakers star is set to be a free agent after this season. James’ future in the NBA is uncertain beyond this June, and he has not stated his plans for life after his playing career ends in the NBA or when that might be. Last week, he said he is no longer pursuing or interested in owning an NBA team, which had long been a goal for him.
“We’ve not had conversations at this point,” Burnett said. “We’re focused, as I said, on building the foundation, and we will have those conversations as we go forward with the right players at the right time.”
The league also intends to sign a number of young players and has worked with Ražnatović in shaping that approach. It hopes to attract the best young players outside the NBA and create a development program for them, while they also play in games in the league and against other European clubs.