Man of Steel
07-22-2008, 10:55 AM
July 21, ESPN: NBA execs are far more concerned about the rising strength of the euro vis-a-vis the declining fortunes of the American dollar.
After one season of great financial sacrifice to try to make it with the Grizzlies in Memphis, Spain's Juan Carlos Navarro couldn't say no to a lucrative return to Europe with his old friends at Spanish giant Barcelona. Argentina's Carlos Delfino followed suit this week, leaving the Toronto Raptors not for the return to the Detroit Pistons that he was offered, but for a fat contract from Khimki BC in Russia.
Sources say Delfino will be earning nearly 3 million euros annually -- tax free, of course -- with his new club. One expert on the matter says that equates to an NBA salary of more than $9 million when you factor in the exchange rate and the tax money Delfino won't have to give back...
Khimki is also trying to sign Delfino's former Toronto teammate, Jorge Garbajosa, who is fresh off securing his release from the Raptors last month after an interminable contract wrangle stemming from a serious leg injury. But Garbajosa is expected to accept a similarly healthy compensation package from his hometown club in Spain, Unicaja Malaga, despite interest from the San Antonio Spurs.
Add Bostjan Nachbar to the list of NBA players opting to sign a contract with a European team, and Josh Childress has been reported to have accepted, or very near to accepting, a 3-year deal to play in Greece for 20 million dollars.
This problem is not likely to be solved soon and is very complicated. The US dollar has been devalued so much the past several years, that the Euro is now worth $1.59 USD. The more money the U.S. prints while running up debts, the more the USD will be devalued. There is nothing David Stern can do about that, and it's likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
Losing rotational players to Europe is bad enough, but it could get worse. Currently the NBA and FIBA have no agreement on restricted free agents or players that decide to forgo college and play in Europe. So players that graduate high school and want to make money before they enter the NBA can opt to sign a contract in Europe to play. Just as players who are restricted free agents are not bound by any FIBA-NBA agreement. These players may decide to stay in Europe when they see they can make the same, if not more, money.
When the NBA starts losing young prospects out of high school to Europe, and it's bound to happen, there may not be a way to stop FIBA from raiding high schools for future stars.
Maybe if David Stern quits focusing on having a NBA team in China or Mexico and starts hammering out an agreement with FIBA to fix this problem now, it wont get worse and can be manageable. Both the current referee scandal and the possibility of NBA players leaving for Europe are vital for Stern to fix.
Stern doesn't need an agreement with FIBA.
Players in Europe go pro as young as 16 or 17.
They have the right idea.
Stern has to change the dumb rule which prevents these young guys who are only interested in playing basketball from making money at it until they are 19 and older and forcing them to go to school and go through the one and done fiasco.
The NBA is facing darker times than Major League Baseball. For one, the idea that the NBA commissioned referees to fix games in order to extend series or obtain ideal match-ups is a much larger integrity issue than steroids.
It would render the NBA into the modern Harlem globetrotters or professional wrestling, but much worse because wrestling admits it is entertainment and that it's outcomes are pre-scripted.
Guilty or innocent, the best thing the NBA can do is outsource a third independent party to oversee it's officiating. The NBA needs to do everything possible to restore the full confidence of it's fans, and for that matter players.
The NBA is one smoking gun or one more witness away from facing a disaster of unprecedented proportions. I am a lifelong NBA fan, and I love this game ...but I am not in denial here.
Let's hope the NBA is not either!
Interesting take, nonetheless.
But FIBA has an agreement with the NBA that in order for those youngsters to go to the NBA and play for a NBA team, the NBA has to buy out the player from his current team.
One of the reasons given for this is that the FIBA teams are grooming the players and need to be reimbursed. Shouldn't FIBA teams have some sort of monetary obligation to the USA high schools?
After one season of great financial sacrifice to try to make it with the Grizzlies in Memphis, Spain's Juan Carlos Navarro couldn't say no to a lucrative return to Europe with his old friends at Spanish giant Barcelona. Argentina's Carlos Delfino followed suit this week, leaving the Toronto Raptors not for the return to the Detroit Pistons that he was offered, but for a fat contract from Khimki BC in Russia.
Sources say Delfino will be earning nearly 3 million euros annually -- tax free, of course -- with his new club. One expert on the matter says that equates to an NBA salary of more than $9 million when you factor in the exchange rate and the tax money Delfino won't have to give back...
Khimki is also trying to sign Delfino's former Toronto teammate, Jorge Garbajosa, who is fresh off securing his release from the Raptors last month after an interminable contract wrangle stemming from a serious leg injury. But Garbajosa is expected to accept a similarly healthy compensation package from his hometown club in Spain, Unicaja Malaga, despite interest from the San Antonio Spurs.
Add Bostjan Nachbar to the list of NBA players opting to sign a contract with a European team, and Josh Childress has been reported to have accepted, or very near to accepting, a 3-year deal to play in Greece for 20 million dollars.
This problem is not likely to be solved soon and is very complicated. The US dollar has been devalued so much the past several years, that the Euro is now worth $1.59 USD. The more money the U.S. prints while running up debts, the more the USD will be devalued. There is nothing David Stern can do about that, and it's likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
Losing rotational players to Europe is bad enough, but it could get worse. Currently the NBA and FIBA have no agreement on restricted free agents or players that decide to forgo college and play in Europe. So players that graduate high school and want to make money before they enter the NBA can opt to sign a contract in Europe to play. Just as players who are restricted free agents are not bound by any FIBA-NBA agreement. These players may decide to stay in Europe when they see they can make the same, if not more, money.
When the NBA starts losing young prospects out of high school to Europe, and it's bound to happen, there may not be a way to stop FIBA from raiding high schools for future stars.
Maybe if David Stern quits focusing on having a NBA team in China or Mexico and starts hammering out an agreement with FIBA to fix this problem now, it wont get worse and can be manageable. Both the current referee scandal and the possibility of NBA players leaving for Europe are vital for Stern to fix.
Stern doesn't need an agreement with FIBA.
Players in Europe go pro as young as 16 or 17.
They have the right idea.
Stern has to change the dumb rule which prevents these young guys who are only interested in playing basketball from making money at it until they are 19 and older and forcing them to go to school and go through the one and done fiasco.
The NBA is facing darker times than Major League Baseball. For one, the idea that the NBA commissioned referees to fix games in order to extend series or obtain ideal match-ups is a much larger integrity issue than steroids.
It would render the NBA into the modern Harlem globetrotters or professional wrestling, but much worse because wrestling admits it is entertainment and that it's outcomes are pre-scripted.
Guilty or innocent, the best thing the NBA can do is outsource a third independent party to oversee it's officiating. The NBA needs to do everything possible to restore the full confidence of it's fans, and for that matter players.
The NBA is one smoking gun or one more witness away from facing a disaster of unprecedented proportions. I am a lifelong NBA fan, and I love this game ...but I am not in denial here.
Let's hope the NBA is not either!
Interesting take, nonetheless.
But FIBA has an agreement with the NBA that in order for those youngsters to go to the NBA and play for a NBA team, the NBA has to buy out the player from his current team.
One of the reasons given for this is that the FIBA teams are grooming the players and need to be reimbursed. Shouldn't FIBA teams have some sort of monetary obligation to the USA high schools?