Interesting phenomena!

[sendman]

Is it me, or there is some Euro cleansing going on in NBA?
AK47, Pavlović, Varejao (I know he’s from Brasil), Spanoulis, Jasikievicius…from the top of my head. Other Euros are getting relocated to Canada. Is this just a coincidence?

And Beno is staying firm in TEXAS! :smokin

[HOOKED ON PHONICS]

Is it me, or there is some Euro cleansing going on in NBA?
AK47, Pavlović, Varejao (I know he’s from Brasil), Spanoulis, Jasikievicius…from the top of my head. Other Euros are getting relocated to Canada. Is this just a coincidence?

And Beno is staying firm in TEXAS! :smokin

Europe wishes they could produce better players than the US.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

I don't think the NBA (either the league or its teams individually) are actively trying to clear out European players. These guys are going back to Europe for the same reason that American players some times end up over there. In the cases of guys like Sarunas, V-Span, and Kirilenko they couldn't handle the NBA for one reason or another. Other times guys have an overinflated opinion of their value, want too much money, and no one in the NBA will sign them at their price.

We're coming off a season where a German was the league MVP and a Frenchman was the finals MVP. NBA teams care about skills and the bottom line. If they find a player who fits with them they won't care where he's from.

[Reggie Miller]

This is just a theory without any real objective evidence to back it up, but here goes...

Whether true or not, there has been a perception that some organizations would prefer a foreign-born player, all other factors being equal. If true, there would be a number of reasons for this, many of which could be described as "salary cap concerns." (Obviously, the Spurs' draft and stash philosophy falls into this category.) Another perception has been that foreign-born players are more "coachable" and fundamentally sound.

My best guess is that there were a number of foreign-born players drafted in the last few years that really didn't belong in the NBA. (Obviously, there were also quite a few domestic players drafted in recent years who don't belong in the NBA.) At any rate, teams gambled on players, thinking they could nab the next Ginobili or Parker in the late 1st round or 2nd round of the draft. Basically, it was an exciting idea, and several teams hopped on the bandwagon.

These teams may or may not have done their due diligence. Some teams do not seem to understand that not all overseas basketball programs are created equal. Also, a foreign-born player faces many challenges that a domestic player does not, such as language, culture shock, etc. In some countries, the philosophy and regimen of the national team is essentially mirrored at every lower level of organized basketball; this is important becuase some players essentially play within the same system their entire lives before coming to the U.S. (I remember Sabonis used to comment on that.) Some teams appear to take the attitude of sign a player, then sit back to watch whether he sinks or swims.

In short, we had an environment for a few years that was conducive to giving foreign players a shot, but not all of these teams were equally ready to "enter the market," so to speak. A foreign-born player does have a better exit strategy, however. He can either struggle as a journeyman player here, or go back to his home country and be a superstar again. I know what I would do, and most of the players returning to Europe seem to agree.

On a side note, NBA teams that played follow the leader and began drafting foreign players forgot something very important. San Antonio got in on the ground floor. This meant that when they drafted Parker and Ginobili, there was still a relatively large talent pool to tap. The European leagues have adjusted to players leaving for the NBA by structuring contracts differently. Important veteran players are often locked into long-term contracts with buyouts larger than the NBA allows. I could be dead wrong, but it seems like the better older players are now committed to either a Euro league or NBA team already. We now have draft "classes," just as we do with domestic talent, becuase large numbers of foreign veteran players no longer become available every year.

At any rate, I hope someone with better knowledge of the facts comes along to support or correct me on this.

[BacktoBasics]

The NBA went thru a long period of time were teams drafted players way ahead of time because of their potential (or young guys coming out too early for the money), then partnered with the obsession of finding the next great diamond in the ruff foreigner, as a result we were stuck with a real watered down league.

So now we are seeing more and more of the kids that were drafted out of highschool or who came into the league way ahead of time surface up after 2-4 years of watching and learning.

We are also seeing some of the American players that were overlooked during the foreign boom finally get the looks and consideration they may have deserved. The league spent what???? Two to three seasons being obsessed with overseas talent.

I really truely think the NBA is primed for another solid 10 year run of high quality entertaining basketball.

[Thunder Dan]

Anderson isn't going anywhere. The only reason he is lumped into this mess is because the Cavs don't think Sasha is worth the money he wants, and if they pay Anderson what they want to it will piss off Sasha. So they are trying to sign Sasha first then give Anderson his contract.