the nba = premiership, la liga and serie a european basketball = mls yeah the celeb/set piece specialist david beckham might come over, but the top players still know where the best competition and money is.
childress, nachbar... are not even close (remotely even) to the celebrity status of beckham. they're getting guys that have ZERO chance to start for most teams.
but in terms of basketball ability. childress is a much better basketball player AT THIS STAGE IN HIS CAREER than beckham is a footballer at this time. like i said before, beckham is a celeb/set piece specialist. anyway my point is the mls aren't signing players that will be greatly missed in europe and euro basketball aren't signing players that will be greatly missed in the nba. the best football players in the world will continue to ply their trade in those leagues and the best basketball players will continue to do so in the nba.
true, but beckham still brought over a HUGE celebrity status that sold out games everywhere he went here in america. and he's a name a lot of people in the world knows. that's still key. if euro leagues can pull guys like shaq (who's not as good anymore), that's still be a big thing b/c he is still a player who has star status. we would start to worry. but childress is a guy 95% of americans don't know about and don't care about.
None of my three sisters have any idea who Childress is, but they all know who David Beckham. Most of my coworkers might go "Who?", if I ask about Childress. They do that right now with Luther Head.
QUESTION: In 2010 - Europe Offers LeBron 100 Mill Euro and NBA offers 100 Million Dollars Which does he take? Nike - wishing to expand its foreign markets would not mind LeBron going at all Maybe even nudge in that direction 2010 will tell what's what - cause Alot of STARS will becoming available Alot of money will start being splashed around Maybe no LeBron but SOMEONE maybe the HERSHEL WALKER of the Euro leagues [reference when Hershel decided to go USFL instead of NFL] Rocket River
The 100 mill euro offer with taxes paid would be about $200 million US. He goes for that one, unless his endorsement contracts have clauses for him leaving the NBA. Thing is, in europe, they can just get a Childress level player for a lot cheaper. Since the league is so much weaker, Childress-level could be the Lebron of Euroleague. They can give that MLE player the same contract as Childress.
Imagine if Mark Cuban was say French. He owns a basketball club over there in a league with no salary cap. Do you think he would have any problems paying WAY over the market price for the players he wanted? You have owned like that through all sports in Europe. Its a completely different mentality to US sports. Look at soccer, they pay tens of millions of dollars just to get a player to switch to their clubs, let alone what they have to pay the player every season once they have got him. The sports owners in Europe don't care how much players cost. They'll double what a player can earn elsewhere if they want him enough. Even if it makes no economical sense at all.....they know what they want and they throw money around to get it. Put it this way....if you had said 10 years ago that NBA players would be heading to Europe for big dollars, no one would have believed you. So what do people think wont be happening in 10 years from now? The NBA needs to be pro-active.
Let's say, there is a Russian oil billioniare with a basketball team. Is there one? They can go straight for the big name players like say Gilbert Arenas, Elton Brand and Baron Davis. They could have done that already, if they were interested. Cash is no consideration. You hit the nail on the head, Christopher. If they wanted Elton Brand and Arenas, they would have signed them already. Money isn't important and they don't want our stars.
No doubt its a change thats happening. Yeah they could afford all stars now, but they are building up to it arent they. You have to also keep in mind thats its the players who also have to warm to the idea, and that will happen. It started with players being drafted by NBA teams but chosing to stay "At home" when they once would have rushed over just to be the 48th overall pick on draft night. Then it was players below NBA level that went over to make a career. Now we are seeing fringe NBA players taking the money on offer. Its a progression that wont stop. The funny thing is, Ive had this same argument on other forums over two other sports in the last few weeks. The NBA isnt special in that regard. Players will follow the money...and the NBA shouldnt be stupid enough to think there are no people outside of the United States who are willing to pay what ever it takes to have an NBA superstar playing in their local team.
The narrative you are drawing is nice but false. I foresee a day when NBA all stars and future HOF's and number 1 draft pick collegians head to Europe. That day was called the 80's and 90's - it already has happened. Thus far we have fringe european players going back over, nothing new, and one good american back up going over due to ATL's cap squeeze/cheapness, plus Brandon Jennings wanting to do a "1 & done" cause he can't make a 530 on his SAT. People can repeat that "the euro is stronger than the dollar!" over and over again - but when you're playing in 1000 seat arenas most of the time unless you're charging 100,000 euros a ticket it's not going to help much.
I think the point that we get their top stars is what kills the argument that euro leagues will eventually be on the same footing, that and they don't make money. guys like dirk, parker, manu, etc don't even consider going back to europe. the fact that it may be an option for midlevel players with contract disputes may make the nba negotiate a new collective bargining agreement but other than that, there still is no legitimate argument that there will be a migration.
And some like Scola who goes from ACB star to NBA role player here take even less money to play here.
Once Scola will have estabilished his position in the league his decision will be based much more on financials, the same with guys like the younger Gasol, Fernandez or Anthony Parker. Btw I agree this has been overblown, but what I think Stern is missing is that an increasing popularity of basketball in Europe will likely help the euroleague more than the NBA. And the NBA couldn't keep being the powerful cartel it is now. I'd pay more attention to what's happening in Spain, where most teams aren't losing money like the Greek ones but can still hand out MLE contracts. if something similar happens in Italy, UK, Germany or France a lot of money could start flowing.
I wouldn't be surprised if Scola went back, I don't see him being offered a huge deal since he will be about 30 after his current deal expires. Basketball is still a long way away from futbol/football in Europe, and I just don't understand where the money will come from as Europe's economy hits a rough spot. Spanish teams have thus far shown little to no inclination to sign high profile american players (according to an article last month, there is a movement in Spain to require more spanish nationals per team). Italy I don't think can support huge salaries. France doesn't have a top flight basketball league, nor does Germany, and UK's league probably makes Phillipines or China look really good.
Good assessment. The only players leaving or "staying home" are the ones that are stuck in a numbers game. Those mid-level/late 1st round guys would have stayed if they didn't feel that they were restricted by the CBA.
That is a pretty fair analogy. However, in Soccer there are several premier leagues, not just one, which I belive will probably happen in Europe at some point in BBall too. DD
I agree that the analogy is not totally the valid. It is a lot harder for American soccer to gain a foot hold in world soccer because they have to compete with many top leagues. In basketball, the NBA is the only league that stands in the way of Euroleague. Also, soccer has to overcome football, baseball, basketball, and hockey in the US. Whereas, basketball has only soccer to compete with in Europe. Actually, I won't be surprised if top European players such as Parker and Nowitzki would be lured by big money to go back to Europe while still in their prime. These players have already proven they could compete in the big league. There is nothing else left for them to prove unless they are chasing some kind of NBA records. (Guys like Dirk might still want to win a ring first, though.) If the conditions are right, and they are convinced of the financial stability of European teams, they may consider leaving.
