The JR Smith injury in China had me thinking - it's widely accepted that guys like Smith and Wilson Chandler won't be able to come back to the NBA this year if the Lockout ends, but how will that be enforced, legally? Couldn't JR Smith just pack his bags and allow a Chinese court with no jurisdiction in the US to render an unenforceable judgment? I doubt that, post lockout, these guys would have a lot of lucrative opportunities in China, so why would they care?
They can't sign a contract with a NBA team.. if they do the team will be sued? Not sure just a thought.
Wilson Chander turned the contract down today so he has no worries. Edit: sorry Sorry, that was Tyson Chandler that rejected the deal.
They are bound not to return to the NBA until after the season ends in China, but it's been reported that some of the Chinese may not enforce it.
It's enforced by the 'Letter of Clearance', which you need in order to sign with an NBA team. It's a document your team holds until your contract runs out or you get cut by the team. If you're under contract and your team doesn't want to let you go, you won't be able to sign with any FIBA or NBA team. I haven't read the Chinese League rules, but I recall Jonathan Givony tweeting that a Chinese team would automatically foreit all their games played if they release a player who would then play in an NBA game this season.
Technically you are right; except there is a catch: NBA doesn't give a **** about letters of clearance. Letters of clearances is enforced by FIBA between countries. So if Wilson Chandler plays in China or Deron Williams to Turkey; the Chinese Federation and the Turkish Federation will need those letters from U.S.A. Basketball which is their counterparts in the US, affiliated with FIBA. The problem is, NBA and FIBA hate each other and have nothing to do with each other. As a result, players banned by FIBA can continue to play in NBA with no problem whatsoever (look up Oriene Greene). Players with no clearance letters from their home countries can also play in NBA with no problem whatsoever; the Chinese example being Wang Zhizhi during a time when he was branded a traitor. And so on. The point is, if those players pack and leave China they shouldn't have any problem playing in the NBA. As for Givony's tweet, it's just unfounded rumor. Absolutely no way that becomes reality.
Yeah, I was gonna say... Why would David Stern give a care? Professional courtesy? Continued investment in China, I suppose? Still doesn't seem very likely.
I remember the Rockets had to pay the CBA and the Shanghai Sharks for Yao's release. And there were European players who couldn't play in the NBA right away because of their contracts. Scola was on of them.
The NBa has an agreement with FIBA. Being a chinese citizen did disadvantage Yao. He had to hand over 50% of his income and didn't have complete control on his career or decisions.
What about Scolar, Rubio, and etc.? The factor of the matter is if the NBA want to play in the world championships or any international tournament, or have their own contracts/rights and etc. be respected abroad, they can't just go ahead and not honor contracts. In the grown up world, lawyers get involved.
No, players can't just leave and breach contract whenever they want GM's go overseas all the time to reach a buy out agreement with other teams. But back on subject... I believe there was an article that said that even thought there is no opt-out clause, the chinese team will most likely release the player anyways because they only have a limited number of position for foreign players. Something along the lines of... "if a player wants to leave then the team will 'waive' him. There is no point of keeping a player that does not want to be on the team and will just ruin the teams chances of winning."
The NBA won't accept them back unless FIBA permits it. But, the lockout isn't ending and there will be no season. So, I'm not seeing how it matters.
