The NBA season is over but there is some wheeling and dealing going on. Elton Brand is a Sixer. Richard Jefferson is a Buck. (Doesn't that sound derogatory? I guess being a Buck is an insult.) Corey Maggette is a Warrior. My former fantasy basketball sixth-man Matt Barnes is a Sun. Chris Duhon joins the Apocalypse. Hype man Ronny Turiaf is getting live in the Bay now. TJ Ford is a Pacer. Jermaine O'neal is a Raptor. Marcus Camby is a Clipper. Talk about getting dissed. Camby was released for cap space and a secound round draft pick. Camby wisely predicts that the draft pick probably won't even make the team.
Josh Childress is an Olympiaco. Olympi-who? J-Childs joined a team in Greece. The Hawks offered him $33 milli-ons over five years without including taxes and the Greeks offered $21 milli's in the air after the tax man cometh. Josh did real good. He's gets paid more and in a stronger currency with fringe benefits like free lounging. Good thing the Hawks drafted for the same position for five years in a row. They have been running through forwards. It looks like Team Josh is over. Josh Smith and Josh Childress might be gone.
The big issue is what does this mean for the NBA and future NBA prospects? The high school kids looking through college brochures might be enticed to hit the Euro-league for seven figures instead of dodging freshman classes until the NBA draft while looking for ways to cover up booster scholarships. (Whew, I got winded after reading that sentence again.) Also, what impact will this have on the NBA benches? If a guy can make more money and start in Europe then why would he ride the pine in the NBA gaining no respect or PT. There's some rich people in Russia that could afford to bank-roll some serious basketball squads. What if they went after stars that are losing their home-side appeal like Vince Carter or Jason Kidd? This is an interesting time for the NBA.
This could be bad news for the guys that go undrafted or get cut from NBA squads. It's already hard enough to become a professional basketball player. The last thing they probably want is competition from players with NBA job security.
I hope Josh has some thick skin. It's all peaches and cream right now but those European fans have no boundaries. At least not in soccer where racism is obvious at times.
Josh Childress is an Olympiaco. Olympi-who? J-Childs joined a team in Greece. The Hawks offered him $33 milli-ons over five years without including taxes and the Greeks offered $21 milli's in the air after the tax man cometh. Josh did real good. He's gets paid more and in a stronger currency with fringe benefits like free lounging. Good thing the Hawks drafted for the same position for five years in a row. They have been running through forwards. It looks like Team Josh is over. Josh Smith and Josh Childress might be gone.
The big issue is what does this mean for the NBA and future NBA prospects? The high school kids looking through college brochures might be enticed to hit the Euro-league for seven figures instead of dodging freshman classes until the NBA draft while looking for ways to cover up booster scholarships. (Whew, I got winded after reading that sentence again.) Also, what impact will this have on the NBA benches? If a guy can make more money and start in Europe then why would he ride the pine in the NBA gaining no respect or PT. There's some rich people in Russia that could afford to bank-roll some serious basketball squads. What if they went after stars that are losing their home-side appeal like Vince Carter or Jason Kidd? This is an interesting time for the NBA.
This could be bad news for the guys that go undrafted or get cut from NBA squads. It's already hard enough to become a professional basketball player. The last thing they probably want is competition from players with NBA job security.
I hope Josh has some thick skin. It's all peaches and cream right now but those European fans have no boundaries. At least not in soccer where racism is obvious at times.
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