Jordan Farmar Signs With Maccabi Tel Aviv

No other than our very own Jewish Valley-born (California) hero, Jordan Farmar, is now the next player who has taken the leap and agreed to play basketball overseas. During a dreadful summer where instead of seeing big name free agents sign huge contracts as they did last year, this summer has been filled with NBA players signing contracts with teams overseas due to the reality that we may not actually have basketball this season. Jordan Farmar has agreed to play for the Israeli champions Maccabi Tel Aviv. Farmar’s current deal states that he will play for Maccabi Tel Aviv as long as the lock out continues. He is now the third NBA player behind Deron Williams and Sasha Vujacic to take a step into the world of European basketball. Lucky for Farmar, he gets to play for the best team in the Israeli league, and ultimately is playing in his native land. Jordan Farmar is one of the few Jewish professional athletes, and growing up near him, I was lucky enough to meet him at a friend’s Bat Mitzvah several years back. Yea, Jews in the Valley due indeed know everyone. Anyways, in light of recent trends, it wouldn’t surprise me if NBA stars continue to go play overseas. Kobe Bryant has been pursued all summer by Besiktas in the Turkish league, and just today it is rumored that Dwayne Wade has been offered a deal worth $2 million dollars a year to go play in China. The list of potential players will continue to grow and considering how far apart NBA players and owners are from reaching a deal, I’m nervous that European leagues will soon be flooded by our NBA stars. -Nordon