NBA Stars Going Global - A New Trend?
by mikey p
on Jul 21, 2008 9:16 AM PDT
Josh Childress may join Carlos Del Fino and Brandon Jennings in Europe
According to this Adrian Wojnarowski article for Yahoo! Sports, Josh Childress is seriously considering an offer from Olympiakos, the Greek league team, for around $20M.
This puts the Hawks in a box. Childress is a restricted free-agent, and the Hawks have thus far not made a great effort to re-sign him, or try to work out a S&T. He is free to sign with a European team.
Is this the new answer to restricted free-agency?
Moreover, is this the beginning of basketball truly becoming a global game in the mold of international soccer, with intense competition for the sport's biggest stars?
Childress is not quite an NBA star, but he is a much coveted player by many teams, including his own, and his departure to the International scene would be a big boost for the global games reputation.
I am interested to see how this progresses.
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You beat me to it
And I had posted something on this, regarding Carlos Delfino going to Moscow, in another post. And Boston Nachbar, another good NBA player, is going to Europe for more money then he can make here.
Of course, the weakness of the dollar v the Euro and the tax implications also militate in favor of going to Europe.
This does indeed reflect the globalization of the great game of basketball. I predict it will wind up the no. 2 sport in the world. This could ultimately blow apart the NBA salary cap and/or force the NBA to unite with FIBA in some way.
This also underscores the notion that the NBA will not be considered the be all, end all of basketball for long, if it ever was.
Here’s something from Hoopshype on Childress:
Childress Considering Big Offer in Europe
Posted: 7/21/2008 4:30:00 AM
Source: Yahoo Sports
In a potentially stunning move that reflects the growing challenge Europe’s basketball leagues pose to the NBA, Atlanta Hawks free-agent forward Josh Childress is strongly considering a three-year, $20 million offer from Greek powerhouse Olympiakos, several league sources said Sunday night.
Childress flew to Greece late Sunday and is scheduled to meet with Olympiakos officials on Monday. Childress, 25, is so flustered with the Hawks’ refusal to make a sign-and-trade deal to another team, one source familiar with his thinking believes there’s "better than a 50-50 chance" he’ll sign with Olympiakos. The team also will cover the Greek taxes for Childress, making it even more lucrative.
"Unless he just gets there and doesn’t like it at all, I think he’s going to go," one league source said.
Childress is a restricted free agent, but the Hawks would have no matching rights with a FIBA contract. Olympiakos’ offer also would allow Childress the opportunity to return to the NBA over the next two summers. The Hawks would maintain his restricted free-agent rights provided they make him a qualifying offer.
Childress’ talks with the Hawks have yet to gain traction because Atlanta officials have made it clear their first priority is to resolve negotiations with forward Josh Smith, their other restricted free agent. Privately, Childress has expressed little enthusiasm in returning to play for the organization, sources said.
The Memphis Grizzlies are the only remaining team with enough salary-cap room to make an offer exceeding the $5.6 million mid-level exception, and they so far seem content on saving their money for next summer. Several NBA GMs interested in Childress said they wouldn’t make a mid-level offer to him because they believe the Hawks would match.
by Jax on Jul 21, 2008 9:25 AM PDT 0 recs
It is very intresting
I totally agree.
The other much smaller aspect of this is the fact that neither Childress or Smith is interested in remaining with the Hawks.
They have a very bad morale problem in Atlanta.
F-Elton!
by mikey p on
Jul 21, 2008 9:52 AM PDT
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Wow
Props to Jax on the use of militate above. I had to look it up, and that doesn’t happen to me a lot.
As for the trend, this is indeed stunning. Let’s do a little math on some of these deals. I believe I read that Delfino’s deal was for 3M Euros. The exchange rate is getting close to 1.6 dollars to the Euro. So right there you’re at $4.8M. When you consider the taxes, this is the equivalent of getting paid 8M or 9M dollars to play in the NBA. So the first thing is – nobody is going to pay Carlos Delfino that kind of money. 3/$20M for Childress is equally stunning. Tax free, it’s in the neighborhood of $12M per year in an NBA contract.
The talent gap is still significant. And it’s far from a given that the European leagues can shell out this kind of coin for everybody, as opposed to just a contract here or there that is out of sync with the rest of the cost structure. But the NBA’s big advantage in competing for these players at this point remains the simple fact that the league is still the best, top to bottom. Rudy Fernandez certainly didn’t go to Portland for the money of his rookie deal. But the trend is pretty clear, and if Childress goes to Europe (a US born player opting for more money to play in Greece in the prime of his career) it will be seismic.
The first change will be in drafting established Euros. Is Tiago Splitter ever going to come to the US and play for the Spurs at this point? For first round picks, with pre-determined salaries, it’s just turning into a massive pay cut.
The Clippers! The (second) Best NBA Team in LA!
by ClipperSteve on Jul 21, 2008 10:04 AM PDT 0 recs
Is there really that much disparity?
Remember when the Clippers went to Moscow and got shellacked by the great CSKA team? Of course, that was preseason, and CSKA was right at the end of the year, but . . .
by Jax on
Jul 21, 2008 10:07 AM PDT
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In a word, yes
They play great basketball in Europe. But it’s still a notch below overall.
Bear in mind for instance that Delfino’s starting point guard at BC Khimki is going to be Daniel Ewing. So there’s a point of reference.
The bigger issue has to do with the overall structure – the top to bottom talent. The best teams in the best leagues are very, very good. But the bad teams are much, much worse than the Grizzlies. There’s no minimum team salary, you know?
The EuroLeague is supposed to address that, pitting the best of the best against each other. But even there, the top Greek, Spanish and Russian team (along with a few other great teams) dominate, and the teams that qualify for EuroLeague from say Lithuania are just happy to be there. So there’s a consistency issue that isn’t close to being addressed. But it’s certainly changing.
The Clippers! The (second) Best NBA Team in LA!
by ClipperSteve on
Jul 21, 2008 10:44 AM PDT
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The US drew a tough group (B) in the Olympics
Including Spain, Greece and Germany. That will be a dogfight. Greece hammered the US a couple of years ago. Spain (with Rubio) is good, and it will be interesting to watch Kaman go against the US alongside Dirk. Only two come will come out of the Group, I believe.
by Jax on
Jul 21, 2008 10:46 AM PDT
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Actually
Pool play is a bit of a joke. They’re getting from 12 to 8. Two pools of 6 teams, and the top 4 in each advance. So yes, Greece and Spain and Germany are all there (along with China and Angola) and those are the 4 that will advance most likely. But the key is getting a decent spot in the quarterfinals – avoiding say, Argentina in an early elimination game. But pool play is mostly about creating a bunch of games for selling tickets.
The Clippers! The (second) Best NBA Team in LA!
by ClipperSteve on
Jul 21, 2008 10:59 AM PDT
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Plus different rules and style of play
and the fact that the foreign players play on national teams together for years.
“In a word, yes” is a funny phrase. It is actually four words.
Intreresting.
F-Elton!
by mikey p on
Jul 21, 2008 10:56 AM PDT
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You're asking the wrong guy
I had to look it up! But based on the usage example at dictionary.com, it seems like you were spot on. Kudos to you.
The Clippers! The (second) Best NBA Team in LA!
by ClipperSteve on
Jul 21, 2008 10:37 AM PDT
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Good word for Jax
Contains an appropriate soupcon of aggression.
by citizen zhiv on Jul 21, 2008 10:48 AM PDT 0 recs
If you're going to use soupçon
You have to do it right, with the ç.
OK, enough erudition for today.
The Clippers! The (second) Best NBA Team in LA!
by ClipperSteve on
Jul 21, 2008 10:52 AM PDT
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How do you do it?
Where’s the accent circonflex-is that what it’s called? running on fumes here-on the keyboard? Most impressive thing so far, the fact that CS was able to break that out.
But you knew what I was saying….
by citizen zhiv on Jul 21, 2008 10:56 AM PDT 0 recs
Ok - I knew this "a slight trace, as of a particular taste or flavor"
No aggression intended
by Jax on
Jul 21, 2008 11:02 AM PDT
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Well, I do speak French
You’re not going to sneak a French word by me.
Special characters are a bitch. I used to know the short cut keys in Word to do them when I was working in France, but I’ve forgotten.
The squiggle under the c (indicating a soft pronunciation even in front of an o in this case) is called a cedille. The circumflex is the little hat that goes over some vowels (comme ça, â, although I can’t think of a usage right now).
I cheated to get the cedille in this case – looked up soupçon on dictionary.com and did a cut and paste.
The Clippers! The (second) Best NBA Team in LA!
by ClipperSteve on
Jul 21, 2008 11:06 AM PDT
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Comment dites-vous la Tondeuse dans le français ? ?
F-Elton!
by mikey p on
Jul 21, 2008 11:14 AM PDT
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Lawnmower?
I’m not sure I understand the question.
The Clippers! The (second) Best NBA Team in LA!
by ClipperSteve on
Jul 21, 2008 11:44 AM PDT
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LOL
That is how my translator tranlated Clippers.
F-Elton!
by mikey p on
Jul 21, 2008 2:07 PM PDT
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Now that is an LOL!
The Clippers! The (second) Best NBA Team in LA!
by ClipperSteve on
Jul 21, 2008 2:45 PM PDT
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Question is will the Hawks call his bluff?
Smart move by Childress and his agent. They can’t get buyers in the NBA because of the salary cap but can create a demand by threatening to go overseas. The Hawks need to be smart and offer him 5/40 before he takes off.
Oh no! We suck again - Idiot from The Waterboy
http://ohnowesuckagain.ytmnd.com/
by ClipperChuck on Jul 21, 2008 11:41 AM PDT 0 recs
A Question
People keep mentioning the $20mil offer, but then at the same time they talk about the value of the Euro against the dollar. And Delfino’s 3mil euro deal was mentioned. Curious about the Euro value of the Childress offer. No taxes in Greece is a nice kicker too. What’s not to like?
Is James Singleton taking a pay cut signing with the Mavs?
by citizen zhiv on Jul 21, 2008 12:31 PM PDT 0 recs
Don't forget Brandon Jennings signing to play overseas instead of one year in the NCAA
by Jax on
Jul 21, 2008 12:35 PM PDT
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It's different
Jennings is choosing to play for money overseas (not sure how much Virtus Roma is paying him, I’m guessing it’s a minimum contract) rather than spending his one year of indentured servitude for the NCAA. He’ll declare for next year’s draft. Childress is contemplating leaving the NBA altogether. But I understand your point that in the grand scheme of things the NBA-level talent is no longer restricted to playing for, well, the NBA.
by supac on
Jul 21, 2008 1:16 PM PDT
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Delfino and Nachbar
Looks like Delfino and Nachbar both got 9M Euros for 3 years in Russia, from Khimki and Dynamo respectively. So when you convert and figure in the tax free thing, that’s your $9M+ NBA contract. (I said between $8M and $9M before, but I was probably not figuring the state tax high enough, though that would vary by state). When they report a Childress deal at $20M, obviously they’ve already converted from Euros – but part of what allows these teams to pay these seemingly ridiculous amounts is how poorly the dollar is doing against the Euro.
I must admit that I don’t understand the tax situation well. The Marc Stein’s of the world just sort of matter-of-factly state that it’s all tax-free in all European contracts. But of course these countries generally have very high tax rates. So whether it’s the structure of the contract (the team pays the tax) or the status of the individual (non-resident) or something else, we’re taking it on faith that the amounts are indeed tax-free. So double anything you see as compared to a state like California with a normal state tax. By the way, when I worked in Paris it was far from tax-free, but my employer provided tax-assistance, so maybe that’s how it’s working.
The Clippers! The (second) Best NBA Team in LA!
by ClipperSteve on
Jul 21, 2008 2:52 PM PDT
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taxes (or lack thereof)
I’ve read that the russian teams are run by billionaires under directive from the government to bulk up free agent signings, so they likely receive special tax breaks for doing so. The yahoo articles implies that the Greek team will provide extra compensation to cover Childress’ taxes.
by Clipper Oz on
Jul 21, 2008 5:02 PM PDT
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Thanks for that
Good info. At any rate, it sort of seems like the custom is to express the contract in terms of take home pay, after taxes if you will. There are also other perks like apartments and cars and drivers and what not in these deals – stuff that you couldn’t do in the NBA because of salary cap rules. So the big European clubs can more than compete on salaries at this point.
The Clippers! The (second) Best NBA Team in LA!
by ClipperSteve on
Jul 21, 2008 9:48 PM PDT
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