LeBron to Europe? Please Don’t Insult My Intelligence

Why does ESPN insist to insult my intelligence?  Why are they gving any credence to the idea that LeBron is seriously considering a jump to Europe?  Sure he is willing to consider a move for $50 million a season but does anyone truly believe that offer would ever come to fruition?

Consider that the deals that Josh Childress and Earl Boykins recently signed are two of the more lucrative deals in their respective leagues.  Childress is only getting roughly six to seven million per season and that is the richest on his team.  Does anyone believe the cash is out there for a European team to legitimatly make this kind of offer to a LeBron James?

LeBron puts that price tag out there because he knows it is not a realistic possibility.  He is essentially saying, “Yeah I’ll go play in Europe if you give me $50 mil a year”, because he knows the likelihood of getting his asking price is remote at best.  I just have a hard time believing that any European teams have the resources to be able to compete with the NBA when it comes to the overall amount of money an elite basketball player can make playing in the NBA.

You see European teams do not pony up $100 million guaranteed contracts the way NBA teams do.  Nor do European players gain as much exposure or garner the endorsement opportunities the way NBA stars do.  Is a European team going to be able to match the $200 million or so LeBron would be walking away from in guaranteed salary and endorsement money he would likely receive if he stayed in the NBA?  I seriously doubt it as if they could they would have already made a run at American players better than Josh Childress and Earl Boykins.  The European leagues are a long way away from being able to financially compete with the NBA for the elite basketball talent of the world.

Ra’Sean Dickey Going to the Ukraine

Georgia Tech’s Ra’Sean Dickey has announced he is giving up his final year of college eligibility to go play professionally in the Ukraine next year.  Dickey marks the third American, joining Josh Childress and Brandon Jennings, to announce he is going overseas rather than play ball in the states next season.  What makes these three unique is that they are passing up opportunities to play in America to play in an international league.

The major difference here though is that Dickey was likely to never play in the NBA anyway.  He looked like a potential prospect after posting 13.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game during his sophomore season.  It has been all downhill since then as he developed acute tendinitis in his knee and saw his playing time dwindle during his junior season leading to him sitting out the entirety of the 2007/08 season.  If healthy he would have seen significant playing time for Paul Hewitt’s Yellow Jackets next season.

My guess is that his knee is not getting significantly better and given that he is not seen as  a legit NBA prospect right now Dickey figures it he may as well move on while he is still healthy enough to play in a professional league.  It is also interesting to see a guy like Dickey move overseas as players of his ilk are what keeps college basketball going.  What is to become of the college game if players like Dickey start jumping ship after two or three seasons if they don’t think they have a real chance at being drafted?  Given Dickey’s decision to move on would North Carolina’s Danny Green consider such a move as well?  Or, does he have his heart set on trying his luck with the NBA before potentially settling on playing internationally?

Carl Landry Following Childress to Europe?

On the heels of Josh Childress’ announcement that he will play in Greece next season Carl Landry’s agent is telling folks that Europe might be an option for his client next season as well.  As was the case for Childress Landry is a restricted free agent as well.  Whether or not this is just a case of an agent doing what he does best by posturing in the local media to gain leverage remains to be seen. 

Based on the comments made by Houston General Manager Daryl Morey it sounds like the Rockets are calling his bluff.

“Carl and his agent are doing what they think is best for him and if that includes exploring Europe that is their right to do that,” said Daryl Morey, Houston Rockets General Manager.

“We continue to want Carl as a Rocket. We have a difference of opinion on the next steps to get him re-signed, but we have not changed our desire to see him return.”

That to me sounds like someone who does not want to give Carl Landry the kind of money his agent is looking for.  Surely they would love to have Landry back as he surprised a lot of folks with his play off the bench for the Rockets down the stretch.  He averaged 8 points and just under 5 rebounds in roughly 17 minutes per game off the bench for Housont and gave them an edge and some toughness when he was on the floor. 

But, now, two questions remain.  One is whether Landry truly has an interest in going overseas and two is how much are European teams willing to offer?  It is unlikely he will get an offer akin to what Childress recieved.  Childress is a much more established talent in the league and a more versatile player who defends well.  It remains to be seen what kind of benchmarks Landry sets for himself in the coming years.  Keep in mind that Ike Diogu and Craig Smith posted similar numbers to Landry’s during their rookie campaigns and they are still stuck on the bench posting similar numbers.  Childress was an occasional starter seeing 30 plus minutes off action while Landry has yet to show he can win a starting job in the league.

Stay tuned as we could see more restricted free agents making noise about playing in Europe next year.

Childress Jumps to Greece, Jennings Goes to Italy: The Beginning of a Trend?

Restricted free agent Josh Childress is heading overseas to play in Greece for Olympiakos after agreeing to a 3-year deal worth $20 million.  Childress is heading to Europe to play despite the fact that Atlanta allegedly had a $36 million deal on the table that started at a base salary above $5.6 million.  This is a very intriguing move to me to say the least and coupled with Brandon Jennings deciding to play in Europe as opposed to going to college for year raises some interesting issues for the NBA.

Now Josh Childress is not the first NBA free agent to decide he is going overseas to play ball next year: Primoz Brezec, Carlos Delfino, Juan Carlos Navarro, and Bostjan Nachbar have signed with European teams as well for next season.  Nor is Childress the first American player to go overseas to play basketball scores of college kids who do not get drafted go overseas to play every year.  What Childress is, is he is the first American born free agent that NBA teams are interested in who has decided to spurn the NBA and go overseas to play basketball.

While Childress was a free agent and free to negotiate with any team of his choosing he was still a restricted free agent which means the Atlanta Hawks ultimately held his fate in their hands.  They had the right to match any offer made to him by another NBA team which means that as long as the Hawks still want him around and can afford to match the contract offered him he was destined to remain in Atlanta and apparently that was not an appealing option to Josh Childress.  It is going to be interesting to see if other players in Childress’ class of restricted free agents who have yet to sign with anyone are going to follow suit and there is some quality talent out there like Luol Deng and Monta Ellis.