• The NBA Commissioner says Europe is no threat to NBA
European basketball teams have lured college player Brandon Jennings and decent NBA player Josh Childress across the ocean, but they won’t make real noise until they pull an NBA superstar. Many people, myself included, believe no legitimate franchise player would leave the NBA for Europe. The reason being, an NBA championship and playing against the best competition in the world means more than some tax free euros and a yacht.
NBA Commissioner David Stern weighed in on the possibility of NBA players defecting for European teams, and of course he doesn’t see it as a viable option.
“I guess if they want to induce NBA players at salaries that exceed the budget of the team to play in games that 1,000 to 5,000 people will go to, they’re free to do that and there will be one or two players that will benefit greatly from it,” said Stern.
“And it’s good if you’re a player to know that that option exists.”
But Stern said average attendance in Europe was only 6,000, so “the system will not support it.”
The top one or two players that the system would work for are Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. There was a report over the summer saying LeBron James would play in Europe for $50 million, and the Greek based Olympiakos are reportedly ready to offer Kobe Bryant $83 million. I think KB24 should stay here, but LBJ should think about taking the deal.
Kobe Bryant is 30 years old and probably has three or four more years of high level basketball left. Those years should be spent in the best league on the planet. LeBron James is 23 years old and can opt out of his contract after the 2009-2010. He’d be 25 years old so he could play overseas for two years for $100 million, and be back in the NBA at 28, primed to win a championship.
