Go East, All The Way Across the Ocean, Young Man

Already this offseason, the weak dollar and the strong Euro have changed the traditional pro basketball balance of power with a number of foreign players either opting to head for Europe or else (Tiago Splitter) stay over there despite offers to come to the states. Top superstars can earn more in the United States, but for lesser players the calculation's not quite clear and in certain instances you can make more money in Europe. And then yesterday Josh Childress became the first American to do something similar.

As a restricted free agent in a market where nobody has cap space, he had no way to earn more than the midlevel exemption unless Atlanta decided to feel generous. So he took an offer from Olympiakos in Greece that's worth more. If this trend continues, I wonder if it might not lead to more talented 18 year-olds seeking to go to Europe to earn money in exchange for their work rather than obeying the terms of the American sports cartel and working for free for a year or three in college.

Comments

Childress: not going to work on Maggie's farm no more.

getting a little Billy Cannon/AFL deja vu here.

Posted by paperpusher | July 24, 2008 9:22 AM

If this trend continues, I wonder if it might not lead to more talented 18 year-olds seeking to go to Europe...

My instinct would be to say that there's still a danger that an 18 year-old could get "lost" over there in Europe relative to the mainstream media coverage that NCAA basketball receives. Like, at one point people actually wondered if Carmelo Anthony should've been the #1 pick in 2003. Clearly his performance in the oh-so-popular NCAA tourney helped his draft stock. But then again, you see all kinds of lottery picks spent on international players. There probably are some stupid GMs out there who rely on their television more than they should, but it really does seem that international scouting is, if not already there, pretty close to being on par with domestic college scouting.

Also, it probably would help to be able to use an agent right away in order to stay on the radar screen from Day 1 rather than having to wait till draft time.

Posted by Brent | July 24, 2008 9:24 AM

Childress wasn't going to qualify, I don't think, so Greece will get to see one of the most talented PGs I've ever seen. Childress really is uncanny with the ball. I hope he isn't over there too long.

Posted by Jeffrey Davis | July 24, 2008 9:26 AM

so Greece will get to see one of the most talented PGs I've ever seen

Isn't Childress a forward? Like MY, I think this is most important to the extent it increases the possibility that 18 year-old (or younger) players will play in Europe for cash rather than in the NCAA to feather the coach and AD's pockets.

Posted by SomeCallMeTim | July 24, 2008 9:45 AM

While I'm more than happy to see Euro competition hurt the obviously-terrible NCAA restrictions on players' careers, what's going on here isn't really about the NCAA.

It's about the salary cap, and the way that artificially limiting workers' salaries in order to ensure profits for every ownership group is finally getting the challenge it deserves.

Posted by DivGuy | July 24, 2008 9:48 AM

Isn't Childress a forward?

You're right. I'm confused. Thanks for the correction.

Posted by Jeffrey Davis | July 24, 2008 9:57 AM

I was thinking of Brandon Jennings. Sorry for the mix-up. Jennings is thinking of playing in Europe.

Posted by Jeffrey Davis | July 24, 2008 10:00 AM

I enjoy college basketball, but I think this is a very good thing. Having players who show up on college teams for one year and pretend to go class benefits no one except major programs that are already flush with cash... and CBS, of course.

In a healthy system, college athletics should serve the guys who actually want to stay in college for 3-4 years, get a free education (and earn a stipend, damn it), and try to develop enough as a player to get a shot in the NBA. The guys who come out of HS as likely lottery picks are better served by turning pro and playing in Europe or the D-League against adult competition. Any other player with no interest in or aptitude for college should do the same.

Posted by LaFollette Progressive | July 24, 2008 10:03 AM

I wonder if it might not lead to more talented 18 year-olds seeking to go to Europe to earn money in exchange for their work rather than obeying the terms of the American sports cartel and working for free for a year or three in college.

Already happening:

"Former Arizona recruit Brandon Jennings on Wednesday signed with an Italian professional league team, completing his plan to pass up college and play professionally in Europe to prepare himself for the 2009 NBA draft.

Jennings signed with Pallacanestro Virtus Roma of the Italian pro league.
...
Jennings was ranked as the top point guard in the class of 2008 by ESPN.com and played at Oak Hill Academy (Va.) the past two seasons. He had yet to qualify academically to play at Arizona when he made the decision to play in Europe earlier this month."

Really, it'd seem to be a no-brainer. Lots of money, or get exploited for a few years? Yes, college is fun, but so is Rome.

Posted by jkd | July 24, 2008 10:08 AM

Matt is right but the post is a little confusing

Jennings already went from HS, so in a way he was the first not Childless, and he is a PG.

Childress, he is a combo F/G, is the first higher profile "American" NBA player I know of to go.

Posted by someguy | July 24, 2008 10:18 AM

Yes, college is fun, but so is Rome.

Gawd, yes. I also wonder whether playing in Europe might be better for a player's personal maturation. I would think it would be harder for those people who are hanging on to your affections because they see you as a meal ticket to do so when you're living in another country. Moreover, there isn't a corrupt system to cosset American star high school/college players already built out. I'm sure it will arise, but I would be a little surprised if that didn't take some time.

Posted by SomeCallMeTim | July 24, 2008 10:24 AM

Childress is NOT the first semi-high profile American to spurn the NBA to play in Europe. There were a few in the 80s. Brian Shaw (younger readers may remember him from the Shaq-Kobe Lakers championship teams) was a first round draft pick of the Celtics and played his rookie season for the Cs, then got into a contract dispute and signed a big contract in Europe. He played a year in Italy and then decided he didn't like it and came back to the Celtics. The same year, Danny Ferry was the second pick over all in the draft, and spurned the Clippers (this was back when Sterling was at the height of his cheapo ways) and played in Italy for a year with Shaw. Imagine if a Kevin Durant or Michael Beasley spurned the NBA to play in Italy! Also in the 80s, Bob McAdoo went to play in Italy (admittedly, he was somewhat over the hill in the NBA) and had several great seasons in the Euroleague (he's one of the Euroleague's top 50 players).

So it's not like this is unprecedented. These guys will probably play for a year in Italy, and then decide that the NBA is where they want to be.

Posted by Al | July 24, 2008 10:39 AM

I don't think this will end up being a real trend.

Does anyone remember Warren Cromartie? He was a baseball player who in the mid 80's signed with the Yomuri Giants becuase he could make more moeny. At the time he was an above avearage player, but not great, good for about a .280 average and 65 RBIs. IE a profile similar to that of Childress.

At the time people wondered if this was the start of a larger trend, but it turned out not to be. Most athletes would rather play in the best leagues and would prefer to stay in the culture they are comfrotable with if possible.

Posted by nathaniel | July 24, 2008 10:39 AM

This is a great day for free trade and open competition, and a terrible day for all 37 remaining Hawks fans.

This could turn into a biiig problem for the NBA.

Posted by right | July 24, 2008 10:40 AM

a terrible day for all 37 remaining Hawks fans.

After watching that series with Boston (game 7 excluded), I figured they'd surprise a lot of people next season. Oh well.

Posted by mark f | July 24, 2008 10:49 AM

The thing that surprised me about this was his decision to play in Greece. It's a nice place to visit, great food and all that, but it's barely a first-world country in terms of the amenities Americans are used to. It ain't Rome, that's for sure.

Posted by too many steves | July 24, 2008 11:09 AM

Al, you can add Joe Barry Carroll (a former #1 pick and a good player) to the list of Americans who played in Italy during the 1980s. The year he skipped out on the Warriors, IIRC, Golden State ended up starting Jerome Whitehead at C and piling up the worst record in the league. Without checking, I think that was the year after which they failed to get the Patrick Ewing #1 pick in the old "7 cards in the bin" unweighted lottery.

The only downside I can imagine for a HSer in going to Europe is playing time -- a guy like Jenkins would be guaranteed 30+ minutes per game in a top-level NCAA program, but might sit on the bench while a talented, experienced 27-year-old starts for the team he signed with in Europe. Of course, he's actually getting paid there, so on balance the risk is likely worth it. And maybe the NCAA will finally admit they have to pay stipends to the folks earning so much for coaches and administrators in the US.

too many steves, there are probably a lot of folks in Milan and Turin who think Rome is in the 3rd world, too!

Posted by Pesto | July 24, 2008 11:57 AM

This feels less like a symptom of the weakening dollar than it is a result of the Byzantine rules of the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement.

As we've seen this summer, the economics of basketball are such that big-name free agents have only a handful of bottom-feeding teams to choose from. Those on the tier below, like Childress, find themselves in no-man's land; they command a higher salary than the mid-level exception, so they're only able to sign with teams that are below the cap.

Posted by Andrew Dupont | July 24, 2008 12:02 PM

The same year, Danny Ferry was the second pick over all in the draft, and spurned the Clippers

Good catch on Shaw, Al--he was surprisingly good, as I recall--but I don't think you can make claims about the NBA or NBA players based on a that-era Clippers team or Danny Ferry.

I didn't know that about Joe Barely Cares. Huh. Well, keep hope alive. Maybe this will weaken the nearly criminal conspiracy between the NBA and big time college hoops.

Posted by SomeCallMeTim | July 24, 2008 12:08 PM

At last, a European sport that Americans can excel in!

At the rate the Euro is going, the NBA will soon be bought out by Russian nabobs and transferred to Europe leaving the CBA for us Americans to root for.

Posted by mikeyes | July 24, 2008 1:15 PM

I suspect that this is the start of a trend, that Euro leagues are going to start competing with the NBA seriously, and this will eventually bring down both the salary cap and the age limit. The players will go where they get the best deal.

That said, what is going on with high school players is absolutely terrible, and in fact, the old NBA age limit (pre-Spencer Haywood), which was essentially 22, was much better. You can go on and on about slave labor in the NCAA all you want (personally, I think college players should be paid), but the fact of the matter is that the NBA is not a reliable career choice and many ex-players are quite glad that they got a college education after their careers flamed out and they blew through their money.

With European competition, however, there's no way to impose that anymore.

Posted by Dilan Esper | July 24, 2008 2:43 PM

One issue's going to be whether the Euroleague teams have the structures in place to ensure that college-age recruits from the US get looked after. The college system is screwed up the other way, of course, but

too many steves: why Greece? Because the Med and the Baltic are where the basketball is, sustained by 'sporting club' franchises, especially those in GMT+2. (Plus, that EU reconstruction money got spent as fast as possible before the eastward expansion, though not on basketball.)

And this doesn't look like too bad a place to play.

Posted by pseudonymous in nc | July 24, 2008 4:34 PM

Sad but true, pathetic but factual, pitiful but actual, I thought that "young man" referred to Barack Obama. He's younger than I am (but by just one little year) so he's young. I guess you gosh darned whippersnappers don't think 46 is young.

Some day you'll pay for this (in about 20 years when you find that you are no longer considered young by the stars of the new embedded artificial ESP medium or whatever).

Posted by Robert Waldmann | July 24, 2008 4:42 PM

If this trend continues, I wonder if it might not lead to more talented 18 year-olds seeking to go to Europe to earn money in exchange for their work rather than obeying the terms of the American sports cartel and working for free for a year or three in college.

Let 'em. I wouldn't mind not leading the world in salaries paid for socially useless skills.

Posted by urbino | July 24, 2008 4:54 PM

I think the NBA is just finally getting burned for trying to hold onto a model for recruitment and initiation into the league that no longer works. The NFL can use college football for various reasons, but I have long thought that basketball needs to look to either baseball or hockey as a model for player development. For example, 16 thru (I think) 19 year olds play for junior hockey teams, and get paid a modest stipend. They learn the rhythm of the pro game. And there is also the option to play college hockey and go to the NHL.

Posted by Marc in Denver | July 25, 2008 1:40 AM

Who's to say that even the top players can make a better living playing in the USA? There's nothing to stop a Euro team from offering Lebron $50 million per year to play overseas when no NBA team will be able to offer him even half of that. I think Lebron cares about setting some career marks and making a legacy here, so this isn't a move that he'd probably consider but a player in their prime who cares a little less about that sort of thing like Vince Carter, Amare Stoudamire or Carlos Boozer; I could see them bailing the NBA for more money overseas.

Posted by bum | July 25, 2008 6:32 PM