| Is David Stern Scared Yet? European Teams Should Have Him Shaking in His Boots |
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| Written by Joe Willett | |
| Friday, 01 August 2008 | |
 However, with the amount of money that European teams are able to pay players, what is stopping him from moving over-seas permanently. The next player to follow Jennings' example was Josh Childress who shocked the Atlanta Hawks as well as the NBA at large when he announced that he was going to play for European basketball power the Olympiakos. Childress should have really scared the NBA because of the amount of money that they payed him. The front office will pay for all of Childress' living expenses. Pretty nice huh? Well, it sounds even nicer when you add on the $20 million "net" that he will also receive over three years in addition to free housing and food. All this for a player who didn't start last season. In 2007, promising player Tiago Splitter was drafted with the 27th pick in the NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs. He then decided to sign with Tau Ceramica, a Spanish team, for eight times what the Spurs were allowed to pay him by NBA rules. In Europe, basketball is not a buisiness, basketball is everything. Money is no object for the top teams, which include the Olimpiakos who are owned by billionares. They will take a loss in profit just to beat their arch-rivals the Panathiakos. And you thought that the Celtics-Lakers was exciting? That is child's play. There have been reported incidents of team supporters aiming to physically hurt players on an opposing team's players out of pure hatred. So what are these victory-crazed Euro-teams going to do next? Out of ESPN, Josh Smith, also of the Atlanta Hawks, is not close to coming to a contract extension with the Hawks, and he has not ruled out Europe as a possibility. Neither has Ben Gordon of the Chicago Bulls, who is a certified British citizen. He is entertaining the idea, and even though it doesn't seem likely, it is slowly creeping it's way into multiple players minds. But the Euro-League wouldn't make a run at one of the best players in the NBA would they? The same Olympiakos that stole Childress are reportedly considering going after LeBron James in 2010 if he were a free agent. According to SportsIllustrated.com, the billionaire owners of the Olympiakos could be willing to pay upwards of $40-$50 million a year to add James and make their team even better. Especially if they give him the "net" pay deal they gave Childress, could you blame James if he took $50 million a year for luxury expenses? So are you scared yet David Stern? Because if you aren't, you better be prepared for battle. Some of these Euro teams have deep pockets, no limit, and only want to win. That is a lot more than you can say about any NBA team.         Set as favorite Bookmark Comments
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written by Chris W , August 03, 2008
Arroyo has decided to go to Europe, I think it's time for Stern to worry about the future of NBA
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