| July, 2011 |
| If the locked-out N.B.A. players choose to take their talents overseas, they will do so with the spirited support of their union’s leadership. NY Times |
| In a letter sent to 450 players this week, Billy Hunter, the executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, said that playing abroad would keep the pressure on owners while allowing union members to continue making a living. NY Times |
“This lockout is intended to economically pressure our players to agree to an unfavorable  collective bargaining agreement,” Hunter said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times. “It is important for owners to understand that there may be significant consequences to their decision to put their own players in these difficult economic circumstances.” NY Times |
| SI.com: The book tracks your experience on teams in Italy and Ukraine, and they weren’t positive. Getting paid was an issue, one of the locker rooms had cockroaches and the accommodations in some spots were more like dorms than five-star hotels. The notion of NBA guys with guaranteed contracts going overseas has been a hot topic now that Deron Williams has agreed in principle to play for Besiktas in Turkey. So let our readers in on this: How big is the gap between the teams you played for — outside the top 15 or so European clubs — and the very best clubs over there? SI.com |
Allred: It’s definitely a lot nicer with those clubs. I’d say there are a dozen clubs — and  just a dozen — that give you really good living conditions. [Editor's note: Even playing on those teams involves long bus rides and other non-glamorous, day-to-day stuff.] But those clubs still are very much a part of your daily life outside of basketball. In the NBA, you show up to work and get your job done, and they don’t ask about your personal life. In Europe, they’ll tell you where to be, and if you leave your apartment, they know. It’s like your on lockdown. SI.com |
| To play abroad or not to play abroad, that seems to be one of many hot-button topics surrounding the NBA as the league’s lockout enters its third week. Billy Hunter had mentioned that players would be perfectly happy to play abroad if the NBA’s owners aren’t reasonable in their negotiation demands. Whether that’s entirely accurate or more of a bargaining ploy is anybody’s guess. But when Josh Childress, the Phoenix Suns forward who himself played in Greece (and got paid handsomely in the process), came out recently to say that he didn’t think it was necessarily such a great idea for all players, the conversation got more complex and interesting. Sportsradiointerviews.com |
On why he’d not advise players to play in Europe: “Well when I say I would not advise it,  it’s under the premise that guys are not fully informed. I’m not saying it’s a bad idea. I did it for two years, it was a great situation for me, it was a great learning experience, but I think that for a bulk of the guys, you need to be informed. You need to make sure you have insurance, you need to just make sure you’re covered on all bases.” Sportsradiointerviews.com |
| What exactly are they ‘getting into’ as he’s alluded to: “Well it’s just a different style. It’s a different style of play, mentality, overall just a completely animal. And I think you get some situations where some coaches you’re going to get two-a-days every day, and you’re going to be playing one game a week, one to two games a week. It’s just different. There’s not a ton of things I can say about it other than it’s just different and that you’re aware of that. I wouldn’t want guys going over there thinking it’s like the NBA, because it’s not.” Sportsradiointerviews.com |
| Listen here to Childress with Max Kellerman & Mark Willard on ESPN Radio Los Angeles (interview begins at 12:45 mark) Sportsradiointerviews.com |
| Agents Lance Young and Bernie Lee, who had 19 clients overseas last season, both told the Deseret News that China could be the more attractive and realistic option for NBA players. Sportingnews.com |
| "The biggest money is China, hands down," Young told the paper. "You can make almost double in China what you can in Europe. The Chinese league isn't as good of a league, but if it's all about money you might as well go over there and make as much money as you can." Sportingnews.com |
| Lance Allred has a piece of advice for Deron Williams and other NBA players who think they’re going to weather the lockout by signing with and playing for teams overseas: Watch out. The Salt Lake Tribune |
When he heard that Williams was headed for Turkey and that he was going to get paid  $200,000 a month, Allred’s reaction was… "I saw that number, and I laughed," he said. "Deron could be above the fray with that sort of high-profile signing. That team might not want to have the reputation of not paying him, but that increases the chances that the other players will leave. If Deron gets his money, a lot of other people on that team aren’t going to get theirs." The Salt Lake Tribune |
| Allred said he’s taken a poll of his peers playing overseas for the past two years: "They’re averaging about half of what they were guaranteed to make. … The finances are going to be risky. Always." The Salt Lake Tribune |
| Beyond the finances are the playing conditions. "NBA players are so used to a posh lifestyle — four-star hotels, traveling accommodations, unlimited towels, Gatorade and everything. You’re so used to the comforts of a nice shower, and masseuses. Every European locker room I’ve ever been in doesn’t even live up to my college locker rooms. There’s grease-stained floors, cockroaches, showerheads that don’t work. Those [fine] kinds of accommodations are gone. The Salt Lake Tribune |
| "Plus, the travel, you’re usually getting on a bus, you don’t have your own private jet, usually. The little things that we tend to forget as NBA players, those are gone in Europe. I’ve known a lot of NBA players who go over and after about a month, they say, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ Even if they’re getting paid, it’s just the living conditions, the apartments they put you in. … You have a lot of NBA players who go over, and they think it’s going to be great and they just kind of disappear. It doesn’t match the lifestyle they want and have in the NBA. "That’s a surprise a lot of NBA players are going to be in for." The Salt Lake Tribune |
| I spoke with several agents on Thursday about the possibility of their players going overseas and heard varying opinions. One prominent agent who represents one of league's top players was completely sold on the idea of players competing for teams in Europe or Asia during the lockout. ESPN.com |
| He said 80 percent of the players in the league are pursuing, considering, or open to the idea of playing overseas. He said agents aren't being forthright publicly about their clients' desires to play overseas because there are only a limited number of opportunities available and they want to keep their negotiations secret. ESPN.com |
| This agent thinks big money awaits players overseas (as much as $1 million per month) and not just in terms of revenue made from playing ball. He also believes the opportunity exists to negotiate favorable merchandising agreements overseas, whereas players would get a significant amount of money from the jersey sales their overseas clubs would generate. ESPN.com |
| For instance, if Kobe Bryant signed with Besiktas in Turkey, can you imagine how many of his Besiktas jerseys would sell worldwide? Even here in the States, my guess is that a Bryant Besiktas jersey would be a huge seller. According to this agent, a player could negotiate a deal that would enable him to get a ton of the money his jersey sales generate. ESPN.com |
| The NBA bargaining table is still empty, with the league's owners too busy digging their heels in to pull up a chair and the players having far too much fun exploring the overseas opportunities to sit in some meaningless meeting right now. SI.com |
| Postcard from Manila: Hey Commish & friends, Having a great time over here in the Philippines! This exhibition game is great stuff -- huge cash for us, fun times for the fans, and it's just the tip of the iceberg if you keep those doors bolted much longer. So nice to feel appreciated. Signed, Your Not-So-Forlorn Stars. SI.com |
| Only time will tell how lucrative and long-lasting the international market will be for NBA players, but their continued pursuit of an alternative hoops existence is the closest thing we have to negotiations at the moment. It's the unofficial kind, of course, but sources on the players' side confirmed the obvious in recent discussions: This isn't merely about making money, but enjoying a slice of autonomy and sending a message to the owners that their league could be forever changed if they don't start moving off their draconian collective bargaining mark. SI.com |
| There are marketing opportunities to discuss and negotiations to be had over possible jersey sales that would almost certainly result in players getting a significant slice of the financial pie that they don't in their agreement with the NBA (although some expect the NBA would challenge the players' ability to sign such deals). There is a fact that seems to always be forgotten, too: playing overseas means not paying taxes. While there are taxes to be paid, several agents with experience doing international deals said they typically negotiate for the team to cover those payments as part of the contract. SI.com |
| Phoenix shooting guard Josh Childress told his cautionary tale to ESPN.com's Ric Bucher for a story on July 12, although it's not hard to find a different version of the same story. While at the Drew League in Los Angeles recently, I asked 26-year-old point guard Bobby Brown about his overseas experience. When he wasn't playing a reserve role for Sacramento, Minnesota, New Orleans and the Clippers from 2008 to 2010, Brown has played for Alba Berlin (Germany), Asseco Prokom Gdynia (Poland), and Aris Thessaloniki (Greece). SI.com |
"These [NBA players] are about to try to go over there, [will] think they're about to get a  certain amount of money and that it's going to be easy, but Europe is not easy at all," Brown said. "Playing [style] wise, ain't nobody about to go over there and get 30 [points per game] or 20 and 10 [rebounds]. The lane, everybody is clogging it up, zoning it up. It's tough...I advise people to go over there not having high expectations, thinking they're about to do whatever or think it's easy because it's not." SI.com |
| Brown's first overseas experience was a dream. His Alba Berlin team won the championship for the 2007-08 season, with Brown averaging 16 points and 4.2 assists per game en route to a two-year guaranteed deal with Sacramento. But his return last year was more of a nightmare. SI.com |
| "It was real different [in Greece]," he said. "The fans are getting the best of players, throwing stuff [on the court] while you're playing, messing the game up, delaying games, [league officials aren't] doing nothing about, the games aren't scheduled on time. SI.com |
| FIBA has confirmed it will approve the transfer of players under contract with the NBA deciding to play for clubs of FIBA affiliated leagues during the on-going lockout. During a lockout NBA players who continue to be under contract with an NBA team are free to play anywhere they want, whether for their national teams and/or for club teams. FIBA.com |
| If an NBA player requests to play for a club of a FIBA affiliated league, the NBA will not object but will state that the player will have to return to his NBA team as soon as the lockout ends. Consequently, FIBA will deliver a letter of clearance subject to the receipt of a declaration signed by the player, stating that he will return to his NBA team when the lockout is over. FIBA.com |
| August, 2011 |
| N.B.A. superstars are in demand, and speculation abounds that they may be about to teach Commissioner David Stern and his truculent owners a lesson they will never forget. But all things considered, probably not. The NY Times |
| “There will be a few players on the high end and a few on the low end that go,” said Billy Hunter, executive director of the National Basketball Players Association. “The vast majority will not get an opportunity, and we have told the players to not believe that Europe or Asia is going to be an elixir here.” The NY Times |
| Since the beginning of the month-old lockout imposed by the owners, the overseas option has wrongly been portrayed as a global hammer. Closer to the truth is that even a handful of high-enders playing abroad is more likely to be an effective means of dividing the union’s alpha haves from the (relative) have-nots. The NY Times |
If all or most of the 450 players actually could take a gap year abroad, the players would  no doubt be in slam-dunk position to use Stern’s global strategy against him. But Marc Fleisher, an agent who primarily represents foreign players, wrote in an e-mail, “This year the Euro teams are really struggling financially, particularly in Greece and Spain, and are far less likely to throw crazy money at N.B.A. players.” The NY Times |
| So what’s a few extra million earned overseas? It’s the overriding symbolism of separation, the preoccupation of the elite, and that’s enough to have a majority of owners (if not Jerry Buss) rooting for Kobe and company to make their day and get on the plane. The NY Times |
| David Stern thinks the only people NBA players are threatening by going overseas is themselves. The NBA Commissioner dismissed the notion that it's a bargaining tactic, warning it could divide the union and possibly jeopardize players' contracts if they were to be seriously injured. ESPN.com |
| Locked out by the league, numerous players have said they would consider playing overseas. Yet Stern tells The Associated Press there are "maybe 10, 15, even 20 players who might, might be able to secure employment, but nothing approaching the NBA system." ESPN.com |
| "I think if anything, I think there's simply no way that the players collectively can generate more than a couple of hundred million dollars and we have a system that has been delivering $2 billion to them," Stern said Tuesday in a phone interview. ESPN.com |
| "When FIBA decided to say that the transfer [of NBA players] will be valid only until the lockout will be over, it was strange," Bertomeu said. "Never in the FIBA history has there been any condition like this. This is very strange." SI.com |
| Bertomeu raised the possibility that FIBA negotiated the terms of its ruling with the NBA. FIBA did not announce its ruling until July 29, almost a full month after the NBA players had been locked out by the owners amid their stalled negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. SI.com |
| "I don't think that FIBA took this position without an agreement with the NBA," Bertomeu said. "That, for me, is impossible. So I think the NBA feels comfortable with the FIBA decision. And in fact, this decision to deliver the talent [after] the lockout is over -- I think it's a protection of the NBA. I don't think FIBA wanted to interfere with the NBA's position, and I think this will help the NBA's position." SI.com |
| This is all happening with a big smile from the NBA’s Players Association, which has known for more than a year now that it needed to have its members better prepared to endure a long lockout than they were in 1998, when the league’s owners were, essentially, able to wait out the players and gain many of the concessions they were seeking. Indeed, the union's strategy is a good one. Sign up players to good contracts overseas, and there will be less incentive to cave in to the owners’ demands. Sporting News |
| The problem, though, is that -- so far, at least -- the overseas threat has done little to add urgency to the CBA negotiations. In fact, it’s not hard to imagine the league’s owners twiddling their thumbs and saying, “Turkey, eh? Send us a postcard.” Yeah, the owners simply aren’t buying it. Sporting News |
| “I don’t think (NBA) teams view this as a huge thing,” one league executive said. “There is a lot more to playing overseas than a lot of guys realize. It’s not an All-Star Game. You’re not going to be pampered. And there isn’t some infinite amount of money out there for these guys to sign for.” Sporting News |
Remember, too, what Stephon Marbury, who played in China last year, told the New York  Post about his experience: “China is not for everybody-- a whole 'nother world,” he said. “I don't think they're going to go there, not the big-time guys. Maybe they'd come for a little bit, but if the season is cancelled for the year, I don't think they'd want to stay. They'll want to go home. … I don't think Carmelo Anthony is going to run like they want to run in practice. They want to run you to death. The first time I got there, they ran in practice for two straight hours. I said, ‘Is that what we have to do every practice?’” Sporting News |
| Even if there were an extraordinary number of NBA players who signed up overseas -- 100, say, including international players -- there would still be more than 300 players without a lockout gig, and that’s a lot of pressure. The international card is a good one to play for the union, but the owners don’t seem particularly scared. Sporting News |
| Foremost, unlike NBA deals, where the agent cut is limited to four percent, agents typically claim 10 percent on overseas deals. At times, that percentage is split with an overseas agent. NBC Sports |
| “The agent fee is 10 percent, paid by the team, not paid by the player,” one agent said, requesting anonymity due to ongoing contentiousness in the process. “So if a player goes over and now he’s getting $100,000, there’s an agent fee of $10,000 that the team pays. Now, sometimes, that gets broken up, there’s a broker overseas, without even getting back into kickbacks.” NBC Sports |
| The agent, though, did get into kickbacks, noting it is not out of the question for an agent to request a 15-percent fee, so he still winds up with the 10 percent after paying off his overseas associate. NBC Sports |
| Unfortunately for me, I've been on far more European road trips than NBA ones. Personally, I am a very easy traveler, and I don't require much. Give me an edible meal and a warm bed at the end of the day and I'm pretty much good to go. Still, there's no denying that trips in Europe (and in other overseas destinations) are not as glamorous as in the NBA. Usually, from my experiences, these trips are bus or train rides, sometimes more than six or eight hours long depending on what country you play in, and at times, much longer. In Israel (my current country of employment) I don't have any bus rides longer than two hours, which is amazing, while one of my friends who plays in South America has bus trips that regularly top 20 hours. I myself have been on many bus rides that were easily 12 or 14 hours long, but the one road trip that sticks out to me from my many years abroad involves taking a plane. SB Nation |
| I was playing in the ACB at the time, the first league in Spain, widely considered to be the best domestic league in the world outside of the NBA. We had a Sunday afternoon game, 12:30 p.m., on the road in the Canary Islands. I woke up the morning of the game around 8 a.m., having already logged eight hours of travel the day before on a bus and plane. The twin bed I'd slept on in my decent-but-by-no-means-swanky hotel room reminded me of the one I had at summer camp when I was 12. Not quite wide enough, not quite long enough, and not at all like the bed I'd slept in at the hotel in Toronto. Also, I didn't have my own room, I had a roommate, and his bed was literally right next to mine, no more than 18 inches away. I think our feet may have touched at one point during the night, but we never spoke about it. If we had, it would've had to be in Spanish, because he didn't speak a word of English. Great guy, pero no habla ingles. SB Nation |
| September, 2011 |
BolognaBasket.it reports that Virtus Bologna, which has been pursuing  Manu Ginobili and who recently signed Chris Douglas-Roberts, has made an offer to Kobe Bryant for $800,000 per home game, or $600,000 net. Which is kind of a lot of money for anyone, even Kobe Bryant. Bryant has previously turned down offers from Besiktas in Turkey and has played the international game cool while repeatedly saying his options remain open. Virtus may be in a better position at most, however, given the fact that Bryant spent a considerable amount of his youth in Italy with his father playing professionally there. CBSSports.com |
You play for a team in Europe, you get a free car. Nice gig, right? Of course, the car will have to have your name on it, which might be embarrassing. And though it'll be a European car, it won't be that sort of European car. It might be a Renault Scenic, which Ty Lawson(notes) will be driving as he plays for a team in Lithuania this season: Ball Don't Lie |
| However, discussions are in limbo until FIBA finds a policy that suits about 60 NBA players - including Bogut - seeking to insure their multi-million dollar contracts so they can play outside the United States. "It is bigger than just Andrew globally," Pamenter told AAP. "There are 60 or 70 guys on contracts valued up to $100 million now who are trying to get themselves around the world while this lockout drags on. Ninemsn.com |
Using euros as the currency, and figuring for net income, i.e.  after taxes, as of September 25th, 2011, the top 10 highest-paid players in European professional club basketball for the 2011-12 season are:1 (tie). Mehmet Okur, Turk Telekom Ankara – €3.5 million net income 1 (tie). Deron Williams, Beşiktaş – €3.5 million 3 (tie). Nenad Krstic, CSKA Moscow – €3.0 million 3 (tie). Rudy Fernandez, Real Madrid – €3.0 million 5. Ersan Ilyasova, Efes Istanbul – €2.7 million Ball in Europe |
| Now the key is to use the formula that NBA agents use for converting this into the equivalent salary in the NBA. They use 1.42 as a yearly average to convert euros to US dollars and a 2.0 mark is employed to convert the salary into gross income terms (again, before taxes), as NBA contracts are listed in gross terms. European contracts are listed in the amount of money earned after taxes are deducted, and the European clubs also cover tax and accounting fees for the players. This figures in that NBA players have an average of local taxes deducted from all 30 NBA cities. (Yes, even players that playing in areas with no state tax still pay the local taxes from where they play a given game is played.) In North America, federal taxes are deducted and players pay their agent fees (as opposed to policy of most clubs in Europe, which pay agents for the players), NBA union fees, and fees for the NBA retirement fund. Ball in Europe |
| So, you take the net euros income and multiply by 1.42 for average yearly conversion into US dollars and then by multiply by 2.0 to figure the net income difference as opposed to gross income contracts like in the NBA. Then bonuses received by European players such as living quarters, car and/or driver, maids, expenses/utilities paid by the club, etc., may be added. These perks vary from club to club, but we can figure in that amount in addition to salary because NBA teams do not pay for such amenities. The 2.0 multiplier is actually in most cases a conservative estimate as in most cases, it is actually even higher than double in terms of difference between gross and net income. Using these bonuses from particular clubs, applying multipliers, and rounding the figures (as is customary among NBA agents), we get the following as the top 10 NBA salary equivalents in European pro club basketball: 1. Deron Williams – $10.3 million per season NBA salary equivalent 2. Mehmet Okur – $10 million 3 (tie). Nenad Krstic – $8.9 million 3 (tie). Rudy Fernandez – $8.9 million 5. Ersan Ilyasova – $8.1 million Ball in Europe |
| Agent Happy Walters confirmed hoopCHINA’s report that his client Earl Clark is leaving the Zhejiang Lions of the Chinese League. According to Walters, the contract is going to be voided because Clark, whose girlfriend is pregnant, is going back to the States due to 'personal reasons.' "They have been very cool and cooperative about it because they understand the reasons,” Walters said.Hoopshype.com |
| Rijay Wang: Earl Clark has decided to leave Zhejiang,because he can not get used to Chinese food ,sources said. http://news.hoopchina.com/201109… Twitter |
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