NBA not worried as role players bolt for Europe

Discussion in 'NBA General' started by pegs, Jul 27, 2008.

  1. pegs

    pegs My future wife.

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>"If soccer was able to bring David Beckham to the United States, I don't think you're that far from one of the superstars going to play in Europe," said Rade Filipovich, an international basketball expert and agent for the Bill Duffy Agency, which represents a cross-section of top American and international NBA players. "People maybe are going to call me a dreamer. but FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, right now, they can compete with any NBA team."

    He means athletically and financially. The former is debatable, but the latter was at the crux of Childress' decision to walk away from NBA restricted free agency and sign a three-year, $20-million deal with Greek power Olympiakos.</div>
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>"I think that the NBA is going to remain for a very long time the place where the best players in the world play," said Joel Litvin, NBA president of league and basketball operations.

    Keith Glass, an agent and Hewlett High School graduate who wrote the hilarious book "Taking Shots" about what really happens in the NBA, calls this arrogance.

    "The NBA operates very similar to the federal government," Glass said. "They're arrogant, and they think that they're the only show in town."</div><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>
    James Posey, a high-profile free agent from the defending champion Boston Celtics, turned down the same three-year, $20-million offer from Olympiakos and took less money from the Hornets.

    His agent, Mark Bartelstein, cited credibility issues with European contracts. In the past, some euro teams have paid players late or failed to honor the full value of deals.


    "There is no players association over there, so you're on an island when you sign there," Bartelstein said. "They've got to address making sure that when someone signs a contract, there's not even a shadow of a doubt that they'll honor it. If they do that, then they'll compete for top players in the NBA."


    The approach in the league office is: "Wake us up when LeBron signs with CSKA Moscow." But Filipovich believes role players are the first wave.

    "You can call them average players or whatever, but they still have roles on the team and they're a very important part of the team," Filipovich said. "Maybe they are not Kobe Bryant or LeBron James or Kevin Garnett. But without them, you can't play this game."</div>

    NBA not worried as role players bolt for Europe

    I'm worried. At times, I find myself rooting more for the role players than for the stars. I hope this doesn't continue.
     

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