Role Players Cashing In AbroadBy:

It’s official – the NBA has a big problem on its hands. This problem goes beyond dress code and player image, fixed games, gambling, and officiating scandals.

The NBA is losing players to Europe, a huge dilemma for the League as a business and as a product on the court.

It wasn’t a huge cause for concern when former Grizzly Juan Carlos Navarro and former Raptors Carlos Delfino and Jorge Garbojosa headed back overseas after short-lived, mildly successful NBA campaigns that saw them make less money while getting less playing time. It wasn’t a major concern when Boki Nachbar, a valuable role player for the Nets, took a 15 million dollar contract to play in Russia instead of settling for a smaller contract.

The Brandon Jennings situation caught everyone’s attention, but that’s a different issue altogether, affecting the NCAA more than the NBA because he will still be eligible for the 2009 NBA Draft just as he would if he went to college.

But yesterday, with Josh Childress signing a lucrative, multi-year deal in Greece, the lure of Europe became a major concern.

This isn’t Dominique Wilkins and Bob McAdoo heading abroad at the end of their careers. This isn’t Trajan Langdon relocating after failing to make it in the NBA.

This is a former #6 overall pick, fresh off completing his rookie contract with a solid statistical season for an up-and-coming Atlanta Hawks team, opting to sign in Europe. This is a young, American player with significant talent and potential choosing to take the money in Greece.

“The NBA had better be careful,” Nachbar said after signing in Russia. “European teams are offering a lot of money. It’s much more than I could make signing for the midlevel exception.”

In recent years, the world has caught up to us from a basketball standpoint, but now it is catching up financially. It’s been reported that there are several European clubs (most notably in Greece, Russia, Spain, and Italy) that have a lot of money to offer players, perhaps more than the NBA is willing to offer. European agent Herb Rudoy predicts that a major NBA talent will opt for Europe in the coming years, but it’s doubtful that a superstar still in his prime would make that move.

First, superstars in the NBA will never have a problem getting paid. Second, they are way too competitive to settle for playing against inferior competition. Maybe guys like Stephon Marbury will go, but does anyone really care if Europe steals away our troublesome, cancerous, basket cases, even if they are great talents? I don’t.

What I care about, and what the NBA should care about, is that with this abundance of money in Europe, the NBA could lose a lot of quality role players: lesser-known starters and important reserves that will receive offers from European clubs that are substantially better than the offers they’d receive over here.

Josh Childress is the perfect example. He’s averaged 11 points and 6 rebounds per game in four NBA seasons. He helped the Hawks make the playoffs this past season and push the eventual champion Boston Celtics to seven games. He is a quality player, a starter on some teams, and all summer long, the Hawks front office said that retaining Childress (along with Josh Smith) was priority #1.

According to ESPN, they offered Childress a contract with a first year of about $5.5 million, slightly more than the midlevel exception. Olympiakos offered a three-year deal that will pay Childress more than $7 million per year. It’s a no-brainer.

Instead of being a role player for a team that will perennially contend for an 8-seed and getting knocked out in the first round of the playoffs, he will make more money and be a star for one of the best clubs in Europe. He will get more playing time, giving him the opportunity to improve his game. He will make a name for himself in Europe, and when his deal is up, he will have the chance to get a bigger NBA contract if he decides to come back. If I’m Josh Childress, I make the same decision ten times out of ten.

With Childress making this shocking move, look for more solid NBA players to opt for stardom and riches in Europe over mediocrity in America. With the economy the way that it is, and the luxury tax scaring owners to death, teams are being far more careful with their money than in the past. That’s why Donnie Walsh was brought to New York and why Marcus Camby was given to the Clippers for literally nothing. Furthermore, with the big free agent class of 2010 only two summers away, teams are not willing to offer long-term deals worth more than the midlevel to solid contributors.

Childress, Garbojosa, Navarro, Nachbar, and Delfino have already made the move, and reports show that Nenad Krstic is considering his options abroad. And don’t be surprised if more players, American or international, do the same thing, if not this summer than next.

How can the NBA fix this problem? Right now, their hands are tied. NBA teams can’t compete with the Euro and the other benefits that European teams can offer (housing, cars, tax breaks, etc.) However, they can make a few changes that would make the NBA more attractive.

The first is the elimination of the restricted free agent. The phrase itself is a contradiction. Restricted players do not have the mobility to go out and get a contract or field offers that unrestricted players do. Childress has spent the entire summer waiting for a deal, but his restriction granted the Hawks the opportunity to weigh their options while waiting to make him an offer. However, restricted free agent status means nothing when the player is negotiating with a team overseas. So instead of sitting around all summer and settling for a smaller deal, Childress went out and got the contract he wanted.

Most teams typically deal with their restricted free agents the way the Hawks did with Childress, waiting until the last minute to either make or match an offer. But, unless David Stern does something soon, more restricted free agents might very well follow Childress’ lead and bolt for Europe rather than waiting around all summer for an offer.

The second thing that needs to be dealt with is the drafting of international players. Most of these guys are professionals in Europe, making good money while playing significant minutes for good clubs. Why would they want to come over to the NBA after getting drafted in the late 20s? The rookie scale gives no flexibility for negotiating, so it’s no surprise that guys like Tiago Splitter would opt to sign a lucrative deal in Europe rather than coming over to the Spurs to make less than $2 million dollars per year in accordance with the rookie salary scale.

“[Splitter] wanted to come [to the NBA],” Rudoy said. “But his team made him an offer that he couldn’t say no to.”

The reason I like the rookie salary scale in the NBA is that it doesn’t allow players that have never played a pro game to come in demanding money like they do in the NFL. However, a lot of international players that get drafted are already pros and can make more money if they stay overseas. Why would they want to settle for the standard contract for a 25th pick when they could make a lot more playing in Italy? Stern needs to address this, or else the best international players will stay in Europe.

The NBA has some work to do before more of its players hop a plane and head to Italy, Greece, Spain, or Russia to cash in on the names they’ve built over here. Because if that happens, if Childress sets a trend, there will be a significant drop off in talent and quality of play, which is the last thing that the NBA needs amidst all its other current problems.