http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3520860
This is a bizarre story about how LeBron would consider playing in Europe for $50 million a season. I'm not sure the story ever defends the premise; it's not clear that any team would be capable of paying that sum. (It's 32 million euros, by the way.)
DaggerofChrist unmasked
I'd do it. Become the uncontested greatest person to play international, win a championship practically every year,make tons of dough, AND eat greek food? Sounds a lot better than playing for a shitty team in Brooklyn, Jay-Z or No-Z.
Sign me up, I'm going Euro baby
Last edited by Famous Police Dog; August 6, 2008 at 7:00 AM.
Favre is officially done with the Packers. Leading trade candidates are Tampa Bay and the New York Jets.
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/...SFRONTCAROUSEL
I'm starting to get the feeling that Lebron is a disloyal, money-hungry egomaniac. Maybe I'm late on this.
"It's business."
That should be a mandatory tattoo for all incoming NBA rookies.
This seems like a huge non story. They interviewed the writer yesterday, on the radio. He was even down playing it.Originally Posted by TomHicks
Of course LeBron would have to consider it. It is $50 million dollars for a year of basketball!!! It is a retarded question. What are the odds some team would actually pony that up? Zero? Less then zero? Super negative zero? Plus LeBron did not say it "Someone very close" did. It could be one of his 3 barbers for all we know.
"Not the victory but the action. Not the goal but the game. In the deed the glory."
I agree with your sentiment. There is definitely a much cool calculated over feel to the young players these days. I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. They seem to avoid trouble better then in the past. They all have been coached up by PR people so they don't say stupid shit as much. Some are even given comedy classes.
Hopefully it will not take away from the passions they have for the game. The last thing I want is a league full of Roger Dorns.
Last edited by Americas Team; August 6, 2008 at 12:31 PM.
"Not the victory but the action. Not the goal but the game. In the deed the glory."
What's one good reason Lebron shouldn't do this if given the opportunity?
Offshoring
Winter is Coming: Summer 2011.
Maybe there isn't one, and if I were him I'd probably do it, but the myth of the American pro athlete is built on the premise that they care about being the best (and beating the best) more than anything else. That myth is exploded if a guy leaves the most competitive league to play against lesser players just because he can make more money. If you believe that winning an NBA championship still means something to players, even in this era of me-first free agency business-ball, then the flip side of the coin is that winning a championship in a Russian or Italian league means nothing.
It's similar to what happens in soccer, where players often move between the English Premier League, the "softer" Spanish La Liga, or maybe the German Bundesliga, and their attitude towards their employer seems much more mercenary than in American pro sports, where there's still lip service paid to the concept of team pride and commitment to a club. (This isn't across the board, but it's more prevalent because there are multiple top-tier soccer leagues with rich franchises in Europe.) The difference is, in soccer the bigger deal is playing for the national team in international play -- that's where players' hearts are, not with the clubs who pay them so well. Even with the renewed commitment seen from this year's U.S. Olympic basketball team, that just isn't the case with Americans. No one thinks winning a gold medal is more impressive than winning an NBA championship. That could change as other countries get more competitive, but right now the ultimate prize is where the best competition is found, and if you're not involved in the pursuit of that prize, you're basically irrelevant.
Put philosophically: if LeBron dunks in a club game in Barcelona, does it make a sound?
I see that point, but if you have the opportunity to further popularize the game globally and expand your marketing prowess by playing a year or two in Europe, the long-term impact could exceed that of winning an NBA championship, which is unlikely anyhow. As the article said, if he goes to Europe, I don't think he'd play the rest of his career there.
If he did it, I'd say he'd have a chance to overtake Tiger in terms of global awareness and popularity. As Tiger has shown with his Tiger Woods Foundation and his long-term philanthropic tendencies, that can go a long way toward bringing about positive change in the world that means more than NBA scoring titles. I'm not sure if Lebron has those same aspirations, but if he does, he's got to at least consider the European option if it presents itself.
if lebron goes to europe, i think that will legitimize playing ball overseas to many players. and my ultimate hope from all of that is there is a tournament at the end of every nba season where the champions from each league in the world faces off for a world championship. basketball will be played 12 months a year and i won't be bored out of my fucking mind during baseball season.
if you thought that sports joke was hilarious, check out the sports jokes at http://ghostwrittenbywilbon.tumblr.com and http://www.twitter.com/ghostbon!
Yes, but only in Barcelona.
I have a lot of thoughts on this (could he take the same route Beckham did?), but want to point out one thing right now. Not all of major professional American sports are like this. All the athletes aren't mercenaries.
May I present to you, the National Hockey League. Case in point. Marion Hossa (formerly of the Eastern Conference Champion Pittsburgh Penguins) was the TOP free agent forward on the market this summer. Offers for Hossa's services were reported to be upwards of 10 million a year. Vancouver made public an offer for 20.25 million for two years. This isn't the NFL folks, that's guranteed money. Hossa signed with the Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings (I love typing that) for one year at 7.25 million. He bypassed a huge payday, and security for what he feels is the best chance to win his first Stanley Cup.
So don't lose hope. There still are athletes who are more than just mercenaries for hire.
The Euroleagues aren't even close to being as competitive as the NBA. If Earl Boykins is the highest paid player in Italy, that should tell you the state of Italian basketball.
If Lebron went over there, it would make him look awful. Not only would he be proven to be a money-grubber, but he'd look like a chump for playing against weak competition and selling out his country.
The Euroleagues don't pose a threat to the NBA at all. But, I hope they keep subtly draining the talent pool in the NBA, so we can get rid of a few teams and have a more interesting league. Just shave a 3 or 4 teams right off and integrate the players into the rest of the league.
Stern will never allow that, since it would interfere with his plan to expand the NBA into Europe and put the NBA brand on everything b-ball related worldwide. Also, players need an off-season. But I'm all for shortening the NBA playoffs and having an international club tournament in the summer... just give the rest of the leagues another decade to catch up to the NBA. If the money's there, the players will follow, and then we might see global parity. I still think there will be lingering cache to playing in America though, esp. for American stars. Just like England has the cache of being soccer's birthplace (which probably means more to Brits than anyone else), the U.S. will retain that same status for hoops.
As for a star going overseas, I think a more realistic scenario would be Kobe playing in Italy when he's like 36 and still able to do some things, but past his prime in NBA terms. Sort of like Beckham coming to the Galaxy -- it would be a big story worldwide, but the game is bigger than one player, and it's not going to be the difference between success and failure for a whole league or the sport's global rise. (Luckily, unlike soccer in the U.S., basketball really is exploding overseas, and I assume it will continue to do so with or without American stars involved. It's just a great sport to watch, live or on TV.)
I just like the LeBron story because of how journalism works: I'm sure the NBA beat reporters write daily pitches they send to their editors. And that one reporter had to write up some pitches and he wrote, LeBron said this "..." I can make a little blurby story about it so we have something to post. And the editor said, Fuck, we ain't got nothing better. So write it up.
I think Kobe Bryant would leave the Lakers this season to play in Europe for $50 million. He could pay the Lakers back his almost $20 million and still be up about $10 million.
Did you see Kwame Brown is a Piston? I feel sorry for him now. He seemed to have so much potential that he just squandered and he will have to settle for being paid only $4 million a season. I think it's a good lesson for incoming players that if you dog it in practice and on the court you can only expect to be a multi-millionaire. Instead of multi-jazillionaire.
DaggerofChrist unmasked
kwame brown looks stupid. just look at him.
Lebron has an equal chance of winning an NBA Championship while playing in St. Petersburg as he does playing for the Nets and the Knicks.
That would be great but I doubt Stern would ever be up for a league contraction. He would rather move teams to Omaha and Providence before he does that.The Euroleagues don't pose a threat to the NBA at all. But, I hope they keep subtly draining the talent pool in the NBA, so we can get rid of a few teams and have a more interesting league. Just shave a 3 or 4 teams right off and integrate the players into the rest of the league.
LeBron will never win anything unless he takes a pay cut so they can actually afford to build a team around him. I hate these guys who wine about wanting to win so bad but refuse to actually help the team by being paid 70 million dollars instead of 80 million dollars. What difference could that make to them personally? I understand this need to take care of your family, but unless you're trying to ensure that your great-great-great-great grand kids have platinum rocket-packs then I don't see how it oculd make a difference.
I was just reading that there are clues in the advance schedule that OKC will in fact be called the Thunder. Anyone want to wager on their intro music? I'll take AC/DC Thunderstruck.
You've been....THUNDERSTRUCK!
(Why don't keyboards have lightning bolt keys so you can spell AC/DC properly. They way god intended?)
Last edited by Harry Bongers; August 7, 2008 at 6:45 AM.
What was the best concert you've been to?
-- Probably Sade. It was just so sexy and relaxing.
Brett Favre is officially a New York Jet.
" McCarthy told reporters Tuesday that after approximately six hours of what he called "brutally honest" conversations over two days, the coach had determined that Favre doesn't have the right mindset to play for the Packers.
McCarthy said Favre couldn't seem to get past emotional wounds that were opened as tensions mounted in recent weeks -- even with the chance to win his starting job back potentially on the table."
Ugh, what an asshole. I hope he fails miserably and ends his career watching Kellen Clemens get sacked seven times a game.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
