Across the Atlantic Part II

On the colour commentary front, I am ecstatic that Jack is back.

As much as I love Jack, I loathe Leo, but he is so entrenched at this point, there seems to be no way to get rid of him.

I sent a note to Matt Devlin wishing him well, and he responded back to me. It took him weeks though when Swirsky found a way to get back in minutes, and always the same day.

This just reinforces that Swirsky was a beast in responding to inquiries and his passion for the game and IMO will be tough to replace, cheesisms and all.

Hopefully Devlin's play by play will work for me. From what I can tell he is not a homer, which is a plus, and often gives more credit to opposing players than his own team he is covering, which will be a radical change from Swirsky.

He does call a game straight up, and has a more laid back approach than Swirsky, which will take some getting used to.

I asked Devlin to get MLSE to get the rights to some of his calls and post them on the Raptors website. He told me that he loved that suggestion, and is working on it.

Yes, Chuck was over the top sometimes and I know die hard b-ball fans didn't like him but in hockey mad Canada he was fine for the casual fan.

I e-mailed him several times last year and he always got back to me same day/next day. I will miss that kind of dedication to the fans.

As for being able to go overseas I say more power to the players. Why should they play for free in college while the school soaks up millions of dollars in donations, booster support, tickets etc?

You gotta make hay while the sun is shining and having talent skip over the pond to play in Europe might change the exploitive system that is NCAA b-ball.

Just as an FYI on the Devlin issue, I have spoken to him and he doesn't have a blackberry yet. After talking with him I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised with his commitment and passion for the game.

I'm gunna miss the first half salami and cheese calls!!

I wanted to comment about the young players to Europe trend. I think that this is a good thing for these young men and David Stern is being bitten in the ass. His age limit policy was well intentioned: he wanted to see basketball players use their on-court abilities to acquire a university education that they could fall back on in case basketball didn't work out, which it doesn't for many. The NCAA was along for the ride of course because they were just looking out for their bottom line.

The best question raised in this article is whether players will leave high school to go get paid in europe. It is my understanding that this is what happens with soccer prospects in Europe (like Wayne Rooney playing for Everton at 16). Stern's policy robbed players of valuable years of earning by forcing them to play in the NCAA. Professional sports is for the young; what's the average age of retirement for a basketball player, 30? If someone is good enough to get paid to play ball then they should try to make as much money as possible because who knows when a Shaun Livingston or Garbo incident will happen and ruin your future earning potential?

Frankly, I think that the NCAA are the biggest jerk-offs in all of this. They're getting paid millions of advertising dollars because people love to watch the games, yet they refuse to share the earning with the players? Full scholarships hardly suffice in my opinion. If the NCAA wants to compete with European clubs for the services of these players then they need to pay them accordingly AND provide them with an education, that is of course if they want it. If one-and-done players were out of the NCAA and in Europe that would leave more opportunity for people who WANT a university education and need to use their athletic skills to pay for it.

A final thought: if NBA teams are so worried about future players being "locked-in" to a European club maybe they should be investing their money in a financially competitive alternative, the NBDL. If they could offer prospects similar wages to European clubs (it would be more of an investment for the future) and they could groom players close to home, even if they haven't finished high school. I liken it to the Football Academies of European Clubs. Players could be drafted on potential and not be expected to contribute on the NBA level right away but they'd still be getting paid their due. This would also have the effect of upping the skill-level in the league and providing more paying jobs for vetrans.

For anyone interested, I'm starting to twitter raptors news.
http://twitter.com/raptorsnews

The dumbassed handling of the American economy by its lords is creating a very American situation for the NBA. With the dollar being the God in America, you can't expect American kids to stick to the college route when big dollars (and everything else that goes with it) await overseas. As it is, even the education system tells kids that they should stay in school so that they can get good jobs afterwards.
"Hey teach, I'm making A Million Euros next year. I don't know what that is in American, but I know it's more than you make."
It sounds like the kids Europe will attract the most are those that can't keep even minimal grade levels. With the clauses to "opt out" and enter the draft, it takes away the incentive for the Euro teams to concern themselves with the social development and stability of these kids. These kids are going to be ripe for the exploiting.

When I first started to hear all this talk about NBA-skilled players going to play in Europe I thought Why?

Why would you give up the opportunity to play against world class players like Kobe and LeBron. So what if I ONLY make $800 000 doing so? That's about $750 000 more than the average person is making, why would I ever consider anything else?

The truth is in Europe you could BE the Kobes and the Lebrons while making equivalent to what they are making.

What a lot of players are comtemplating is Do I want to play WITH kobe, or do i want to BE kobe?

I think it will be very hard to pass up Superstardom (even if it's in Europe) and an even bigger paycheque and I would not be surprised to see more and more follow this road

Great post guys. Wow, I think this is could be huge. Maybe I’m wrong but I think most of the best high school prospects are doing the "one and done" NCAA thing not because they want to try university life but because they really have no other choice. Now they have a choice. And I don’t think it’s just the ones who may have academic eligibility issues. It’s really a chance to play and get paid straight out of high school and not worry about attending classes (which they may or may not do anyway) or play and defer getting paid for one year. I’m not even sure it has to be big money in Europe. Anything they get is more than they would get during their year in the NCAA. If I remember correctly part of the argument when the age limit on the draft was introduced was that emotionally some of these high school players would not be ready for the pressure of a full NBA season or managing the change in lifestyle that comes with having large amounts of money. If the NBA thought that would be tough to do on American soil, image doing it in a foreign country with language and culture differences. What will be interesting is how many of the contacts allow players to get out after one year or will they need to commit for multiple years. I would love to be a fly on the wall in David Stern’s office.

Doug Smith posted 45 games Jack, 37 games Leo. I was hoping for 82 Jack, Leo 0 but at least Jack will do more than Leo.

This is a great story you have posted here, Franchise. Very interesting to see the consequences downstream.

Really, why do basketball players "need" an education right from high school?

Heck, what's to stop them from getting a couple mil, and then going to Harvard after they play for a few years, if they even need to?

How many times have you heard of a former basketball player as a manager somewhere? They are usually the business OWNERS, and they hire the managers who had to goto school. With a million or two, absolutely, I could have my own business with enough annual revenue to keep me going comfortably.

Follow the money. Easemypain is right though - you are probably going to hear some horror stories as these kids get caught up in drugs, gangs, the underworld, Russian mafia etc etc. Many of these kids come out of some pretty rough backgrounds, and with this kind of money being thrown at them, some no doubt will wig out.

But hey, poetic justice. Many blacks were brought over as slaves, i.e. for no money. And now 250 years later, they are being offered millions to go back across the pond.

In a very small way it kinda balances the financial karma a bit. More power to 'em!

He's a Rocket, man: Artest to be traded to Houston

July 30 -- Ron-Ron is about to be gone-gone.

A source close to the Kings said Tuesday a trade has been agreed upon sending Ron Artest to Houston for former Sacramento point guard Bobby Jackson, first-round draft pick Donte Greene, next season's first-round pick and cash considerations of approximately $1 million.

Gerry,
in theory you are right, on the other hand giving a few million dollars to manage to a 17 to 18 yo guy is not necessarily leading to a wise money management. For all things you need some experience and managing lots of money makes no exception. Having you pockets full of dollars, or even better, euros is something you need to learn to cope with, as strange as it may sounds. The best proof is most NBA players go bankrupt a few years after stopping playing. I my opinion David Stern is right, he just got cough by surprise by globalization. For the European league, this should be something to manage, unfortunately, the first step for them would be to stop being hypocrites and declare themselves as professionals at the opposite of amateurs and establish a similar age limit themselves.

Gerry,
I want to clear some things up. Firstly, slaves were kidnapped from Africa and brought to America. Very few actually went to Europe.
Secondly, a number of the NBA players that went over to Europe this year were actually NOT black (Delfino, Kristic).
Thirdly, your implication that since most NBA players are black they must come from rough backgrounds and hence they will probably get caught up in drugs and gangs is downright offensive.

Dont read between the lines - theirs nothing there. The discussion was about premier high schoolers skipping college for big bucks in Europe. Quick and easy money always has the potential for trouble in any industry in any country for any race. The problem is there is no support system setup (to date) to help these kids manage their money and fame overseas like there is in college or the NBA. Try to contribute to the conversation a bit next time.

I really didn't have to read between the lines, he wrote it all out for us. Just see below.
Follow the money. Easemypain is right though - you are probably going to hear some horror stories as these kids get caught up in drugs, gangs, the underworld, Russian mafia etc etc. Many of these kids come out of some pretty rough backgrounds, and with this kind of money being thrown at them, some no doubt will wig out.

But hey, poetic justice. Many blacks were brought over as slaves, i.e. for no money. And now 250 years later, they are being offered millions to go back across the pond.

I'm a hockey and soccer fan too, and I should point out that no one ever talks about these young soccer and hockey guys straight out of highschool getting in gang trouble or having trouble managing their money.

surprised no one is commenting on will solomon. sounds like exactly what we needed in a backup. he could be better than ukic. hopefully he'll contribute something in limited minutes. it's a nice final piece, if not a huge one. but maybe another diamond in the rough find from BC.

speaking of whom, i'm still a fan of his. his track record is fascinating, but what i like about him is he doesn't just stick with the obvious, the formulaic. forgive the cliche, but he thinks outside the proverbial box, and he's not afraid to take risks. i'm excited about the team he's put together for this year, will be fun to watch and should be a considerable improvement over last year.

Dave S - Some great follow-up points and I completely agree. One of the reasons the European National Teams caught up to the US is because they don't have this pretend system in place where talented basketball players go through a collegiate system that tries to force them to be students. Not everyone in the NBA is a Shane Battier type. The choice should be the player's and while I'm all for higher education, why not let players start their "pro" careers as soon as they want? The US right now has no bridging system and that's where the lack of fundamentals becomes so apparent. There's a reason that every year the players in the draft with the best "upside" are also the one-and-done NCAA stars who are typically labelled as "raw." (Translation - a lack of fundamentals.)

That's probably a whole other article but for now it's simply good to see some other options for these kids. And something else to consider...wouldn't there be way less draft horror stories concerning kids who come out of college too early? Now, if a highschooler jumps to a European team and can't handle the competition there, then he probably needs some more seasoning before the NBA.

Andre - The HQ is on Twitter so hit us up!

Tomorrow we'll be talking about Artest and some other free agent tales in more detail...oh...and discussing next year's schedule!

I don't see any need for the NCAA to try and "compete" with European leagues. Right now they have a monopoly as a kind of "finishing school" for NBA hopefuls.

Giving players the option of earning a living right out of high school without having to enroll in university mirrors the real world, as it should.
Two other sports leagues, MLB and NHL, offer a two tier approach for high school graduates. In the NHL your drafted according to birth year, and can either take/continue the college route or "go pro" by signing a contract with both a minor and major league salary.

In MLB, you sign a similar "two tier" contract once you decide to start your professional career.

The NBA is slightly different, since once you are drafted in the first round, you get an NBA salary right away. This makes it in the league's best interests to put up as many barriers as they can towards early entry, thereby allowing the players to develop on someone else's time/roster.

I think there is a key difference in terms of FIFA player development. The first team to sign a player owns their rights across ALL leagues across the world, regardless of whether the player is currently signed to a contract or not. This is why transfer payments are often required when a team wants another team's player. In this situation the team that's doin g the developing is also the team that will reap the rewards down the line.

If only the top Greg Oden type high schoolers head overseas, so be it. That demographic will also be the same ones that hurry back across the pond when their drafted, to minimize the amount of time until their second NBA contract. Players in the next tier will have to weigh the benefits of turning pro right away in Europe vs. going the NCAA route. The NCAA still seems to be doing fine in both baseball and hockey, so I don't think giving players the choice will lead to its demise.

As far as players leaving while still in high school, I can't see a European team wasting that kind of development time when they don't own the players rights like Euro soccer teams do. How many 16 year or 17 year olds make an impact in Euro proleagues? Aside from Ricky Rubio, I can't think of any others.

OneandDone:

I said many, not most. There is a difference, maybe you missed it.

US soccer players drafted out of high school to play in Europe? Can you name ONE kid, without looking it up? For this kind of money?

Slaves from Africa. Gee, you're right. I didn't know. I said "back across the pond." For your information, the Atlantic extends from the tip of South America to the tip of Norway.

troubled backgrounds: you think Bill Cosby was blowing smoke when he said that the biggest problems facing blacks was absent fathers? Obama said the same thing. It is not politically correct, and if you want to be offended, go ahead: stick your head in the sand, and ignore the demographics.

I do owe an apology to Franchise for taking this offtopic: but this issue though is racialy tinged, and if you can't air opinions on a blog, where can you?

gerry and yardly, the answer is even simpler, it's time for US college athletes to start getting paid. It's huge business now, the schools get rich off it and not only do the athletes bear all the risk, the NBA rules all but force them to play. It's greedy and wrong. Now I'm not saying start throwing millions at them, but it's absurd to me that these scools get away with this. Something structured, like a set amount for a school maybe based on income and the players are award a percentage based on their deal with the school.

axl, I think what needs to happen is that fans stop going to buy tickets and merchandise. Why would I ever pay 200 bucks to take my family to see a game, from the nosebleeds, eating crap food? Why would I pay 150 for a jersey made in a sweatshop somewhere for 59 cents?

The perpetual money-making machine that is professional sports riding on the back of the media has made this monster. And it seems like the average fan is willing to sit and take it.

Why should Baston get paid 2 million for sitting on a bench? Why should some high-school duff who can put a ball in a hoop get paid millions (no, I am NOT saying b-ball players are ALL duffs, just that jocks are not known to be academically inclined)?

We have a ballooning national deficit, can't find jobs for enough people at salaries that people can actually live on; yet, we are contemplating paying kids to study in HS, and paying kids to play BBall in university?

Universities need to be in the business of education. Not in "education" to make business.

The whole idea of proportion, of fairness, of the reality of the common person, not even an item for discussion. We are living in an absurd world.

Nice thought, gerry but I think capitalism is here to stay. I can see governments legislating basic needs like food and shelter and even education out of the system, but basketball is a business and business really just keeps the world going. I'd rather people worked 25 or 30 hrs/wk but it's the only system we got.

You say universities need to stick to education and that's the idealism that they use as an excuse to rip off players and keep all the money, when it's the players that do the actual work and generate the profits.

Wow, way off topic... sorry people.