Knicks Knacks

The price of success

July

It was only a matter of time.

For the last decade, the NBA has been diligently promoting the game of basketball on a global scale and the audience is growing exponentially. In some parts of the world, the sport is thriving. Ask the international scouts. There are now a dozen teams in Europe in position to pay for marquee players.

Josh Childress just signed a three-year deal worth $20 million with Olympiakos in Greece, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

It’s apparently more than what the Hawks were comfortable offering.

There’s little risk of losing established stars to overseas markets, but we shouldn’t be surprised if other rotation players follow suit and grab the money. It’s tax free. With a salary cap to deal with, NBA teams cannot get into bidding wars over mid-level free agents who believe they’re being undervalued.

We all laughed at the notion, but there’s a chance Stephon Marbury will earn another pile of money if he follows through and heads for Italy next season.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 at 4:01 pm by Mike Dougherty.
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5 Responses to “The price of success”

Not Hawthorne Wingo July 23rd, 2008 at 4:49 pm
I disagree, I think there is a chance sometime in the next five years (perhaps after the next CBA) a superstar will go overseas and I hope it happens. It’ll be better for the NBA and basketball in general in terms of raising the skill level of the game. I’d love to see a world club championship so we could have a true world champion. Hey, maybe by then the Knicks will be in contention, hey it could happen.
ScottD July 24th, 2008 at 6:48 am
Mike,

What do you mean when you state that the money is “tax free”
Adam L July 24th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Gotta say Mike D, I love your point at the end about Steph. Its true, we all laughed at pointed to that statement about playing in Italy as one of the looniest things he has ever said. Now just 12 months later it actually seems pretty sensible and plausible, and Steph looks like a forward thinking trend-setter. Did he just get lucky, or did he actually know what he was talking about?

ScottD- When foreign citizens make money in European countries through a work contract, they don’t have to pay taxes on their paychecks. In the US, everyone gets taxes taken out of their paycheck. I believe there is a way to get that refunded here too if you are not from the US. But for Americans like Childress, not only is the contract more money, its like an additional 30% on top of that because of no taxes. Whereas in the US a $10mil deal might come out to $7mil or so after taxes, in Europe a $15mil deal is actually $15 mil!

Wow, I want a job in Europe. Know any high-paying non-profits over there looking to sign an experienced vet to a long-term deal??? I can shoot too.
fridayjones July 24th, 2008 at 9:50 am
The NHL is going to experience the same thing as well. But what’s driving this even more is the weak US dollar. The currencies in Europe, like the Euro, make for stronger financial states for the European teams, so they can offer competitive contracts.

If the economy rebounds here over the next few years, I don’t think many NBA players will get as many offers to play overseas.
JohnDoe July 28th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
That would be a nice way to get rid of our point guard. Can we trade him to Italy now?

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