Will the NBA’s Trickle to Europe Become a Flood?
NBA July 23rd. 2008, 12:50pm
Late Sunday, an extremely random and perplexing story appeared over at Yahoo Sports – Atlanta Hawks’ sixth-man Josh Childress was entertaining the idea of playing in Greece. Huh?
Three days later, Childress is gone – just like the Hawks’ hopes for a return to the playoffs next year. In a move that trumps the Baron Davis and Elton Brand moves earlier this month, Childress will be playing for Olympiakos next season, and when he’s not island-hopping, he’ll be enjoying his lucrative deal that apparently exceeds 3-years, $20 million (the Hawks were offering 5-years for $33 million according to the AJC).
In theory, it’s win-win for the former 6th overall pick from Stanford: Much more money now, Greece destroys Atlanta in too many ways to count, and when his three years are up – the Hawks retain his rights for the next two – he’ll be still in his prime at 28 and have the ability to sign with any NBA team he’d like.
Stop Mike Lupica noted an emerging trend: NBA players leaving for sweeter European deals. Could the weak US dollar be a factor? This summer’s tally seems startling, no? Bostjan Nachbar (Nets to Russia), Juan Navarro (Memphis to Spain), Carlos Delfino (Toronto to Russia), Primoz Brezec (Toronto to Rome) and Jorge Garbajosa (Toronto to somewhere). And of course, there’s that whole Brandon Jennings situation.
109 Responses to “Will the NBA’s Trickle to Europe Become a Flood?”
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July 23rd, 2008 at 12:52 pm
They should ask to get paid in Euros and hold on to them as long as possible…with our economy in the toilet the translation only gets worse and worse (or in his case better and better)
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Only Atlanta would be this fucking inept. The rest of those guys are Euros, but Childress?
What a joke of a franchise.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Weak US dollar? Maybe, if he’s getting paid in Euros. But don’t forget that the $20 mil (or whatever he’s getting from the Greek team) is post-tax. The team pays his taxes, and then pays him the salary. That makes the contract MUCH bigger than a $20 mil NBA contract.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:55 pm
How is 3 years, 20 million more than 5 years 33 million?
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Wow. This guy could have helped any number of teams get to the next level.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:56 pm
This is all a lead up to LeBron heading to Europe when he’s a FA.
Or not
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:56 pm
@ch49r – See my first post. Tax situation makes a HUGE difference.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Olympiakos huh? this will surely soothe their fans still reeling from steven gerrard’s epic thunderbolt.
/still loves it, several years later
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:56 pm
cbh49er, it’s always about the NEXT contract. At 28 he’ll command a lot more money than a 30-year old.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:57 pm
both equal out to $6.6 mill a year. How much of that ATL deal was guaranteed? all of the Greece contract was
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:57 pm
@cbh: Chop off about 40% for US taxes. $35 becomes $21.
$20 in 3 years is better than $21 in 5.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Most of those guys are leaving Toronto. So maybe the lesson here is Toronto sucks.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Thanks guys, I’m dumb at math.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:58 pm
@ cbh: 20/3= 6.6667
33/5= 6.6
So to answer your question, basically when division was invented…
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:59 pm
irish, all NBA contracts are guaranteed.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:59 pm
http://www.eurobasket.com/team.asp?Cntry=GRE&Team=93
Schedule also seems like less games
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:00 pm
gotcha
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:00 pm
@NSR: Some include team options for the final 1-2 years.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:01 pm
what Franklin said.
a) he doesn’t pay taxes
b) the AJC article said it is more than 3-20 (though it didn’t say how much more)
c) paid in euros, not USD
just an out-of-my-ass guess … he’s probably getting around $5 mil more per season
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Its all Greek to me
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Wait, why doesn’t he have to pay taxes?
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:03 pm
This is correct…after I posted that I started thinking if I screwed anything up (foreign finance can be confusing)
Can Paul Shirley take his spot with the Hawks then?
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:04 pm
this really just does maximize his felxibility to get more money. There’s no way the hawks compete for his price tag each year. His euro contract has an option for him to opt out at the end of each season. He could field offers from NBA teams that the hawks can’t match. Very good strategy. His value won’t go down because right now the competition is fairly equal.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:04 pm
@mike – the team pays his taxes for him, he pockets his salary.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:05 pm
?
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:05 pm
I can’t remember the exact specifics, but I remember Paul Shirley writing about a Greek team he was playing for just telling its players it had no money and couldn’t pay them. The government stepped in and sided with the team, allowing it not to pay any of the wages owed. Either Childress hasn’t heard of this, or the politicians there are no longer crooked.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:06 pm
hey chuckles if hes getting paid in euros, dont put the dollar sign next to his greek contract
the fact that hes going to be living in piraeus instead of atlanta probably would be a deciding factor even if the money were equal.
beautiful city on then sea … swelteringly humid delta hub ….. i dont know which im leaning towards
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:06 pm
good explanation butters…..
one of the reasons that players don’t like playing in toronto is because they actually pay a higher tax rate there. Foreign finance is more than confusing, it’s sometimes retarded.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:06 pm
When we’re talking about the $20 million are we saying he’s getting 20 million USD or 20 million Euros or getting paid in Euros the equivalent of 20 million USD?
I guess if he’s getting paid the equivalent then I’m not sure why everyone’s saying it’s so much more, aside from the tax issue. Basically it sounds as though over the course of 3 years everyone thinks the Euro will continue to be worth more than the USD.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:06 pm
and by continue to be worth more I mean that it will continue to gain further on the USD…
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:07 pm
@nick – the level of competition worldwide is much more equal than a few years ago. It used to be that euro ball sucked and playing against them was akin to the NBA playing against college teams. Not so anymore. Or have the last couple years of the US getting trounced in world play been a fluke?
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:09 pm
the tax issue is what makes this deal much more valuable. when you get into dollars these large you’re talking about a tax rate of 40% or more. that’s a lot of loot. If you could go overseas and keep it all, you couldn’t pass that up. Especially if it meant you could come back and make even more here.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Yeah, poor team construction plus completely different game, more akin to the joke college game, makes it much more random, hurting the better teams.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:12 pm
at the risk of turning this political … there’s no signs at all that the US dollar will magically turn around.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Didn’t hurt the teams in 92, 94, 96, and 2000.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:13 pm
It is what it is. You still have to make shots and play defense. It is clear that the US sucked at shooting the ball and everyone else didn’t.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Its time to start investing overseas
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:14 pm
dollar is going no where anytime soon. It’s been declining for a long time, this shit didn’t happen overnight.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:14 pm
at the risk of turning this political … there’s no signs at all that the US dollar will magically turn around.
Awaiting Purdue Matt drive by in 3, 2, 1…..
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:16 pm
@ Irish: Invest in America!
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:16 pm
as long as i can use my dollar to pay for abortions and evolutionary textbooks, im as happy as a clam
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Playing in Europe. Genius! Why didn’t I think of that?
/Latrell Sprewell
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:16 pm
when I first got to Germany I could get a 1 for 3 exchange and buy some nice shit, when I left three years later it was barely 1 for 1. This was 5 years ago, so it’s probably never going to go back to what it was, but it’s going to take years for it to level out.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Sprewell was better suited to play in a prison league. If he had played in europe he would have been quietly executed.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:18 pm
I’ll take your queue with the political insight TBL, although, talking about the dollar is more a financial post. But I digress. The dollar, while being in the shitter for the past couple years, will come around. Just like our economy, take a look at OIL the last 2 weeks, it’s lost about $20 and is losing more today, that is GREAT news for US. The banks are taking hits right now, but they are much less then what was expected, which again, is amazing news. Their is begininig to be a credit crunch, not a crisis as we speak. Banks are not lending and people are being more careful with their money. Yes, oh yes, we will right this ship. The bottom is near…
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:18 pm
According to this site the USD should make a comeback of sorts. Though I’m not sure how trustworthy these guys are.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:19 pm
did purdue matt change his name?
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:20 pm
The beaches of Greece >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> any place in Atlanta. Especially in your mid-20’s.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:20 pm
not you’re talking. swiss francs. all disclaimers.
you’re optimistic. i like that. but how will it come around? when? did you see wachovia just laid off 10,000 people? it’s grim, man. as i’ve written for awhile … cash will be king. save, save, save …
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:21 pm
The dollar, while being in the shitter for the past couple years, will come around.
Yeah, maybe right about the time JC’s 3 year contract is up…
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Let’s just print more money.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:23 pm
@august: JC has a lifetime contract. Saviors don’t take a day off.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:24 pm
I thought we were suppose to pluck money from trees?
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:24 pm
unrelated … think i found my team in madden: Chargers. running the Rams off the field right now in my best performance, ever. only shitty thing is that the Chargers are a 95 overall, which is pretty high.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:24 pm
who is this guy and what the hells he doin tryin to use a nickname of my nickname? F’n imposter…
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Or raise taxes!
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:25 pm
this is all why i have been bartering for years now
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:25 pm
was at starbucks about an hour ago and saw this bumper sticker:
“Where’s my bailout?”
Printing money was a terrible idea. Short term it may have given the market a boost, but let’s see what the effects are at the one-year mark.
I also like the Heat to reach the playoffs before the Hawks this season.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:26 pm
i converted all my assets into itchy and scratchy land money. youll all see one day, youll all see
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:26 pm
When I get Madden 09 I am going to go with the Redskins.
Favre better beware of the Madden curse.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:26 pm
why not just play with the all madden team
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:26 pm
@TBL- Miami > Orlando?
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:27 pm
sorry irish, miami>orlando for now.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:29 pm
it’s alright. we’ll just call you PJ.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Anyone get NCAA 09 for PS3? Is it good, has it changed since I last played it in 07?
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:31 pm
I started playing NCAA08 last week and decided against getting 09. Requires to much of a time commitment to be good enough to play online.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:31 pm
@cbh – did you get call of duty 4 for PS3?
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Sandi, nope, don’t normally play the shoot em up games, only sports and grand theft auto.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:34 pm
It should. If you want the benefits of globalization then you also have to absorb the consequences. Cheaper prices of clothes and labor vs. a few of our “stars” going to where they can recieve the most incentives… you can’t have it both ways. It is like this joker on local radio who likes to kill Chris Kamen for signing to play for Team Germany in the coming olympics, but then bitches about government regulations. Which way do you want it?
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:35 pm
even Shrubya thinks our economy sucks.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:37 pm
cbh – cool, i’ve had a hard time finding games to get for ps3. do you use mic when you’re online? Only ask because I have yet to play with anyone on PS3 that uses mic.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Oh and it WAS time to invest overseas… now with rapidly increasing energy costs some manufacturers will begin to see diminishing returns as far as labor vs. energy and will bring manufacturing back closer to the buyer. It may actually be time to start investing in your U.S. manufacturing companies…
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Haha sandi, you are making me feel like I am missing out, don’t play online either.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:40 pm
A similar is evident in the NHL; especially with former Soviet bloc players going to the hockey league over in Russia backed by companies who have big $$ mostly from mining natural gas.
The globalization of player movement in sports leagues would surely make Thomas Friedman proud, if not, piss off David Stern.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Wait, the new madden is out?
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:42 pm
I understand Europe is great if you’re a kid just out of college and bumming around on the family expense account. But I would think a black man with money would be more comfortable in Atlanta than in Greece, which isn’t known for its peachy race relations (not that the South is either). Or maybe he really likes gyros.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:43 pm
cbh – I play online on my xbox. it’s a blast to talk shit and play. PS3 is actually in prime position but the online interface is much more difficult than xbox. anyways, you gotta find a game like call of duty 4 that doesn’t require a lot of time commitment to play online. loads of fun. I’m actually terrible at it and it’s still fun.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:44 pm
@farv – not yet….like augst 9th
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:44 pm
I wondered when someone was going to mention gyros.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:44 pm
1. i’m almost positive those salary figures are stated in terms of US dollars. so childress won’t be making $20 million euros. i highly doubt that the difference is $5 million a year. maybe $2.5 or so? i don’t know.
2. what do you play madden on TBL? i’ve been considering a PS3 purchase for a few weeks now. but i only really play sports games. it’s not like i need the souped up graphics that bad, right?
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:45 pm
@broseph
Wow, that was kind of ignorant, no offense.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Does the Greek team pay his Greek taxes, or ALL his taxes?
Cuz an American living abroad still has to pay US income tax.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:49 pm
@xv – If I remember correctly they pall all his taxes. He only has to pay income tax where he currently lives.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:54 pm
@ magglio
Please elaborate. If I were a young black man already making a very good living, why would I go from Atlanta, a city that is a hotspot for young, affluent black people (including plenty of pro athletes), to Greece, which is literally a completely foreign culture and has ethnic/race rioting on a regular basis. The exchange rate wouldn’t be worth it.
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:59 pm
I just think it was a little stereotypical… bumming around on parents expense accounts? because if you have been to Europe and are young you automatically are? Also, what does black have to do with it? As well as I am am not so sure Greece wouldn’t be a safer place to raise a family then Atlanta, but I don’t have the stats. I just think your views of moving from America to Europe (gasp!) and Childress thinking it might be BETTER (gasp!) are a little strange. I really didn’t mean any offense by it.
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:06 pm
America > Europe
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Europe is more racist than the deep South…that’s one reason. Atlanta is a black hot spot right now, there’s another.
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:07 pm
sorry irish, miami>orlando for now.
lol. maybe if you are talking which city is better
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Dollar is coming back. The currency forward markets have the dollar gaining over 1% against the Euro, Pound and AUD. Forward composites have it gaining 6% against the Euro and Pound by year end.
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Well, there’s know question about that.
You know I’m going to shit all over nelson, but as long as he’s the PG they aren’t going anywhere. I like the combination of Marion, Wade and Beasley for at least this year. I think defensively they might be better if they want to be. Nelson, might want to be better, but he can’t, he’s just terrible on defense.
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:16 pm
@ Magglio
Thanks for the clarity. No, you don’t have to be a trust fund baby to go to Europe–but I’d rather go there for a summer on my dad’s dime than uproot myself completely and go there for three years. I think it’s naive to think that a black athlete in particular wouldn’t think about where he’s moving to and whether it’s a place that he can find some sense of community. Hell, foreign players coming to the US do the same thing. I’ve got no problem with Europe–I’ve been there and think it’s great. But if he’s going there just for the money (which may or may not be comparable to what he could get here) and hasn’t considered the culture shock, I think it’s a dumb decision.
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:16 pm
I scrolled through and xv43 added my two cents, unless he is not going to be a US citizen anymore he has to pay taxes on income earned abroad. You have to live 330 days in that country to start filing for exemptions and that is only up to $84,000 for married couples so his tax bill does not change.
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Quantify “more racist” for me. As in, it is more dangerous if you are a minority? Or as in you have heard it is more racist than the deep south? How racist is the deep south? Have you ever lived in either place (deep south or Greece)? I am sure Josh is a smart man, he went to Indiana. I am guessing he weighed the pros and cons and thought to himself “Hey why not give free health care and not having a blithering idiot for a leader a shot .” I think he may be happy with his decision. Of course he may not. I have never lived in Europe so I don’t know for sure, but I do tire of seeing the same Walmarts next to the same Taco Bells in every city suburb I have ever been to, maybe the young man wants a change.
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:19 pm
put an APB out on uosdwis r dewoh, better start in greek town. and pick me up one of those gyros.
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:22 pm
maggs sporting events in europe have been a hotspot for racism for a while, black players get bananas thrown at them, shit like that. a lot of it stems from the immigration of africans into europe. i know when i lived in sicily there was a very strong bias against blacks, primarily because their presence consisted of prostitutes and street venders. ive also lived in the south, and i think the racism in the south in more ground in history, but the racism in europe manifests itself more, as its a more recent thing
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:22 pm
They have not been getting ‘trounced’. They are not going undefeated but the US has still been excellent in international play and are the #1 ranked team in the world. They should be very scared of both Spain (Calderon, Rubio, Navarrao, Gasol and Gasol and more) and Argentina in group play though. They are good squads too.
tedkerwin: I think its that the team pays the taxes for you not that you are not being taxed. Also, sometimes there are other perks, comp housing, daily stipend, personal driver, etc.
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Ha.
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:25 pm
More racist in that Europe still has a shitton more violence against minorities than the US…shit like the Duke lacrosse case would’ve incited riots in alot of europe countries. Childress isn’t a typical young black NBA’er…he was middle-upper class growing up and he was a solid student at Stanford, so I can understand his decision. However, broseph’s comment applies to a huge majority of the under 30 crowd in the NBA.
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:27 pm
actually he went to stanford
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:27 pm
I only write this because I honestly have no idea about the racism in Greece or in the deep south. I have just never understood what would be so bad about living in Europe… I understand being patriotic and all, but not to the point that you can be blinded by it.
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Sheesh now I feel dumb, I think I got him confused with Jared Jeffries… didn’t Jeffries rock the big hair when he first came out of college?
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:37 pm
what are you saying that all black players look alike? you must be from the deep south or possibly france!
/it all comes full circle
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Way late on this, but cbh, I’m not much of a first person shooter guy either, but COD is tight, no hunting for weapons, no snipers. And no, we don’t use the mic with PS3, my friends and I will all get on Skype. I have no need to heard 12 year old yell.
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:49 pm
America > Europe
100% True, but once again: More money + stronger currency + Grecian beaches + Grecian ladies = me getting the hell out of Atlanta for 3 years as well in that situation… no hesitation at all.
July 23rd, 2008 at 3:18 pm
a few things – he is going to a stacked team in Olympiakos. they are probably going to compete to with Euroleague title every year. he’s not the only black person on the team, Sofoklis Schortsanitis, who was drafted by the Clipps is on the team. Also former Suns center Jake Tsakalidis is on the squad as well. if life is about winning championships, he just made a great move and in 3 years he can pick his NBA team.
July 23rd, 2008 at 3:35 pm
hold up, olypiakos pays the taxes to who? greece or the u.s.? because i’m pretty sure that if your an american citizen if you earn any cheese outside the states you gotta pay taxes on that.
July 23rd, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Who cares where Childress goes?
More vets will leave if they get more than the mid level from Euros.
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:01 pm
This will have the same impact as Rocket Ismail going to Canadia
July 23rd, 2008 at 5:28 pm
^^^^currently lives in atlanta
for the black players atlanta will always trump greece…Period.