NBA commissioner David Stern has always pushed for international exposure, Stern even had eventual overseas expansion on his mind. Unfortunately for us in the states and for Stern, the NBA might be going more international sooner than expected, or is it unfortunate for the commissioner?
According to Ian Thomsen, of SI.com, in 2008 a league “source” told SI.com that David Stern was planning on creating a complete NBA European division within ten years. While those are very lofty goals, Stern has been taking baby steps ever since. This past season there was an exhibition preseason and regular season game that were all played in Europe. The Lakers played the Timberwolves in London for a preseason matchup and also played an exhibition game against FC Barcelona in Barcelona. During the regular season, the Nets and Raptors played a game in London, why these two bottom feeder teams were sent, I don’t know.
These have all been moves by David Stern to push towards NBA exposure and eventual expansion into Europe. And why not? There are over thirty five countries represented in the NBA now, and two of the past five NBA Finals MVP’s have been international players, Tony Parker of France, and Dirk Nowitzki of Germany. It seems like the move towards eventual expansion might be inevitable. Then came the lockout, and the international exposure might be coming a little sooner than expected.
With the lockout well under way and talk of there being a shortened season or possibly not a season at all, NBA players are seriously considering crossing the pond to keep the rust off their game and their bank accounts full. Just today, it was reported on ESPN that Steve Nash was open to playing in Europe, Deron Williams is on record for saying that he would play in Turkey if the lockout lasted through November, Amare Stoudemire said if his back was better he would consider his European options, and Kevin Durant stated he would “like to try something new”, but he prefers the NBA saying it was, of course, his first choice.
What will be interesting to see when the time comes is who will be the first to go international, and how quickly others will follow. As we have looked at, David Stern has always been the driving force behind the NBA’s international exposure. If Stern wants this NBA season to be a full one or for there to even be one at all, the cards are stacked against him and the NBA owners. The players now seem to have a back up in playing overseas and none of them are opposed to it. In fact, many of them have been embracing the idea, viewing it as a “once in a life time opportunity”, which it is, and will willingly go as soon as there is a sign of a shortened season. This gives the owners a lot less leverage in these bargaining agreements and might have to give more to the players then they had hoped. When it comes down to the nitty gritty, the owners will begin to lose money on the lockout and the players will be fine between their endorsements and opportunities to play basketball abroad.
No comments:
Post a Comment