NBA Players in Europe

One of the most interesting topics in the world of basketball at the moment
is the possibility of a NBA Lockout for the whole 2011/2012 season. A bunch
of NBA players are already signing contracts in other countries and others
are currently looking at different options to play basketball in different
countries for the next year. One of the first NBA players who signed a
contract overseas was Deron William with Besiktas Istanbul in Turkey. A
question to ask is what affects an NBA player will have on a league and a club when
he plays for them for only a few months. For example, Dirk Nowitzki has the possibility to sign with a German basketball team
for a few months. The first issue I see is that Nowitzki would only sign a
contract for as long as the lockout is going on and wouldn't really be
involved with the team because he would always be waiting until the lockout
is over and then return to the USA to do what he really desires. A player like Nowitzki would also dominate in every game because the basketball level in Germany is not very high. It would not be fair to the other team since they would not have a chance to stop him and he would easily score 30 points and more every single game.
I spoke to several basketball players and agents in Germany and they share a similar opinion. A positive aspect from Nowitzki playing in Europe would
be that basketball would get a great push and arenas would be sold out and the
team Nowitzki plays for would make a great amount of money through Nowitzki
merchandise products. However, since his commitment would be short, the effects of Nowitski wouldn’t really change anything. Basketball would
fall back into a minimal attraction and people would be disappointed that Nowitski was gone again. I would suggest that if a player signs a contract overseas he has to
sign at least a one year deal and can't just leave when the NBA lockout is
over. The players need to be committed to their new team.

Toby Rochau