Is the time now the Euro leagues?

Editor's Note: Josh Childress did sign with a Greek team this week, two days after this post.

It will be interesting to see how the U.S. team fairs in the Olympics this year because the global basketball aptitude continues to increase at a near exponential rate while the U.S. game has not.

And while the Euro league, as a whole, may not be as strong as the NBA now, that may not be the case in another 10 years. For David Stern’s faults, he has never been less than a shrewd businessman. And he first mentioned the reality of the NBA expansion last year.

One of the largest problems with the Euro leagues is its organization, largely due to the number of countries involved. That is where the NBA and it’s ability to organize a top-tier, multi-country league might play a role. The problem is, while the NBA can typically get the end result it is looking for in the states, dealing with multiple sovereign nations would add a level of complexity even Stern might not be able to resolve.

And with the weakened US dollar, the ability for the NBA to retain mid-level players may become a bigger issue. Superstars will always have endorsements to supplement their income, but for players like Josh Childress, this might be their best chance to earn top dollar.

And if he goes, I would not be shocked to see another player in a similar situation also jump to Europe. Not only because the players will know they can follow the lead, but owners of Euro league teams will see an opportunity of getting top NBA talent by throwing more money at guys like Gordon, Deng, etc. than they could get here.

(The end result will probably lead to a lock-out because NBA owners will want a change in collective bargaining agreement. But I digress…)

A final thought on this, the NBA has scene an influx of international players in the last decade primarily because those players could make more money in the NBA than in other global leagues. That’s changing, and changing rapidly. Seeing those players go back overseas for more lucrative deals should be surprising to anyone. It’s the reason they came here in the first place.

This is the reality of the new global economy. For better, or worse.