FIBA announced Friday that it "would clear NBA players under contract to play in its leagues during the work stoppage, provided the deals they sign come with opt-out clauses," according to Brian Mahoney of the AP. FIBA agreed with the NBA and NBPA officials that players are "free to sign anywhere but do so at their own risk of injury." If a player under contract with an NBA team "agrees to a deal in a FIBA-affiliated league, he first must be cleared to go by the NBA." The league will allow "partial clearance, meaning it must be guaranteed the player returns to his NBA team once a new collective bargaining agreement is reached." FIBA then will "give its approval once the player has signed a declaration stating he will do so." Mahoney noted playing overseas "has emerged as an option for NBA players during a work stoppage that threatens to last months and could even wipe out the entire season." NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter "has endorsed the idea, with players believing it will pressure owners at the bargaining table if they see their players have options elsewhere, and FIBA may have been faced with a legal challenge had it denied the players" (AP, 7/29). CBSSPORTS.com's Ken Berger noted NBA players are "pursuing deals overseas with the full backing and encouragement of the union." Bucks G and NBPA VP Keyon Dooling reportedly is "close to a deal" with Turkish club Efes Istanbul. Whether more NBA stars follow Nets G Deron Williams and sign deals overseas remains to be seen, and whether that "provides actual leverage to the union in showing that the NBA isn't the only game in town for locked-out players, or simply illustrates that stars are going to 'get theirs' and leave the lockout to the rank and file, is a matter for debate" (CBSSPORTS.com, 7/29).
KOBE'S STAKE: YAHOO SPORTS' Spears & Wojnarowski cited league sources as saying that Lakers G Kobe Bryant is "engaged in far more substantive contract talks with teams in China than he is Turkish team Besiktas." Sources indicated that Bryant still is "listening to offers to play overseas during the NBA’s lockout, and considers China a more likely option." He has "exchanged proposals with Chinese teams," and one source said that it is "unlikely Bryant would accept any deal that pays him less than $1.5 million per month" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 7/31). Bryant yesterday denied a report that he was expected to meet with Besiktas officials in DC this past weekend "to discuss playing overseas for the Turkish club during the NBA lockout." Bryant said, "To be honest with you, that’s the first time I’m hearing those things. So, I’ll let you decipher what that means, but a lot of that stuff is news to me. I haven’t spoken to them in weeks.” He added, "I'm just waiting on my phone to ring. Here it is. I'll play anywhere. I grew up overseas, so I'm comfortable being overseas" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 7/31). In N.Y., Juliet Macur notes Bryant's comments yesterday came during a news conference in DC that was "sponsored by Turkish Airlines, for which Bryant is global ambassador and with which Besiktas has close ties." Bryant was in DC for a "celebrity soccer match hosted by Mia Hamm" and the FC Barcelona-Manchester United match at FedExField (N.Y. TIMES, 8/1).
ROAD TO NOWHERE? PRO BASKETBALL TALK's Kurt Helin reported the Chinese Basketball Association "may be putting in rules that would limit the influx of foreign players," specifically those from the NBA. CBA blog niuball.com reported, "Teams will not be allowed to include an out-clause into any contract with an active NBA player and ... each team will be allowed to sign only one active NBA player." Helin noted this "could rule out NBA players under contract from playing in China all together" (PROBASKETBALLTALK.com, 7/31). Meanwhile, in N.Y., Harvey Araton writes since the "beginning of the month-old lockout imposed by the owners, the overseas option has wrongly been portrayed as a global hammer." Closer to the "truth is that even a handful of high-enders playing abroad is more likely to be an effective means of dividing the union’s alpha haves from the (relative) have-nots." Hunter said that a recent letter to players "was designed to give permission to go, not so much encouragement, and he acknowledged the dangers of creating class union warfare." Araton writes, "Losing games and paychecks, if that is where this dispute is going, presents different challenges for players relative to their talent level and Q scores." The owners believe that "when push comes to cash poor, the union will splinter, which is essentially what happened in early 1999 when the season reached the point of no return" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/1).
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FIBA denies Bobcats clearance to sign Biyombo,
who is still under contract with Spanish team |
STUDY ABROAD: In Charlotte, Rick Bonnell reported FIBA "recently declined to provide the NBA clearance to sign" Bobcats draftee Bismack Biyombo, who is still under contract to Fuenlabrada. The Spanish team reportedly has Biyombo "under contract for the next two seasons and expects a buyout of about $1.4 million to release him to the Bobcats." FIBA's declaration "suggests things could get sticky." This is a "complicated time in the relationship between the NBA and FIBA, because of the NBA lockout" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 7/30). Meanwhile, in San Antonio, Mike Monroe reported the Argentine Basketball Federation has "negotiated a deal to insure the contracts of four NBA players on the nation's national team" for the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament this month. The issue has been "complicated by the NBA’s lockout of its players" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 7/30).
