NBA stars jump ship NBA

A weak dollar and huge contracts from across the Atlantic are pulling basketball players away from the NBA.

A. What's going on ,everyone? Thanks for being in here. I am joined by P Torey, Sports Illustrated. Thank you for being in here.

B. Of course, anytime.

A. If, just a few years ago, if I would have said to you, people that are playing in the NBA, players that have a spot, they’re getting /game time,actually / are leaving the NBA and going to play ball in Europe. You probably would go to me and said I'm crazy.

B. Yeah, that's basically true. I mean, the fact is we have /12 players so far this summer leave from the NBA to play aboard in Europe, and it gonna be a watershed season, I mean, for the evolution of the NBA before you had a guy like Dominique Wilkins go over to Italy, the end of his career, you know, feast on * and enjoy retirement. But now it's completely different.

A. So why are we seeing that now? Why we are seeing players saying? You know what, the ball over there. That's where I should be.

B. Yeah, well the first reason is the fact that ring offered more money than ever before.

A. So the business aspect?

B. Yes. And that's a reflection of the domestic and international economy. These guys are being paid in Euros and they are being paid roughly three times as much as they’ll be paid otherwise if they stayed in the states. And that's the value you can’t really get by staying at home.

A. And a weak dollar obviously point a factor here. Just a couple of days ago, over that Democratic National Convention, CNN.money called up with Sir Charles Barkley. We talked him, exactly, we talked him about this exact question. Take a look and listen to what he had to say.

Barkley: I think they are making a bid to do out of nothing. No great NBA player is gonna go play overseas.

A. Alright, now that I'm trying to put you on the spot here with an NBA Hall of Famer, but do you agree with them?

B. You know it’s a general rule I try not to disagree with Sir Charles too much, (I’ll try not … ) for fear of being thrown through a window mostly.

A. He's, I think he’s got your hands on and fight.

B. Yeah, a bit of / edge. But I' think, you know, I do disagree somewhat. The fact is, I sort of question what he means by good player. I think you are getting studying players right now, and you are not Kristic from the Nets, George *, of course, is also an excellent role player ... ...

A. Come off the bench

B. Exactly. But the bottom line is we couldn't have anticipated where we are now. So I think it's a bit too hasty to make any judgments about where we will be in a couple of years from now. The fact is players are operating is brands. And these emerging markets have brought something that we haven’t even encountered before. So I mean it’s certainly a new world we dealing with at this point.

A. you know, I think it's so easy for fans out there, to sit there, we watch them play. We watch them play something that we play pickup on the weekends and you’ll think, that would be the coolest thing in the world to get paid millions of dollars to play basketball. I think we lose track of the fact that this is their job, their business. They get paid to play ball. Something that what we'd love to do. But that is what they do. So it is interesting when you say this from a business standpoint. They are doing this to make more money.

B. Yeah, I mean money is really the bottom line literally, and figuratively in this case, you know. You're gonna pay a guy 55 million dollars for example like the Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade. They are gonna at least seriously consider that offer and you can wrap up that offer from one of these Russian or Italian, or refinanciers serious for a, lesser player but still a very good player I think you wouldn’t do that.

A. Hold that, King James. Kobe Bryant. They are, you are saying, there’s a possibility they are gonna go over and play in Europe?

B. Well, the question has been posed there, /you know, if a team could play you 55 million dollars for a year, you know,in the prime of you career to go over there, and play basketball in Europe, and they said, you know, we will definitely consider it. It's not one of those questions that you can dismiss out of hand anymore. Something you really gotta to do away because of the monetary, and global advertising perspectives.

A. P Torrey again, he’s from Sports Illustrated. We are gonna keep an eye on this , and / see if Lebron James or Kobe ever do decide to go over and play overseas, but for now, it’s something that the NBA needs to be concerned with.