It's not at all absurd. The investment is only worth the net present value of the future cash flows. Except to irrational investors. Rental property values go up because rents do, whether because of inflation or other supply and demand variables. Ed O.
You're right that the EXPECTATION is that the team owners won't treat the teams like "real" investments. But maybe they want to start doing so. I certainly think that they're free to try. Ed O.
From what I understand there are not that many roster spots open on Euro teams, so perhaps a few players will get signed, but not enough IMO to make a real difference
It seems to me that the more players who find employment in Europe the better, as far as putting pressure on owners to come back with a more moderate proposal. I think that they've downplayed the notion that many of these guys would get picked up by Euro teams and that the players would be likely to fold once they start missing games. If owners now have to worry that a significant number of guys will be able to avoid the full brunt of missed paychecks, they lose a key piece of their financial leverage. They also have to worry that franchise players may get injured while playing in Europe. While I'm sympathetic that the owners deserve a better deal than they currently have, the eventual answer to this thing is going to be found in some middle ground. The sooner that owners realize they don't have all of the leverage, the sooner they'll begin to move towards the middle.
If I were in the NBA I'd get me a European contract as fast as I can. The risk of injury is smaller than here (fewer and less physical games) and even if injured, you still have a contract in the NBA to return to. I don't know why they say Deron Williams is risking injury. He could ruin himself like Roy and still have his Utah contract. If young, I learn a lot. If old, I stay in shape. Either way, I make a lot of money and learn a foreign system that just might expand my game. Pressure on players to settle because they're not making money? The same goes for owners. If it's true that the league lost $300M or whatever, then the average owner loses $10M per year. Therefore, owners should delay a contract as long as possible before returning to losing their $10M. They should also give away their money before they blow any more. This assumes that they're telling the truth about losing money. When the Sonic owners sold to the Okies because they couldn't pay the bills, they made an enormous killing on the sale price, and the team turned out to have been an excellent investment. Why would owners keep paying such escalating purchase prices if it's such a bad investment? Answer: their financial statements have accounting tricks (amortizing the purchase price, overpaying themselves with private plane flights and other perks).
Any one know if Deron has spoken about his decision to go to Turkey yet? I'd like to know exactly what drew him to it. Seems to make sense for an all-star type who may not be that well known internationally. Go play in Europe and get your name out to the foreign masses and try to get some international endorsement money. But if his intentions were to gain massive followers or big money via foreign endorsements you would think he would go to China where the money is reportedly better and people seem basketball crazy and love buying into random gimmicks like that (total Asian stereotype but I tend to think its true LOL). Even if its not a money related move, there are reasons to play in Europe. They have to stay in shape during the lockout and most probably want to keep getting some type of income. Plus it gives the players leverage. Most likely none of them got to study abroad in college so why not take the chance to go live and work abroad for several months? Sounds like most likely anyone who goes to Europe wouldn't be there until the end of the season but maybe you even get a chance to get a Euroleague championship too.
My interest in the strike isn't so much financial, as it is competitive. I'm interested that the League remain competitive, so that players can't collude to create these "super teams" unless they take a major financial hit. I also want to ensure the playing field is competitive enough that players can't get away from the crap towns in the league like Milwaukee, Portland and Oklahoma City and run to LA, Chicago and New York. I fear smaller markets will become farm teams for the big boys. If the NBA becomes MLB, I'm done. On the player side, I want them incentivized. I'm tired of players signing contracts and informally retiring. I'm tired of them being out of shape, misbehaving and then holding their organizations hostage. And I'm tired of players just showing up for games rather than giving their all. Incentives matter. A CBA can be negotiated that incentivizes all parties to behave their very best and act in the best interests of the game while acting in their own.
There is a minimum payroll that must be met by each team according to the last CBA (75% of the yearly salary cap), so yes, owners are 'forced' to spend money on players that they may otherwise not want to spend.
