If anyone's interested: http://basketball.realgm.com/article/211030/The_Euroleague_MVP_Race http://www.mvp247.com/2011/02/freeland-seizes-chance-to-step-up/
first round pick, 2007, didn't we lose his rights after 3 years, aka last year? not sure how this is still making news
Nope, and the benefit is he can now sign a better contract with us because the rookie salary structure does not apply after 3 yrs
that is sweet, so as long as someone in another country feels he is worth keeping around, he can continue to be less valuable to us than oberto or marks, and for a bonus year to boot. no wonder we keep doing this, i wasn't aware of the never ending rights holding. i found this on draftexpress "Here's how it works: in each case, the player was drafted and permitted, even encouraged, to stay overseas and develop his game. In some cases, the player has stayed in Europe for a year; in others, he has played for several years after being drafted. If the player doesn't succeed, the risk is minimal, because players chosen in the mid- to late- second round rarely make the team that drafted them. The reward, on the other hand, can be huge. And the draft rights don't expire. Some of those players, like Serbian Dejan Bodiroga -- a 6'9" shooting forward who was arguably Europe's best player in the 1990's -- may never put on an NBA uniform, having decided long ago they don't want to make the leap across the Atlantic." http://www.draftexpress.com/article/The-Secondary-Market-in-Draft-Rights-98/#ixzz1EH1wyJT3
