The Denver Nuggets’ Ty Lawson ran his team’s offense to an opening night victory on Tuesday, logging 6 points and 5 assists en route to a big win over… Naglis Palangos?
Lawson joined fellow American guard (and former Nugget) Sonny Weems in signing with Lithuanian team Zalgiris Kaunas. Meanwhile the NBA careens towards a cancelled season and billions in lost revenues. NBA owners have reported that their league would take in 3-5% more revenue in 2011-2012, but those same owners insist that they cannot continue to operate under the current labor deal.
So while Lawson feeds Weems (15 points on Tuesday) in a winning guard combo that would never fly in the NBA, league commissioner David Stern is now threatening to cancel the season if the stalemate between owners and the players union drags on any further.
The preseason was already axed in late September. Now – with less than a month to go before the scheduled beginning of the regular season – player reps are tweeting that owners are not serious about a true negotiating process. ESPN anchors are speculating that owners “just want to see the players bleed a little” before they will take to the bargaining table with any intent of ending their lockout. And Commissioner Stern has described the labor situation as akin to “staring down the barrel of a gun.”
If the league and its players do sew up their suddenly rocky relationship in time to save at least a portion of the ‘11-‘12 NBA Season the Nuggets’ Lawson will still be a part of Denver’s initial roster. Ty built an exit clause into his contract with Zalgiris Kaunas in case he is needed back stateside for premier basketball. As Denver’s unquestioned starting point guard, Lawson was obligated to give himself an out even if it meant signing a less lucrative deal in Lithuana.
The same cannot be said of Lawson’s teammates. Forward Wilson Chandler and guard JR Smith both signed to play in the rising Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), and both will play in China’s Zhejiang Province. Chandler will suit up for the Guangsha Lions.
The CBA has announced that it will not allow American players to break their contracts should the NBA lockout end, although they have already made an exception for forward Earl Clark of the Orlando Magic. Clark signed with Chandler’s Guangsha Lions but asked to be released from his contract after finding out that his girlfriend was pregnant. He has already returned to the United States to be with her during the pregnancy.
The Lions are the only CBA team coached by an American – John Neumann – who brought the team up from the lower Chinese Basketball League (CBL) and into the CBA following a 2006 CBL Championship. That was a key factor for Chandler who is not just looking for a paycheck during the NBA’s lost season – he is looking to grow as a basketball player. Wilson also fielded offers from Italy where teams only play one game a week.
Said Chandler’s agent Chris Luchey, "Wilson's game is developing, his best basketball is ahead of him and so he improves with play. For him, having more of a rigorous schedule in China, playing three games a week, seems more realistic. That's what he was looking for." Luchey continued, "Wilson's playing for the only NBA coach that's over there. He's going to a beautiful city, a tourist city, playing on a good team. He basically had all the options to pick and choose the best scenario, best situation for him -- be the trendsetter."
JR Smith was quick to follow Chandler to China, and similarly is a young American player looking to stay fresh and get better at the game he loves. JR is a baller looking for premium competition in an exciting basketball environment, and that outlook was exemplified in Smith’s first tweet after signing in China. “How many chance have you had to do what you love an ppl in another country can appreciate it...”
The train of Nuggets players transferring to China does not end there. Just a couple of weeks after JR Smith broke the CBA record for most lucrative contract, Denver teammate Kenyon Martin signed an even richer contract to play with Xingiang Guanghu.
Like Smith and Chandler, Martin is an NBA free agent. Any or all of these players could be interesting free agent acquisitions if the NBA season begins on a belated schedule. The CBA season ends in April for most clubs so JR, Wilson and Kenyon could conceivably finish up their one-year deals in China and return to the NBA in time for the season’s stretch run and playoffs.
Chinese teams are allowed just two foreign players per club, so don’t expect a mass exodus of American players to the CBA. Still, each team will likely add one or two NBA players to their roster leading to an exhibition of American basketball in one of the world’s most successful leagues. NBA free agents who have no guaranteed contracts in the US are the most likely to take their chances in China this season.
Meanwhil, Danilo Gallinari has returned to the Italian league team that he played with before beginning his NBA career, signing a one year deal with Olimpia Milano. Gallinari is a native of Italy and his father enjoyed a successful career with the same club. Danilo has an exit clause and would rejoin Lawson should the NBA lockout end. That scenario seems increasingly unlikely as the weeks wear on, though.
The NBA is in disarray due to a structure that allows wealthy, big market teams to dominate free agency while smaller teams struggle to fill arenas. Even the luxury tax – designed to punish teams like the Knicks and Lakers who outspend other clubs – does not move money from rich to poor via revenue sharing. Instead, luxury tax monies go directly to the NBA itself.
The National Basketball League is a broken machine with a chance to make big money, but it seems that it will take a lost season (and plenty of lost fans) to fix the inherent imbalance between rich and poor teams, overpaid stars and underpaid role players. Meanwhile, a cadre of Nuggets are making less money overseas, but each one will undoubtedly gain a massive international fan base in the process.
JR Smith, Wilson Chandler and Kenyon Martin have each tapped into the world’s largest basketball market, and even if it costs them an NBA season the exposure to basketball-crazy China will most assuredly be worth the price. Do not be surprised if each wayward Nugget signs a hefty endorsement deal in their new basketball homes – something that would make up for smaller contracts in smaller leagues.
Plus – for Smith, Chandler and Lawson at least – this sojourn into international basketball will make these young stars better basketball players by the time they return to their NBA careers.
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