Fans don't look at it as NBA Players are turning their backs on you, because they are not. As the news came down of Deron Williams coming to an agreement to lace up in Turkey, it was just the beginning of what could be a domino effect. Professional basketball players are out of work in the United States so therefore they are in a position where they may need to look elsewhere to continue working in their profession. It's easy to say that they have more than enough money or make too much money but the facts are they will be missing checks despite having contracts in place. Those contracts currently are not being honored so therefore there is no income, unemployed to break it down. The catch, well you risk that contract being voided if your playing somewhere else and sustain and injury. At the end of the day players want to compete hands down and until the business of the labor issues is resolved you've got to do something other than just sitting around and running to meeting after meeting.
Roger Mason Jr. of the New York Knicks and a vice president of the players union is well aware of what is currently going down and why he'll make sure to pack two cell phone chargers with him going forward. He told Newsday
"I can see anybody doing it," said Mason Jr. said. "This is what people have to understand. It's definitely about earning a living, but we've already been so blessed, a lot of guys love the game and want to be able to compete . . . I've talked to a lot of the star players, Chris Paul, Amar'e, Melo, I think that those guys are open-minded to everything."
Unlike the other major professional sport in the midst of an work stoppage in the United States, there are other paid options out there, maybe not in the same tax bracket but nonetheless paid options.
Remember that kid in high school that could leap out of the gym, nail the fadeaway jumper and defend like a hawk only to not be recruited by a major college, settled for a smaller college and next thing you know you only see him 3 or 4 months out of the year because he's earning a living overseas doing what he loves to do and getting a check for it? Yea that guy. Well now that guy is going to be sought after for how it really works across the pond. Roger Mason Jr is one of those guys that has experience across the pond and with his position as a VP he's getting the calls on everything from rules and regulations to insurance. The key component has to be insurance for any player so as to protect their current contract with their NBA team "in-case-ish" happens, that's what insurance is right?.
How this all will play out and how it will effect the players, the NBA, the owners (who, along with team personnel cannot have any contact with players) and the goal of reaching a deal is still to be determined. However movement of NBA players, especially marquee players, seeking other options overseas to keep some income coming in is something that cannot just be taken "with a grain of salt" now.
Just understand these guys don't like being unemployed just as much as the 10 or so percent of Americans that are and when your in a field that doesn't have that long of a lifespan to begin with, it may make it just that much more important.
0 comments:
Post a Comment