Warning Shot To NBA

Josh Childress, a 25 yr old forward for the Atlanta Hawks, has opted to sign with the Greek Olympiakos. Details were not given but the Greek team offered Josh substantially more than the 5 yr, $33 million offer from the Hawks. This doesn't just leave the Hawks scrambling. I think this is just the beginning of a trend.

Brandon Jennings, who was considered the top high school player, decided to join an Italian team just last week rather than accept a scholarship offer from Arizona. Bostjan Nachbar signed a three year deal with Dynamo Moscow. Both Nachbar and Childress have options after every year to buy out their contracts and return to the NBA.

This trend will continue as long as NBA teams are handicapped with salary caps and/or the inability to match offers from foreign teams. This won't necessarily affect the Kobe Bryants or the Lebron James of the league but it will affect the next tier of players who have to take a hit in salary because of the bigger names on the team. If the second tier of players can sign deals equal to or greater than the superstar deals, why wouldn't they leave?

This will severely downgrade the quality of basketball within the NBA. With the Donaghy controversy still fresh in everyone's minds, how many more hits can the NBA take? Does anyone still think that David Stern is a "great" commissioner? Better question, can I get any of these European leagues on Dish Network?