Does World Basketball Need a Soccer-Style Transfer System?

The NBA, along with most pro sports leagues, has had competition from outside sources throughout its history. Competition for all-around athletes with football and baseball, competition from the flashy ABA, competition between US-born and foreign players.

Never before, however, has it had serious competition from foreign teams. This new "threat," which became clear when Josh Childress signed with a Greek team, is not necessarily bad.

As other writers on this site and elsewhere have pointed out, the NBA has been pillaging other nations' players for years. This has added to the competitiveness of many NBA teams, most notably the Spurs. Sure there have been busts, but it has also allowed the NBA brand to expand greatly. Yao certainly generates excitement for the league in China, but T-Mac has also become a huge revenue-generating figure there as well. 

But it can work both ways. Childress left the NBA, yes, and is probably generating excitement in Greece. But just as many US soccer fans look at Beckham and think "yeah he's pretty good, but for real soccer you have to watch EPL or the Spanish League," Greek basketball fans will realise that Childress is no Dwayne Wade.  And this will draw them to the NBA. If the NBA is going to begin expanding into Europe, this would be a good start. Childriss is not a great talent by NBA standards, anyway, and his loss hurts the Hawks some, but he's no Josh Smith.

However, logistically, the move by Childriss creates a large problem for both the Greek league and the NBA. He now plays in Greece, but the Hawks still own the rights to him should he return to the NBA? What if he's traded, or leaves for another European team? It could create a legal nightmare if multiple teams in countries with different contract laws claim the rights to them.

But what if the the Hawks could sell or loan Childress' contract to the Greek team? The cash earned from a transfer could help small-market teams pay the luxury tax and remain competitive, while the salary cap would prevent the Los Angeles Lakers and the Chicago Bulls from buying up huge contracts and dominating the league. A salary floor could be implemented to prevent Donald Sterling from selling players off on the transfer market and keeping only the cheapest talent.

NBA superstars would be valued too high to be transfered to Europe, but middle-of-the-road players like Childress would have real options, and not be tied down in restricted free agency. If a European team wants to take on a bad, but relatively affordable contract, they could do it, but they would have to pay a fee to the NBA team that owned the rights. Conversely, the Euroleague should not become a foreign NBDL. NBA teams should pay to get their players back from Europe (just like you can't trade a player to another team and then sign him back while he's still on that team). If a loan is agreed on, then it would have to be at the consent of both teams.

Lastly, the best players would decide where they went anyway. LeBron would never want to go to Europe, since his fan base, though world-wide, is mostly in the US, as is his sponsor. If a few decent players are lost to Europe, so be it. It would mean more marketing dollars for the NBA, and if the league truly wants an increased European fan-base, a soccer/football-style system of player movement would be familiar to Euro fans anyway.