NBA Free Agents 2011: 20 Players Better off Taking Their Talents Overseas

With the NBA knee-deep into a lockout and the 2011-12 season in more danger than a curly-haired blond girl tied to a railroad track in a 1920s silent film, there has been endless talk about players going overseas.

I have to say right off the bat that it is crazy to think that Deron Williams or any other superstar should go to Europe to play basketball.  That would be like David Villa leaving FC Barcelona to come play for the Columbus Crew.

In other words, not gonna happen.

However, if you have an aging veteran (not Kobe Bryant) who is starting to wind down in his career (not Kobe Bryant) and is starting to lose playing time (definitely not Kobe Bryant), then taking a look overseas may not be such a bad idea, kind of like Thierry Henry signing with the New York Red Bulls this year or David Beckham with the LA Galaxy a few years back.

The only difference is that the shelf life of a basketball player can be much longer than that of a soccer player, so a veteran in the NBA has to be like a rolled up toothpaste tube with just a bit left for a Euro club to squeeze out.

Other than the toothpaste guys, there are those young guys who are buried on NBA depth charts and could make bundles of money overseas.  They have almost no reason to stay over here and play 32 games per year making the league minimum when they could ride the fact that they played in the NBA to a multi-year, multi-million dollar deal in Europe.

One guy that did something similar to this was Josh Childress.  Childress had a decent first few seasons in the NBA, but he couldn't break through to the starting lineup in Atlanta for various reasons so he signed with the Olympiacos B.C. and made the equivalent of about $15 million a year in Europe.

Tell me one guy who is playing in the NBA and is making less than $5 million a year who wouldn't accept a deal like that.

Troy Murphy

If Troy Murphy is used to living the life of luxury then he might want to consider jumping across to Europe to play some basketball.

Murphy made over $11 million last year (this is why there is a lockout, people), but he only played in 34 games between the New Jersey Nets and Boston Celtics, so odds are he won't be making much more than the veteran minimum if he signs with a new team.

The one skill Murphy had going for him, the ability to shoot the three-ball, seems to have abandoned him at this point in his career, so why not ride name recognition to about $5 million a year in Europe?

If Nenad Krstic can get a multi-year, multi-million dollar deal then Troy Murphy can too.

Etan Thomas

Etan Thomas is a guy who has bummed around the league for nearly a decade and is pretty recognizable as an NBA player to fan who watch a fair number of games.

He had his bright spots in the past, but at this point he has played 62 games in the past two years and is making just below the veteran minimum.

There is no reason why he can't ride his former NBA player tag to a contract at least three times what he made last year in Europe.

Carlos Arroyo

Carlos Arroyo has a handful of things going for him that would give him a huge payday if he were to sign in Europe.

First, he is a very recognizable name, having played for nearly a decade in the league, beginning as a backup for John Stockton in the early 00s and most recently playing with the Miami Heat, something that made him extremely visible.

That, plus the fact that he is a very coachable guy (as European coaches pretty much run the offense, no questions asked) could lead to a huge payday for Arroyo if he looks elsewhere.

Sasha Pavlovic

Sasha Pavlovic is a three-point specialist whom nobody trusts to shoot threes anymore.  In other words, there probably isn't a job out there for old Sasha.

Pavlovic has played in Europe before, so he knows what to expect. Plus he is a Serbian native, so if he were to get a job somewhere around his home he could get even more money.

One thing is for sure: he would make more than the minimum contract that he earned last season if he were to go back to Europe.

Tracy McGrady

Probably the guy that would garner the most attention by shipping off overseas (unless Deron Williams is indeed a moron and goes to play in Europe), the only question is how long he wants to hang on in the NBA.

He has expressed interest in playing for the Lakers, but does Los Angeles really want a 32-year-old forward who couldn't even crack ten points per game for the lousy Detroit Pistons?  I'd say no.

McGrady has made plenty of money in his NBA career, but is he fine with accepting another veteran minimum contract from a team that probably won't be a contender?

In all I think McGrady would be best served swallowing his pride like Allen Iverson did, but end up accepting way more money, as he probably still has enough ability to put up some good numbers in Europe.

Joe Smith

The former No. 1 draft pick is getting old, and it seems as if he may be tired of being the epitome of an NBA journeyman.

He isn't going to get a contract bigger than the league minimum, and odds are if he signs with a decent team that he will end up sitting on the bench all year.

The Euroleague will mean more money for Smith, which should be tantalizing enough, unless of course he wants to take time and focus on his rap career.  Yes, Joe Smith has a rap career.

Mike Bibby

Much like Carlos Arroyo but to a much greater extent, Mike Bibby has possibly become an internationally recognized player because of playing with the Miami Heat.

He was a great point guard with the Sacramento Kings back in the day, but that was before the advent of countless games being broadcast all over the world.  After being seen in the NBA Finals he could definitely be used as a marketing tool in Europe.

Plus I would be willing to bet that he would still be able to drop 15 points and dish out seven or eight assists in the Euroleague.

Juwan Howard

Juwan Howard is basically in the same boat as Mike Bibby except for two key differences.

Howard is more recognizable than Bibby because he was a member of one of the most popular college basketball teams of all-time, and because he looks exactly the same as he did when he played with them.

However, Howard is a stiff at this point.  His best basketball skill is that he is tall (and yes, in the NBA I consider that to be a skill).

So why not take a trip overseas to make way more money than he would have in the states, because I find it unlikely that he ends up back on the Heat as their next wave of veteran minimum guys come in.

Michael Redd

I don't think anyone is willing to pay Michael Redd what he may think he should get paid.

He would be paid like a low-end three-point specialist at the very best (meaning somewhere around $2 million or so), but I don't think he is ready to give up on the idea that he could still be an impact player in the NBA.

Redd was a very good player for a handful of years at the beginning of the century, and he could probably fake it enough in Europe to get a good chunk of change.

Sebastian Telfair

It seems as if every team in the NBA has taken a chance on Sebastian Telfair, so I guess it's time for him to chug on over to Europe and try his game out there.

Being the ultimate example of a young kid who didn't live up to the hype has to be getting to him at this point, so why not take a fresh start in Europe to see if he can have an impact playing for a competitive team?

Dan Gadzuric

Let me say this first: I was unaware that Dan Gadzuric was even in the league anymore.  He is kind of like Jim Jackson was for a while when you would go months without seeing the guy and then without fail he shows up in a different uniform somewhere.

I doubt there is much of a market out there for a defensive specialist who can't play defense anymore, so he would be accepting a contract somewhere around the minimum.

Gadzuric could actually end up in a Miami Heat uniform (sorry Heat fans), but if they don't come calling then I would say he should buy himself a boat ticket and play in Europe.

Aaron Gray

If you were to line up every NBA player shoulder to shoulder and tell someone who has no knowledge of the league to pick the guy who isn't a player, they would probably pick Aaron Gray.

He is a chubby fellow who looks as much like as an athlete as I look like Wilt Chamberlain, and he is showing really no promise in the league other than being a big body.

We have no need for your services anymore Gray; pack it in and pack it up.

Josh Howard

Josh Howard is done getting legitimate playing time in the NBA, but I do think that he has some skill left as a basketball player.

He is probably going to sign with a mediocre team in the NBA for somewhere around $3 million, so he has no real reason to stick around to make a championship run (he's too good to sign for the vet minimum, if that makes sense).

In his shoes, would you rather piddle your final years of being a decent basketball player in Sacramento or Minnesota, or go to Italy or Spain for a few years and earn a pretty good paycheck?

Vladimir Radmanovic

Vladimir Radmanovic proved that he still had the ability to shoot a three-pointer last season, so I might be a bit premature with this, but he would still be a good European option.

The big Bosnian has lost his durability, lost his speed and lost his desire to hustle, three things that he once relied on to be a borderline good player in this league, and is only relying on the long ball to play at this point.

He can get three-point specialist money in the NBA or he can go overseas and make a little bit more.

Francisco Elson

If you are seven feet tall, have been in the NBA for eight years and have yet to score more than 2000 points, then you probably aren't going to make it in this league.

He seems to be picked up for his height, and then everyone realizes that he can't score so he ends up playing a game every week or so, wasting a roster spot and money.

Elson has made $3 million as his highest total in the NBA for a single season, and I would bet that he could make at least that, if not more in Europe, and plus that would be net income, as European clubs usually pay players' expenses and taxes.

Jason Kapono

At this point, Jason Kapono is a synonym for "that white guy sitting next to the injured guy in a suit."  He comes in when depth is thin or when a blowout is happening; otherwise he is in a warmup.

His three-point shot has abandoned him and he scored all of 16 points last season in 24 games played.

He could easily go to Europe and make more money than he would in the NBA, as his post-rookie contract that paid him nearly $25 million is up.

Malik Allen

Another jaded veteran who never could quite break through to legitimate playing time despite some decent performances on the defensive end of the floor early on in his career, Malik Allen's future is looking dim in the NBA.

He is on track to settle for another million dollar contract (sad, I know) and play around 40 games on a halfway decent team.

Allen could conversely take his talents to Europe, grab two or three million bucks a year in net income and actually play basketball.

D.J. Mbenga

Didier Ilunga-Mbenga has played seven seasons in the NBA, is seven feet tall and has topped 100 points in a season only once.

Back in 1962, it would have taken Wilt Chamberlain eight games and about ten minutes of another game to surpass D.J. Mbenga's career point total.

He's not going to make it much longer in the NBA.

So, why not choose to play in Europe and have the luxury of having teams want you rather than waiting four more years, getting no contract offers in the NBA and having to bum around Europe looking for a deal?

Shelden Williams

I like Shelden Williams, and from what I have seen of him, he is a good defender who can score every once in a while (I may be way off here; I have seen him in probably half a dozen games in five years).

He was the Defensive Player of the Year in college, and as far as I can tell he hasn't really been given the chance to legitimately prove himself in the NBA.

New York may want to give him another year or two, but he would make more money and get more respect over in Europe.

Earl Boykins

The little man that everyone with any interest in the NBA loves to love is starting to fade away and get fewer and fewer looks at playing time in the league.

I have loved watching Earl Boykins over the past decade-plus, and he is probably the second best little man in a world of big men since the game's inception, but he can't play much longer at this level.

It would be sad to see him go, but I would love to see him get a decent payday in Europe (he has never made more than $3 million in the NBA), and possibly tear it up a little.

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