By Stelios Toromanidis/info@eurohoops.net
The “wave” of impressive – in terms of salaries – signings in the NBA could not fail to sweep a select few representatives of the Euroleague. First-class basketball players but also rising stars left Europe and headed to the “magical world” of the NBA, actually obtaining excellent financial agreements. Eurohoops gathered all the players who were competing in the Euroleague and the Eurocup and who have moved to the other side of the Atlantic from July 1 onwards.
It seems that the balances of world basketball are changing once again. The increase of the NBA salary cap (from 70 million dollars to 94) for the season 2016-17 by 34,3% compared with last season, widening the economic gap with Europe even more.
In practical terms, this means that the 30 representatives of the best basketball league in the world can acquire with even greater ease in relation to the past the best the old continent has to offer, if we also take into account the great desire of the majority of players to test their abilities at the most difficult level.
Should we put it differently? The annual earnings of a top star of the European courts amount to, in leading cases, around 3 million euros. This amount is given by the NBA teams with excess comfort to athletes who have secondary roles on the roster and that makes it more easy for European top players to leave, chasing an even bigger contract in the future, with money that does not exist in Europe.
The aforementioned changes have already brought about significant losses in Europe. The greatest of all, so far, is that of Sergio Rodriguez. The until recently playmaker for Real Madrid has agreed to a one-year contract with the Philadelphia 76ers for 6,8 million dollars, returning to the NBA after six years with the Spanish champions.
Of course, he’s not the only one. A total of ten players who played in the Euroleague and Eurocup during the 2015-16 season, have already packed their bags for the United States. In fact, reports indicate that the money the top seven of them are going to receive amount to 27 million dollars a year, while the contracts they have signed last between one and four years!
The players who are bidding farewell to Europe and heading to the NBA
| PLAYER | LEFT | SIGNED WITH | CONTRACT DURATION | ANNUAL EARNINGS |
| Sergio
Rodriguez |
Real Madrid | Philadelphia
76ers |
1 year | $ 6,8 million |
| Tomas
Satoransky |
Barcelona | Washington Wizards | 3 years | $ 3 million |
| Justin
Hamilton |
Valencia | Brooklyn Nets | 2 years | $ 3 million |
| Mindaugas Kuzminskas | Unicaja Malaga | Νew York Knicks | 2 years | $ 3 million |
| Willy
Hernangomez |
Real Madrid | Νew York Knicks | 4 years | $ 1,4 million |
| Malcolm
Delaney |
Lokomotiv Kuban | Αtlanta Hawks | 2 years | $ 2,5 million |
| Davis Bertans | Laboral
Kutxa |
San Antonio Spurs | 2 years |
$ 750.000 |
| Dario
Saric |
Anadolu Efes | Philadelphia
76ers |
4 years |
$ 2,5 million |
| Maurice Ndour | Real Madrid | New York Knicks | 2 years | |
|
Alex Abrines |
Barcelona |
OKC Thunder |
3 years |
$ 6 million |
Another way out for the talented European players to the NBA is, of course, the draft. In the 2016 one, 13 of the 60 players selected by the teams of the top league (21,7%) come from championships of the old continent. Almost for half of them it’s been decided that they will move directly to the USA and the motive is also financial.
For example, Georgios Papagiannis will be playing with the Sacramento Kings for the next four years and for each year of his contract he will receive nearly 12 times the money that he got in the 2015-16 season from Panathinaikos, one of the top European clubs, and that’s going to be the rule for young European players from now on.