Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports:
Most European jobs will fill up in the next few weeks. Agent Lance Young of Octagon, whose clients include Memphis Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, said some of his players will take a wait-and-see approach.
“If a lockout keeps going, a guy like Stephen might go over for a little while,” Young said.
[Agent Bernie] Lee and Young agree on a burgeoning basketball market that will be attractive in a long lockout: China.
“The biggest money is China, hands down,” Young said. “You can make almost double in China what you can in Europe. The Chinese league isn’t as good of a league, but if it’s all about money you might as well go over there and make as much money as you can.”
The Chinese season doesn’t start until December, and teams recruit in September and October, Lee said. Players by then will know if NBA games are lost.
“I can see a number of NBA guys getting attractive offers from Chinese teams that will have those walk-away outs,” Lee said.
InsideHoops.com editor says: High-paying basketball jobs exist in Europe, but once those fill up, it does sound like China is the spot. But playing in Europe, generally, is the slightly easier culture experience for many players.
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