dirk playing in europe next year?

[xrobx]

http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nba...ory?id=6079828

Dirk Nowitzki is serious about wanting to play in Europe next season if a work stoppage shuts down the NBA, but the Mavericks' star forward acknowledges that the prospect of actually doing so is a long shot.

Reiterating comments he recently made to German newspaper Bild, Nowitzki told ESPNDallas.com that he will explore every avenue to play abroad in 2011-12 in the event of a lockout.

"Before I sit around for a year," Nowitzki said, "I would want to play somewhere."

Nowitzki, though, was also quick to add that he's well aware that any NBA player under contract would face significant legal hurdles to play abroad, even if NBA owners impose a lockout starting July 1 as widely feared. The prevalent assumption throughout the league is that NBA players interested in playing in other countries during a work stoppage will have to go to court to win the right to do so -- even when they're not getting paid during a lockout -- because the sport's international governing body (FIBA) would otherwise not allow its teams to sign players contracted to NBA clubs without a letter of clearance from USA Basketball or the player's respective national federation.

Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko and Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings (who played for a season in Italy before starting his NBA career) are among the prominent players who have voiced the same desire as Nowitzki to play in Europe next season if the NBA and the NBA Players Association can't reach agreement on a new labor pact this summer. The players' union is expected to make the case in court that NBA contracts aren't valid during a work stoppage, thus creating the requisite freedom for its constituents to play wherever they wish.

But one source close to the situation told ESPN.com that the NBA intends to exert as much pressure on FIBA as it can muster to prevent a flood of NBA players to Europe, since its bargaining position in labor talks would be severely weakened if NBA players have the ability to earn money elsewhere during a work stoppage.

"It's all a lot of speculation at this point," Nowitzki said after Monday's win over Washington. "I don't even know if it's going to be legally possible [to play elsewhere during a lockout]. I have a contract here. I didn't have a contract when I played over there during the last lockout."

NBA players who become free agents July 1 are not subject to the same restrictions regarding playing overseas during a lockout.

The first work stoppage in NBA history that wiped out regular-season games coincided with Nowitzki's rookie season in 1998-99. The league ultimately staged a 50-game season after finally striking a new labor agreement with its players in January, but Nowitzki kept playing with his German club team in his hometown of Wurzburg in Bavaria after being selected with the ninth pick in the 1998 draft because the lockout prevented the Mavericks from actually signing him.

Bild reported that three teams in Germany are already angling to sign him: Alba Berlin, Bayern Munich and Brose Baskets Bamburg. But Nowitzki, noting that traveling overseas has always been one of his favorite offseason hobbies, told ESPNDallas.com that he would not limit himself to considering offers in his native country if NBA players ultimately did secure the legal freedom to play elsewhere during a workout stoppage.

Greece, for example, is a frequent vacation spot for Nowitzki's family and would thus hold strong appeal given that its league has always been one of Europe's strongest.

But Nowitzki ultimately downplayed the whole concept, saying he's still hopeful that a deal can be struck to keep the NBA in business next season and insisting that the only reason he's thought about playing abroad is because he's fearful of the rust that would accumulate if he lost an entire season at age 33.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has been one of the league's most outspoken critics when it comes to NBA players representing their national teams in summer competition because of the risk of serious injury and his belief that NBA teams needlessly shoulder the bulk of that risk.

But Cuban scoffed Monday at the possibility of Nowitzki playing in Europe during a work stoppage, saying: "[There's] nothing stupider than discussing hypotheticals about hypotheticals."

When reminded that Nowitzki and longtime adviser Holger Geschwindner had actually addressed the subject publicly and that it wasn't mere media speculation, Cuban added: "It's still hypothetical. I understand that [Nowitzki discussed it in the German media]. Some hypotheticals are presented as hypotheticals in the media so other people can hypothesize about where the hypotheticals might go, but I'd rather not play that game."

Nowitzki, meanwhile, says he won't even try to return to the German national team next summer -- as much as he wants to make another trip to the Olympics in 2012 -- until he can gauge his physical condition after the season.

To appease Cuban, Nowitzki took the last two summers off from national-team duty after helping Germany reach the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, where he realized his lifelong dream of playing for his country on the biggest international stage. Germany has to do well in this summer's European Championship to qualify for London, but Nowitzki admitted last week that his recent sprained knee -- which resulted in the longest injury absence (nine games) of his NBA career -- will factor into his thinking when it comes to playing for Germany at the EuroBasket tournament during August and September in Lithuania.

NBA teams can't force their players to sit out international competition as part of its agreement with FIBA, but Nowitzki and Cuban have always made the decision mutually about when and when not for Nowitzki to play for Germany.

"The team is first," Nowitzki said over the weekend. "That's why I was always allowed to play [for Germany], because I was never really hurt. I never missed major time during the season, so definitely that was a plus for me. I have to get back on track with the Mavs first."

On Monday night, Nowitzki added: "Right now, we're trying to make a run at a championship. That's all I'm really focused on."

Marc Stein covers the NBA for ESPN.com and is a frequent contributor to ESPNDallas.com.

Follow Marc Stein on Twitter: @stein_line_HQ

[BUMP]

yeah i got tats on my legs, yeah they're spurs and yeah they're on my calves... we've gone over this yrs ago and yet it's still being brought up like a bad joke. it's [wat??] old man and you think it gets to me when you say the bs you do? you think it gets to me especially coming from some chump off the internet? come on now man... i didn't get these tats because i thought i'd shrivel up into a ball and hide when someone put me down about my decision to tat my calves up with spurs, i got these tats because i wanted to, because i like them and because i could give 2 [wat???] less about some bitchmade chump on the internet.

get over it man and add to this thread or get the [wat???] out already. come up with something clever or shut the [wat???] up and get out of my thread.

[Underdog]

I'm really confused by the previous post...

Seriously, wtf??

[Underdog]

Unlike the regular NBA offseasons, I actually don't mind Dirk playing in Germany if there's a lockout.

Injury is always a possibility, but rust is a probability - I'm sure more than a few players aren't going to look the same after they take a year off...

[fluid.forty.one]

Originally Posted by Underdog

I'm really confused by the previous post...

Seriously, wtf??

It's a reoccurring joke/post about a spurstalk poster... I'm not sure why he posted it here, though.

[fluid.forty.one]

Originally Posted by Underdog

Unlike the regular NBA offseasons, I actually don't mind Dirk playing in Germany if there's a lockout.

Injury is always a possibility, but rust is a probability - I'm sure more than a few players aren't going to look the same after they take a year off...

I dunno man. Dirk usually looks great when he takes a lot of time off and he's getting old. I'd much rather him rest as much as possible and then do his thaaang he normally does to get back into game shape about a month before the lockout ends.

[dalger]

As far as the physical toll of playing overseas is concerned, it's important to note that the regular season in the German national league only consists of 34 games between early October and late April, meaning that teams have more time off between games compared to the NBA. In addition, there are no more than three best-of-5 playoff rounds in the postseason. Even if Dirk participated in every single game and his team had to play as many games as possible, which is quite unlikely, he would play in no more than 49 games between October and early June. NBA players work the same amount of games in only three months, thus having a much more intense schedule. It's also worth noting that games in Europe only last 40 instead of 48 minutes.

It's possible that the number of games could increase due to international competition. Of the clubs that have voiced interest in Dirk, Bamberg and Berlin are pretty much a safe bet when it comes to qualifying for next year's international competition. However, even then Dirk wouldn't play nearly as many games as during a full NBA season.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by dalger

As far as the physical toll of playing overseas is concerned, it's important to note that the regular season in the German national league only consists of 34 games between early October and late April, meaning that teams have more time off between games compared to the NBA. In addition, there are no more than three best-of-5 playoff rounds in the postseason. Even if Dirk participated in every single game and his team had to play as many games as possible, which is quite unlikely, he would play in no more than 49 games between October and early June. NBA players work the same amount of games in only three months, thus having a much more intense schedule. It's also worth noting that games in Europe only last 40 instead of 48 minutes.

It's possible that the number of games could increase due to international competition. Of the clubs that have voiced interest in Dirk, Bamberg and Berlin are pretty much a safe bet when it comes to qualifying for next year's international competition. However, even then Dirk wouldn't play nearly as many games as during a full NBA season.

35-45 games at 30-35 MPG sounds like just enough activity for a year to keep Dirk active but also keep him fresh for the 2012 season.

[badfish22]

Originally Posted by BUMP

yeah i got tats on my legs, yeah they're spurs and yeah they're on my calves... we've gone over this yrs ago and yet it's still being brought up like a bad joke. it's [wat??] old man and you think it gets to me when you say the bs you do? you think it gets to me especially coming from some chump off the internet? come on now man... i didn't get these tats because i thought i'd shrivel up into a ball and hide when someone put me down about my decision to tat my calves up with spurs, i got these tats because i wanted to, because i like them and because i could give 2 [wat???] less about some bitchmade chump on the internet.

get over it man and add to this thread or get the [wat???] out already. come up with something clever or shut the [wat???] up and get out of my thread.

[Dim499]

Did Mike Modano play Hockey in the Italien Hockey league during the NHL lockout, flaco?

[dalger]

Originally Posted by Underdog

35-45 games at 30-35 MPG sounds like just enough activity for a year to keep Dirk active but also keep him fresh for the 2012 season.

Just did a quick search and found out that the three players with most minutes per game for Munich, Bamberg and Berlin average 31.8, 30.0 and 28.8 MPG respectively so far this season. Considering that all of the aforementioned three teams that are interested in Dirk would probably dominate many of their opponents and decide games early if Dirk was on the floor for them, I'd think that Dirk averaging somewhere between 25-30 instead of 30-35 MPG would be even more likely.

Playing about 45 games and 25-30 MPG over the course of nine months could indeed be better than not playing at all for almost one and a half years. There comes a point, as you mentioned, when rest becomes rust and turns into a problem rather than an advantage.

Then again, this a highly hypothetical discussion at this point...

[Zaknaf3in]

Dirk to Alba Berlin! All for it!
You guys are spoilt with seeing him live - only done so ONCE before!

[Lestat_1795]

I would prefer Bayern

[dude1394]

The dirkster is definitely getting older. However taking a year off is not a good for an athelete..no way,shape or how...

But I do hope his days of playing in the summer are over for the most part, if he wants to continue to play at his day job at a high level.