Yeah no surprises that the Bucks want to protect their investment. I hope Bogut isn't forced out of the WC's due to their concerns. From everything I've heard from Bogut he really wants to play for the Boomers. He has even made comments to the effect that him playing is important for raising the profile of Australian basketball and I agree with that.

It will probably be only 6 or 7 games compared to at least 86 during this season (if they get swept). I'd be surprised if it really makes that much difference in the long run. He just has to continue to take care of himself physically and then rest after the Worlds.

I agree with some of the comments on the J-S article too, about shortening the NBA season to give intl ball a fair go. 82 reg season games is too many. It becomes too much a war of attrition, when at the end of the day, basketball fans want to see teams compete at the highest level possible in the playoffs. They only need to shave off 12 or so. I think the first round of the playoffs should go back to five as well. Some of those series are really lopsided - do we really need to see the Lakers smash their opponent 4 times in a row? 3 would be plenty in my book.

In the end, the owners want more money though, so they'll peer through their short-sighted specs, wondering how much more juice they can squeeze out of their franchise player each season. I say play less games, pay the players less. Simple.

There is a lot of interesting comments on that first article. All saying things like "$60m says he doesn't play". I wonder if they feel the same about Kobe, LeBron, etc.

I say play less games, pay the players less. Simple.

Beantown,
Im with you. Agree with all your points. David Stern and the NBA needs to give International ball a fair opportunity. Potentially if the NBA continues to shut out International ball alot of the top European prospects will think twice about going to the NBA (The Europeans are extremely patriotic about their respective countries).

82 is far too many..The last 20 games are only really valuable for those teams trying to break into the 8th seed --The top teams are resting their starters because their seeds are locked up and the horrendous teams (e.g. Minnessota,NJ) are just tanking to get the best lottery picks for the draft.

The NBA has one of the longest seasons in world sport:
It goes for 9 months long (for 16 of the teams), then after that players take a month off. That leaves just 2 months dedicated to International Basketball!

Bogut needs to play unless he is legit injured. FFS this is the worlds we're talkin bout....comes only once every 4 years....the bucks owners have no control over whether any Bucks NBA player plays in the World's. Sadly Bogut has either been injured too many times or not 'turned up to play' or got conveniently injured during a game when the boomers have called. I am a big Bogut fan & supporter but he needs to look at the big picture & realise Aussie BBall needs him more now than ever b4...

Cavs stopped Ilgauskas from playing for Lithuania at the Olympics, then traded him this year. (Although he'll probably be back.)

Anon,
Do you think that the players are getting injured because of International basketball or NBA?
Clearly, its because the NBA season is too long and demanding! 82 games + finals and the travelling between cities is ridicolous!!

Kobe played 105 games in 2008 in the NBA; He played 12 games for Team USA in 2008

....I think its pretty obvious that the NBA schedule has probably resulted in Kobe's injury problems this season and NOT the international basketball schedule.

Surely all other countries shouldn't bear the burden of NBA restrictions?
Protecting their investment to a certain degree, sure, but some countries will never get better or get to showcase what they could do with a full strength team representing them.
I'd be a tad miffed if I was Bogut and was expected to not play- his Bucks deal has a lot riding on it but you can't put a price on playing for your country and he seems to want to suit up too.

Which other pro sports stop their players from representing their country when it comes to a World Championship or Olympic Games? None.

Soccer is probably the other most relevant example when contemplating season length and player salaries. Similar issues are always popping up during World Cup qualification, the old club vs country argument. But when it comes to the World Cup itself, every player is available. It is after all the pinnacle for that sport. Well for me, the basketball World Championships is the pinnacle in the world of basketball, alongside the Olympics of course. However in soccer, the Olympics is essentially an U23 competition - that being the only major difference.

NBA teams cannot stop their players from representing their country during the off-season, however I totally understand and appreciate their desire to protect their investments - just as is the case in the soccer.

for me, it will come down to whether Bogut feels he is healthy and is able to cope with the additional 7-10 odd games he will be requird to play. Bogut would be doing off-season training, workouts and scrimmages in any case. Doing so with the Boomers in WC opreparations would IMO be nothing more than he would be doing in any case at some point.

I just hope he remains healthy and thereofre the decision to play for Australia is an easier decision to make for him.

LC, your comparison to FIFA is one that I myself have contemplated and I am in agreeance with you. There are a few main differences. FIFA has much more clout than FIBA imo and their decision to make the Olympics an U23 tournament makes player availability less of an issue. In Bball both WCs and Olys are essentially at the same level of importance but the Olys seem to be the one most people consider to be the big one. However, consider this; do the Opals place a greater value on their two silver Olympic medals, or on their WC gold?

It is true that NBA teams can't legally prevent any player from representing their nation but anyone who has worked in a job has experienced all sorts of unfair pressures from their superiors to toe the company line. I know I have at least, and I have only ever worked for a paycheck three orders of magnitude smaller than that which Bogut has recently signed. I know how that workplace bullying felt for me, so I can only imagine what Andrew is feeling.

If the pressure brought to bear on potential NBA internationals is to be reduced, we cannot look to the toothless FIBA for this result. It must come from the NBA itself and I believe there is a great incentive for it to do so. Revenues from merchandising and broadcast rights are increasingly coming from overseas and the NBA needs to nurture, not alienate, this market. You can't tell me, for example, that 1.2 billion Chinese gave a crap about the city of Houston until one Yao Ming started playing there. They follow his exploits and take immense pride in them. But their interest is only piqued because they dream he will one day lead them to victory on the world stage. If he is prevented from representing his nation, either from managerial pressure or his body succumbing to the rigours of a ludicrously long NBA season, their interest in the NBA will soon wane, as will the flow of Yuan. You can repeat this story eighty-odd times, one for each non-US NBA player.

C'mon Stern, work it out, let our players play!

Regarding Bogut's WC availability, I know this is a crap thing to say, but I am hoping the Bucks get swept in the first round.

I see you comments aussieboomers4eva and raise you!

The major difference between Bogut and Yao Ming however is that Australia is a small market (as is the case with the Bucks) in comparison to China, i.e. 23 million compared to more than 1.2 billion.

But I do agree in that the solution probably lies with the NBA rather than FIBA.

Agreed, Yao was only the most obvious example. Though surely Europe as a whole would mean as much if not more to the NBA than China alone and there are scores of players hailing from there. I would hope any directive from Stern, or even a quiet word on the side to the GMs would equally apply to players from all nations regardless of market value. Too optimistic?

Ultimately I think the Bucks will get the last say in this one.
Is it pressure solely from the Bucks to not play in the WC or is it coming from higher up the chain like the NBA itself?