Cabrera: NBA Europe

The Chicago Bulls defeated the Utah Jazz 102-101 during a preseason contest in London?

That’s right, London, England—get used to it. NBA Commissioner David Stern plans to have a regular season game in London before the city hosts the 2012 Summer Olympics

Stern and the NBA also plan to create multiple European teams within the foreseeable future. These teams would join the NBA, play the 82-game regular season, and have a chance to compete for the NBA championship.

The Bulls had 3 days of preparation in London, as well as 3 days of rest in Chicago before their next game.

However, these luxurious sightseeing and debriefing periods don’t exist during the regular season. During the 6-month NBA season, 3-day rests between games is a rarity—scattered 3 times in the Bulls’ schedule this year. The Bulls also have 22 instances of back-to-back games where traveling is necessary.

Imagine an NBA team playing on a Friday night in Miami and traveling that same night for a game Saturday night in London. Even a one-day lapse between games can over exert players.

Players don’t play hard enough in the regular season. To tire players by transporting them back and forth overseas gives an opportunity to worsen the often-lethargic, regular season play.

If the Commissioner wants to globalize the game of basketball—that’s great—but he should do so the right way.

Instead of installing NBA franchises in certain European cities to compete with teams in the U.S., the NBA should create a new league. For convenience, let’s call that league NBA Europe.

By creating NBA Europe, the Commissioner can globalize the NBA without hurting the quality of play. Also, this option prevents the inconvenience of international mid-season trades.

Rather, NBA Europe can give current NBA players a choice, before the season starts, to play in Europe or the United States—depending on the current state of the player’s contract.

Some might think NBA players wouldn’t be willing to make the move overseas and play under an NBA Europe affiliate.

However, basketball has globalized. Many former NBA players now play in European leagues—Josh Childress, Von Wafer, and more. Even American high school players have made the jump to Europe without attending college—most notably current Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings.

Decisions to play abroad are monetarily and egotistically driven. Players like Childress, Wafer, and Kleiza choose to play in Europe for more money and playing time.

The NBA’s global respect and majestic nature would attract basketball players from around the world to compete in NBA Europe—including current NBA European-born players.

If an entity like NBA Europe exists, signing players to fill rosters is the least of the NBA’s problems. Developing a proper infrastructure would be challenging, but certainly manageable.

Now, Commissioner David Stern just needs to realize that franchising the NBA would serve better than expanding it.