Yahoo: While playing in Shuangyashan, Heilongjiang province… Pierce and Beasley both suffered asthma attacks due to large amounts of fans smoking cigarettes inside the stadium. After the game, things got even more shocking when Beasley fell to the floor in his hotel and started to roll around in obvious pain, scaring everyone around half-to-death. At that point, there was no choice but to dial 120 (the number for an ambulance in China) and take him to the hospital.
Well I hope David Stern is happy. I understand that business is business and that financially the NBA is all over the place. It amazes me that despite a salary cap small market teams struggle worse in the NBA than those in the MLB. It is clear that somethings gotta give and NBA execs need to sit down and figure out what to do to prevent every major market from doing what the Miami Heat did but I'll save the business issue for another blog and focus this one on players going overseas to make money.
Superstars like Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, etc. going overseas to play during the lockout is absolutely ridiculous. I understand that they're not seeing any money from their NBA teams, but last I checked the lockout does not prevent sponsors like Nike, Adidas, Gatorade, etc. from paying them. Is every player in the NBA as financially irresponsable as Antwan Walker? These guys are making tens of millions of dollars a year yet they have so little in the bank that their children will starve and they'll lose their house if they don't play in Europe or China?
I don't understand the "I just want to play basketball" excuse either. Why don't the top superstars in the league make a superteam of their own and go on a cross country tour where they take on the likes of the Harlem Globe Trotters and the And1 street ball team? They can show them how its really done.
On a serious note, what's the difference if you're scoring 600 points a game on the blacktop in Philly or you're scoring 600 points a game in an opium den in China? The only difference is you're getting paid to play in China so drop the "I love the game" bullshit.
Now I'm not going to argue that superstars shouldn't be going overseas because they might get injured; because lets face it, these guys aren't going to sit on their couches during the lockout there going to play ball. The difference between staying here and going abroad is the top medical facilities in the world are located in the United States. If Kobe plays in Eastbumfuck, China there might only be one hospital in a 100 mile radius and what are the chances that hospital will have the same resources as a hospital in LA, not to mention the language barrier. This is a nothing but a recipe for disaster.
I understand that the NBA is becoming a global brand and that teams are offering them big bucks to come and play abroad. However, I fear that stories like Pierce having an asthma attack during a game because everyone and their mother is smoking in the arena will become the norm. I also fear that as more and more players go overseas the horror stories of the playing conditions will get worse.
The NBA superstars of today should take after the best of all time, Michael Jordan. Take a year off from basketball, gamble irresponsibly and try out for a minor league baseball team. Last time I checked Jordan won three championships after taking a year off to play baseball, so if it worked for him it'll work for everyone right? All celtics fans should be calling Theo Epstein begging him to open up some roster spots on the Portland Sea Dogs for the big 3. This could not only bring three more championships to the city of champions but it could save Paul Pierce from dying of lung cancer from second hand smoke.
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