Lebron, Kobe, and now D-Wade. Greece Lightning: The 50 million dollar question

They asked Lebron, they asked Kobe, and now their Olympic teammate, Dwayne Wade, was asked the big question. Would you go to Europe if offered fifty million dollars? The overwhelming response from all these players seems to be yes. Again, this is an early discussion, because like Kobe and Lebron, Wade's contract is not up for two years. But this is setting up 2010 to be the most important year for the NBA since the ABA merger in 1976. 

But the most shocking quote to come out of this interview was not that Wade would consider bolting for Greece for the big payday. It's this quote that he offered up when asked about Josh Childress' Greek contract:

"...the way his deal is structured Josh is making just about the same as I am after taxes."

Woah there! You're telling me Dwayne Wade, who put a lowly Marquette team on his back and took them to a Final Four? Dwayne Wade, who led an aging, hurt, Miami Heat team to an upset NBA Championship? That Dwayne Wade, is making as much as, I'm best known for my afro, Josh Childress? I hope David Stern has a firm grip on his synthetic balls, because he's about to get kicked square in them.
There of course is a grain of salt to be taken here though, because any player in the world is going to say yes to entertaining a huge offer from a European team. It's always worth thinking about taking large sums of money; at the very least it keeps NBA owners on their toes, so they'll pony up more money come negotiation time. But the downsides to the European Vacation could be greater than the ups. 

It's silly not to underestimate the drawing power of the history and location of David Stern's league. Leaving the NBA, for the majority of the players, would mean leaving your friends, leaving your family, leaving your culture; leaving home. I would have to think a lot of players would take a pay-cut to not lose all that. 

Then there's also the record books. Leaving for Europe would put a big scar on the player's place in NBA history. Records would come up short, Hall of Fame ballots might not be cast, and ditched franchises would be forever spiteful. These guys grew up watching Bird, Jordan, and Magic, and tried hard their whole lives to one day be able to emulate what those great players did. Giving all that up for a yacht shaped like a bottle of Cristal, might not be worth it. 

But this is also the age of lavish spending, cutting edge style, and international appeal. I mean how would it look to his posse if Josh Childress' Bentley is more fly than D-Wade's? Plus the possibility of being the player who ushers in a new era of global basketball could go down in history as the single greatest player in the sport period; trumping any NBA achievements. 

But that opportunity is only open for one man, so I guess the inevitable question is: who's going to do it? With the foreign-born heritage, the stage he's at in his career, and the adoration he's received in Beijing I have a very good feeling Shaq's gonna have something all new to rap about in 2010.

The story from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel is here