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[VC15]

Cats' Boykins latest NBA player to bolt for Europe, signs $3.5 million deal

By Marc Stein
ESPN.com


After a decade in the NBA, unrestricted free agent Earl Boykins has joined the growing legion of veteran role players unable to resist the lure of European riches.

Boykins' Cleveland-based agent, Mark Termini, announced Tuesday that Boykins has signed a one-year contract with Italy's Virtus Bologna. The deal, according to Termini, is worth more than $3.5 million for the 2008-09 season, which would make the 5-foot-5 guard Italy's highest-paid player.

Earl Boykins

Boykins

Since free agency began July 1, Boykins is the ninth player who worked in the NBA last season to bypass the tight free-agent market for role players at home and head overseas. Yet he's just the third -- following Josh Childress and Carlos Arroyo -- who played almost exclusively in the NBA before considering interest from abroad.

Childress spurned a five-year offer worth an estimated $33 million from the Atlanta Hawks to sign a three-year deal worth at least $20 million from Greek power Olympiacos. With the Orlando Magic signing Anthony Johnson as Jameer Nelson's new backup, Arroyo on Monday chose to sign a three-year deal with Israeli giants Maccabi Tel-Aviv that will pay him $2.5 million net per season, with Maccabi covering Arroyo's taxes.

Childress and Arroyo both have an escape provision in their contracts which enables them to return to the NBA after each of the next two seasons if they choose.

All of the other players to sign with European clubs in recent weeks -- Serbia's Nenad Krstic, Spain's Juan Carlos Navarro and Jorge Garbajosa, Argentina's Carlos Delfino and Slovenia's Bostjan Nachbar and Primoz Brezec -- played for top-level teams in Europe before coming to the NBA.

Boykins had a breakout season offensively in 2006-07, averaging nearly 15 points per game for Denver and Milwaukee. But an equally limited free-agent market for rotation players in the summer of 2007 -- after he opted out of the final year of his contract, worth $3 million, with the Bucks -- prompted Boykins, 32, to wait until late January before signing with the Charlotte Bobcats.

Boykins wound up playing in 36 games for the Bobcats, but he averaged just 5.1 points and shot below 40 percent from the floor (.355) for the first time since establishing himself as a full-time NBA player with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2001-02.

According to Termini and co-agent Andy Bountogianis, Boykins' deal includes income from Bologna's sponsorship and marketing arms, which is not an option for NBA players because of salary-cap restrictions.

This trend is seriously robbing the league of too many valuable role players...

 

[NjNets15]

Yeah I agree this is going to start really effecting the league soon, they better hope this doesnt continue for years

 

[.loggie]

we should have a thread for players that left to go overseas, its occuring too often. in the long run, itd be cool to see another division in the NBA of Euro teams if players want to play in Europe that bad.

 

[VC15]

I wouldn't be surprised if this went on until the NBA decided to put some restrictions out. (If they ever do)

 

[Yankees2772]

What can the NBA do? It's a business - if you are offered a considerable amount of money elsewhere, doing the same job, you'll leave...

 

[VC15]

True. I didn't think about that. But it seemed like an idea that someone would try out.

 

[Yankees2772]

Well, it's a no brainer for me.... You make double the money, tax free, all expenses paid for... Less pressure, shorter game... What's bad about going to Europe? Less popularity? So what? You're fricken rich!

 

[VC15]

That's the best mindset. Be a star and make lots of money with just the one drawback.

 

[jarrod2323]

Europe is a culture-shock -- nothing like the US.
Those who aren't used to it, will dread the first 6 months.

But the NBA won't put restrictions on them. There are too many players floating around waiting to become role players.


another player left off that list is Loren Woods

 

[.loggie]

well last off-season it was everyone talking about making comebacks this off-season its everyone going to europe. id hate to see whats going to happen next season

 

[bulls12]

I can't believe that he's only 5'5 and he's Italy's highest paid player... :headsmack:

 

[.GR]

Larry Brown says the Charlotte Bobcats might be the best jump-shooting team he's coached. Whoa! Didn't see that one coming. What Brown said makes a lot more sense when placed in context. He's not saying any individual shooter on this team is as good as, say, former Indiana Pacer Reggie Miller. Right or wrong, he's saying there's a wealth of jump-shooters on this team who you can trust to hit a basket. He ticked off Jason Richardson, Matt Carroll, Adam Morrison and D.J. Augustin as those guys, then added Raymond Felton and Sean May as improved shooters. Of the eight other NBA franchises on Brown's resume, he said only the Detroit Pistons had similar depth as far as guys who could drain a J.