Report: 2012 Games in London may be last for NBA stars as ‘world cup’ is mulled
With all the talk about NBA players being compensated for Olympic competition and owners worrying that their biggest investments are risking injury by playing for free, the 2012 games in London could be the last time NBA superstars partake, according to reports.
What’s more, the NBA reportedly is working on starting an entirely different tournament altogether for such players.
According to Yahoo! Sports, the NBA is looking to rebrand the world championships into a tournament called “The World Cup of Basketball.” The league has reportedly been in talks with FIBA in an attempt to create a financial partnership that would allow the NBA to share the revenue from a world basketball tournament, unlike the current system where the Olympics reap all the benefits of NBA player participation.
“The owners would be a lot more comfortable letting star players play internationally if they’re sharing in the revenue,” a league source told Yahoo! Sports.
While Mark Cuban has long been an advocate for NBA owners receiving compensation if their players compete in world tournaments, he is hoping the league will take it a step further than partnering with FIBA. Simply put, he feels the NBA can do their own thing and collect all the profits.
“The question is: Why would we partner with a current tournament rather than start our own?” Cuban said. “If done correctly, it can be NBA-owned and operated and have the potential to be just as large as the World Cup of soccer. That is a product, in my opinion, we want to own, not share.
“I do know that USA Basketball should have no say in the matter. It’s completely separate from the NBA. They are a different financial entity. They would just be another country that could play in our tournament. Just like FIFA does the World Cup, the NBA could do a global tournament.”
Regardless of what the league decides to do in terms of starting its own tournament or partnering with an organization like FIBA, it seems almost certain that the days of NBA superstars competing for Team USA will be history with the conclusion of the London Olympics.
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Another example of Greedy NBA owners thinking they can run the universe. Why would any international team give all the profits and rights to the American NBA ? If they want to do this, they need to have a seperate international organization, not a bunch of American owners trying to run an "impartial" international tourney
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Typical of the whole world today not just "Greedy NBA owners". I never liked the Olympics since they've gone pro anyway. Whatever happened to the athlete who did it because they loved the sport they participated in and wanted to do it for the country. Yea, maybe I'm old fashioned, but I believe the world could use some old fashioned values today.
Money has ruined all sports, but none more so than the NBA. Kind of pathetic really that the patients run the asylum. I kept hearing that was one of the reason for the lockout. So that the owners could take back some control. Haven't seen it, and it will eventually kill the game. I stopped watching years ago. I'm hoping Miami wins Thursday just so that the season ends. -
It goes to show you the class of people playing basketball, the older gentlemen who played for to olympics would not have dreamed to aske for pay it is stupid people like Cuban who is runing the game, I just think they should go back to college players and let them play they will play for the sport not for the money like the greedy bas......ers in the NBA, If this happens I will never watch another basketball game again what a shame to be called an americian after reading the above comments
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It is about Greed fro the NBA owners, Mark Cuban, as far as I know never played, or participated in a sport after HS. He and those who think like him, are missing the big picture of what the Olympics are all about.
As far the "pro" aspects of the Olympics, for all of these athletes it takes money to train to compet at the international level. For the majority of the athletes who have graduated from college and are training it is a constant challenge to make ends meet, find competions that are close enough, ect. All for a shot at representing the country on the Really big stage.
World Champion is spelled Olympic Champion.
