Delonte West to Russia?!

[HD MM]

Delonte West contemplating deal from Russian team - report

If this happens, this would royally screw the Cavs. West was our starting point guard after he was traded to our team from the Sonics last year. With more time to gell, West was expected to be a key piece to the Cavs next season. The PG position has always been a dire need on the LeBron era Cavs. This is not good....

Cavaliers restricted free agent Delonte West is contemplating becoming just the latest NBA player to bolt for a rich contract overseas, according Yahoo.com

According the report, West is in discussion with Dynamo Moscow for a two-year, $10 million offer. Messages left for Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry and West's agent Noah Croom were not immediately returned this morning.

Dynamo Moscow recently lured New Jersey Nets forward Bostjan Nachbar with a three-year, $14.3 million deal. And earlier this week, Atlanta guard Josh Childress signed a three-year, $20 million contract with Olympiakos in Greece.

West became the Cavaliers' starting point guard after arriving in a mid-season trade from Seattle. He averaged 10.3 points and 4.5 assists per game with Cleveland.

 

[satjay]

Could be the wave of the future especially to the veteran who wants to make more $$$ but may be on the down side of his career.

 

[SabresRule]

Damn you, Brandon Jennings!

Now EVERYONE seems to want to follow his footsteps.

 

[HD MM]

I just heard that athletes don't have to pay taxes abroad! So if West or anyone else for that matter is offered a $5 million/yr contract, he gets paid all $5 million. In the U.S., a $5 million contract is more like $3-$3.5 million a year after taxes! How in the world can the NBA compete with that?! Looks like someone found a loophole in the system!

And what's this I hear about no car payment or no mortgage in Europe/Russia? Are foreign players given free room & board and transportation also?

 

[SabresRule]

Anybody remember the World Hockey Association of the 1970s?

This reminds me of that.

 

[Peter Parker]

Anybody remember the World Hockey Association of the 1970s?

This reminds me of that.

Ahhh yes the league that made Derek Sanderson the world's highest paid athlete.

And who could forget the Maiami Screaming Eagles and the Baltimore Blades.

 

[BillD1984]

That would bite for the Cavs. I've always thought highly of Delonte from his Celtics days.

 

[HD MM]

That would bite for the Cavs. I've always thought highly of Delonte from his Celtics days.

Maybe this is a bluff from his agent in light of what just happened with Childress? Could be just an attempt to earn more money while negotiating for a new contract with the Cavs. Either way, I just can't envision Delonte living/playing in Russia.

 

[AntAltMike]

Delonte West and Ryan Gomes were two interesting Celtic draft choces. West went 24th and Gomes 50th in the same draft. Each player was regarded as a finsihed product with no upside, which is a rarety today.

I watched Gomes and West play 30 minutes a game without ever committing a blunder. But by the end of the season, the Celtics has horrible records. In the NBA, you need talent to win. West and Gomes consistently have less talent than the people they play against. I believe that Delonte West and Ryan Gomes could make maybe $40 to $50 million over careers that might last a decade or longer as useful 7th to 10th players, but if you have to play them any more than that, then you have a talent deficit at their position.

Half the people in the world are below average. Half the doctors graduated in the bottom half of their class. Half the NBA starters have less talent than the other half. And one of them at each position has the least physical talent among the 30 starters.

I had a friend who used to pick on John Bagley. He swore he could outplay Bagley. My friend didn't realize that while Bagley was probably the 29th best point guard in a league with 29 teams, he was a better point guard than Danny Ainge or Dennis Johnson ever dreamed of being. (Disclaimer: my friend leased space in a building owned by John Bagley's agent and got taken to the cleaners by him in a few transactions, so my friend's views may have been clouded by that relationship).

I'd have to give the Cavs credit for not overpaying for West. He is a real coach's player and a good teammate and was better than advertised, but that doesn't make him into a top flight player. Juwan Howard was better than advertised, so his team wound up submitting to public pressure and giving him a hundred million dollar because the fans hoped he was worth a hundred million dollars, but he wasn't. Cleveland would be wise to not make that mistake with West.

 

[HD MM]

Delonte West and Ryan Gomes were two interesting Celtic draft choces. West went 24th and Gomes 50th in the same draft. Each player was regarded as a finsihed product with no upside, which is a rarety today.

I watched Gomes and West play 30 minutes a game without ever committing a blunder. But by the end of the season, the Celtics has horrible records. In the NBA, you need talent to win. West and Gomes consistently have less talent than the people they play against. I believe that Delonte West and Ryan Gomes could make maybe $40 to $50 million over careers that might last a decade or longer as useful 7th to 10th players, but if you have to play them any more than that, then you have a talent deficit at their position.

Half the people in the world are below average. Half the doctors graduated in the bottom half of their class. Half the NBA starters have less talent than the other half. And one of them at each position has the least physical talent among the 30 starters.

I had a friend who used to pick on John Bagley. He swore he could outplay Bagley. My friend didn't realize that Bagley was probably the 29th best point guard in a league with 29 teams, and was a better point guard than Danny Ainge or Dennis Johnson ever dreamed of being. (Disclaimer: my friend leased space in a building owned by John Bagley's agent and got taken to the cleaners by him in a few transactions, so my friend's views may have been clouded by that relationship).

I'd have to give the Cavs credit for not overpaying for West. He is a real coach's player and a good teammate and was better than advertised, but that doesn't make him into a top flight player. Juwan Howard was better than advertised, so his team wound up submitting to public pressure and giving him a hundred million dollar because the fans hoped he was worth a hundred million dollars, but he wasn't. Cleveland would be wise to not make that mistake with West.

I understand your analysis of West and I agree Mike, but the bottom line with the Cavs is that they really only need a serviceable point guard with the basic skills to compliment LeBron. LeBron is 95% of our offense and he tends to make everyone else around him much better. Besides, D. West, we don't have another true point guard on our team. If he leaves, it will hurt the Cavs.