Keith Puckett - AccuScore Analyst

Not since World War II have Americans invaded Europe like current NBA or soon to be NBA players have this summer.

First, Stephon Marbury says he would like to finish his career in Italy. This was the first domino to fall. Stephon is murdered by the press. Most New Yorkers were offering to buy his one way ticket themselves, if it meant he would finally leave whatever is left of a once proud franchise.

Next step in the American invasion was European born players using European teams for leverage when negotiating with NBA teams. Nenad Krstic, Rudy Fernandez and a few others all used Euro teams to gain leverage on NBA teams. Juan Carlos Navarro returned to Europe after a very strong rookie campaign where he was a restricted free agent and looked to receive a nice bump in salary. These are not players like Primo Brezec who never showed NBA potential. These are or should be solid NBA rotation players.

So the question is why are players willing to stay or go overseas.

It's easy.

It's money! The Euro is killing the US dollar. The teams in Europe are in a position to offer more money.

The leagues are getting closer to NBA type level talent and now they are getting it.

If Josh Childress signs with a team in Greece (heard this morning that it's all but done) this year and leaves the US and the NBA for a year because Atlanta cannot get a deal done, it will be a starting caliber NBA shooting guard in Europe at the tender age of 25, with his best years still ahead of him.

I can't think of a better ambassador for the NBA than J-Chill. He is a team player with a good mid range game. He can handle the ball and plays defense. He plays a team game and would have no problem fitting in on any team in Europe. Chances are, on most nights, he will be the best player on the court.

Where does that leave the players and owners?

Between a rock and a hard place.

They are locked into the current cba until 2010-2011 but the league has an option to extend the cba through 2011-2012. The class of 2010 could be a lot more significant than people think. It could be the year we get our players back.

Do we really think Childress will be the first or last one, if he goes? How long before we lose one of the better players in the league? What happens if Baron Davis opted out this summer and the Clippers and Warriors would have spent their money elsewhere? What if Ron Artest was not able to sign for more that the mid-level exception? Or Corey Maggette?

The MLE is currently $5.585 million. What if a European team offers 8 mil Euro to one of them?

In the case of Childress, the team has even offered to pay the taxes! Last I checked these guys are playing for money. Most of my life the players go to the team that pays the most.

Ron Artest, you want 20 Mil a year? Sure, no problem. You're playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv. Pack your bags. You're going to Israel.

In the case of Brandon Jennings, he could be changing the game the same way Kevin Garnett and Moses Malone did before him. Why go to college when you can experience Europe, get paid to play, and not worry about final exams or the NCAA? You're getting on the job training, you're not slumming it like you would in the D League, and you're playing against better teams. You're learning how to play in front of huge crowds and how to play as a member of a team. All the things you would have learned in college, but instead of a university making all the money, Mr. Jennings will be making money as well.

Not sure if you knew this or not, but they sell Nikes, Reebok and Adidas in Europe too! This means the shoe companies are not losing out on money either.

Wasn't Sonny Vaccaro his advisor? So this should come as no surprise.

In the grand scheme of things, only the NCAA is missing out. The days of the blue chip ballers having to wait to get Mom a house or lie about having a deal with an agent or lie about who has his shoes are over.

Bandon Jennings doesn't need to lie. He has an agent, and he is looking to sign a shoe deal. He can wear as many throwbacks or own as many Hummers as he can afford.

There is no way he is the last one. He is the first of many.

At 19, he can't play ball in the NBA, but he can die in Iraq. He can make millions of Euro's or he can get a free ride to almost any college for a year and live off campus food. Plus he gets to miss out on finals and picking a major. The one down side is no frat parties.

I look at the options that these NBA players are having and I think it is a good time to be an NBA player. Yeah, there is a salary cap in the NBA, but its still the NBA. You're still playing against the best competition in the world and the Paul Allen's and Mark Cuban's of the United States are your boss. You live the life of a king and that is at being paid the veteran minimum.

But the European game has caught up. The Euro has passed the dollar and that is really why our boys will invade Europe, not to mention the Russians who have invested a lot of money into the Euroleague recently.

So we must re-evaluate. Is the American dream to chase the almighty Euro??

Stay tuned...........