Apart from losing the money from the contract what is actually stopping them from leaving?

You dont go to jail for quitting one job to go to another?

the Denver Nuggets

FIBA clearance is required.

While some stuck in China wanna go to court to see if they can get out.

Could this affect Patty's chances for the future in the NBA?
Who would want to give another player an opportunity to prove themselves?

I thought Brooks, Chandler, etc were released from their contracts for "personal reasons"?

Personal reason being: I want to have my cake and eat it too.

China - Aaron Brooks, Wilson Chandler, Dan Gadzuric, Kenyon Martin, Patrick Mills, Josh Powell, JR Smith

Italy - David Andersen, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Brian Scalabrine, Mustafa Shakur, Garrett Temple, Von Wafer, Mario West

France - Hilton Armstrong

Greece - Jon Diebler

Lithuania - Sonny Weems

Russia - Chris Quinn

Spain - Joey Dorsey, Pooh Jeter, Acie Law

Turkey - Darius Songaila, Sasha Vujacic

I think Patty could struggle to get back in the NBA. If he doesn't get a game after March (i.e this NBA season) then he will have to contend with a loaded rookie class too the following year. What is the story with his rights / free agent status with the Blazers?

Without a clearance through the Chinese Association to FIBA, no player is able to play in another league. They can leave their teams, and China, but will be unable to play in the NBA.
So what do they do?
Play the rest of the Chinese season for the Millions they signed on for, and go back to NBA in March, or leave China and not get paid at all, and still have to wait until March to play in the NBA anyway.

Seems simple really.

lol at being stuck playing in a shitty chinese league for a year while everyone else is back in the NBA

So easy to see the Tall Poppey syndrome is alive and well in basketball circles.

Patty is a very talented bball player who has been a fine example for his people and this country. Similar to Sean Marks he seems to be a great locker room presence etc.

So you are Patty and on $200K to play in Melbourne. Someone offers you $1.5 M. What are you gonna do?

If he stays here and doesnt get an NBA gig he ends up making 200K (at most) for the rest of his career and will have to start looking for jobs for after retirement.

Even if he never gets back to the NBA and eventually lands in Oz again I still can't believe that people here would bag him for taking the money. With an anxtra million or so he could be set for life. Why would anyone deny him that opportunity?

Sport = business. Players should not be expected to be loyal and the expense of their life and career. AFL players etc have the right idea. Clubs show no loyalty so why should the players?

Just ask Corletto about loyalty!

I'm not laughing at Patty alone, him and every other player that signed for a year in China can share in my mockery while guys like Lebron and Durant spent their time engaging with fans and putting on games waiting this drama out.

Come on Mystro, a tad ridiculous to compare Mills to LeBron and Durant. The latter could retire now and live in luxury the rest of their lives. Patty is at the bottom end and relies on this income to live. Unfortunately the players Union don't look at it from those players point f view. They are run and influenced by the big name bg paid players. They also don't take into consideration the blue collared workers who lose incomes from them not playing.

See where you are going anon with the Portland offer. For mine though to say no to 1.5 and hope the NBA started and he got what you say is a big risk IMO

Remember for a long time the whole season was looking like being cancelled. What else do you do when that is your primary income? Go where the jobs are at.

People need to get persepective. Ive seen it on here before. If it was you, in your normal jobs, and you were offered 10x the amount you're earning now, Im sure just about everyone would say yes. Especially for 4 months of work!!!

Get a life, lay off people trying to set up theirs.

I'm with the Anon re: Patty... he could have taken bigger money offers in Europe against better competition instead of playing NBL, but he made a HUGE deal about playing locally to "rescue the NBL" and all that crap, and then when the Chinese money comes along, drops the Tigers quicker than they dropped Corletto... If it was about the money, he should have been upfront about that instead of making the huge sacrifice to play for the betterment of the NBL and Australian basketball...

This isn't the first bit of bad advice he's been given and taken, so if he's stupid enough to lock into a contract only thinking about long term, not about how hard it will be to get back INTO the NBA with other players just as good, if not better, battling for the same spots, when he was lucky to get kept at Portland as it was, then good luck to him...

Isn't Denver kind of screwed by a bunch of their players heading to China?
If they want to use their cap-space to sign replacement players they will have to waive their rights to re-sign Smith, Chandler and Martin.

Plus it sounds like Nene wants to leave and I doubt Andre Miller will be happy playing behind Lawson or being 10yrs older then everyone else on the roster.

Playing for some duration (longer than a Boomers tour) in China would be a great experience too. Not the end of the world for him. Worst case (short of injury), he gets that experience then plays in Europe or the NBL for better-than-average money until he retires and runs media-friendly outreach sports programs.

Panther, Sean Marks who has never been on big $ and is currently a free agent sat back and used the lockout to let his body heal so he can get himself into the best position to get another contract as did a lot of other players (he had offers). My point is that there were plenty of other opportunities during the lockout and because they chased the $ and now they have to live with their decisions. China isn't going to give up any of these players without a fight.

I like that perspective Isaac (I was the anon above, forgot to put my name in), while it is a poor decision for his basketball development, as long as he approaches things with the right frame of mind it will be a good experience and he can still have a long and fruitful career.

I guess the irony could be that choosing the big money option now may lead to mid level money later on. He has certainly made an NBA career a much longer shot now.

It's simply a matter of convincing the club to release them for "personal reasons", or wait 'till whichever foreign season ends, and they go back to the NBA for a cushy short stint. Either way I can't see any of these guys losing sleep over it.

What you have to remember is that some of the guys in this thread won't get an NBA contract offer.

Maybe Mills knew there is no contract waiting for him on the table in Rip City, and cashed in while he could?

You certainly don't become a better player by playing in the Chinese league...

He had a contract offer. Maybe he knew he wouldnt make the final roster, but I think it was a guaranteed contract offer. Does anyone know that for sure?

Mills's Qualyfing Contract (of $1.2M) doesn't mean he's gonna be there at the final end.

Great post Anon, that is what I am talking about, China have them locked in and have spent a lot doing it. Stern would have to be concerned that these players actions may effect the leagues rising popularity and profile in China also.

Wow, a $1.2mill offer and he decided to sign for a similar amount in China? Strange decision, but still, it's his to make and he'll move on.

The difference is more than that isn't it. Mills' qualifying offer was for $1.2M, payable over twelve months, five months of which has already passed in free agency, with no end in sight at the time Mills signed in China (i.e $100k per month).

In China he is apparently being paid $1.5m to play for four months, and can play elsewhere at the end of March (i.e. $375k per month). That is a big pay difference.

I meant passed in lockout

Yeah I suppose there are different factors, although a 66 game season should mean NBA players get most of their pay. Just had to be a little more patient.

Pretty sure that while the NBA contracts are paid over a 12 months period.
The players are only going to lose money based on the 16games that have been cut from next season.
Ie they will lose around 15%

But yeah Patty can play in China until March and then sign on with a NBA looking for a young PG to try out.

But if his team makes the China League finals he may miss out on the NBA this season.