Steve Nash interested in playing overseas during lockout
Jul 16, 2011, 10:52 PM | Updated: 11:54 pm
The NBA lockout is in full effect and some players are looking to other continents as potential stages for their world-class talent.
One of those players is Suns point guard Steve Nash.
According to The Arizona Republic, all the pieces are in place for Nash to sign with an overseas team.
“I’d love to play overseas,” Nash wrote. “It may be difficult with three kids but I’d love to do it.”
Most foreign leagues limit the amount of American players they are able to sign, but this isn’t a problem for Nash. He has a British passport.
Nash is also a noted world traveler and has contacts all over the world. He is believed to be interested in playing his basketball in China, rather than Europe, because of a recent shoe deal and the flexibility permitted under Chinese contracts.
In Europe, a player is expected to play for the team and honor their contracts, which could lead to a few getting trapped overseas and unable to return at the end of the lockout. In China, teams regularly sign players just for the playoffs and the season doesn’t begin until January, giving Nash and other interested players more time to judge the lockout.
“There may be a lot more flexibility in China,” [Nash’s agent Bill] Duffy said. “They’d be so excited to have them.”
With center Marcin Gortat possibly destined for Russia, Nash should consider a lucrative Chinese contract over waiting on lawyers to sort out the NBA’s financial situation. Plus, he’s not getting any younger.
