Boykins Off to Europe

AvalonNick · Post #1 » by **AvalonNick** » Sun Aug 3, 2008 4:30 pm

Point guard Earl Boykins may be headed to Europe to play for Maccabi Tel Aviv. Im sure this is no surprise to anyone, I wounder if Cats fans will miss him....probably not.

Post #2 » by **Walt Cronkite** » Sun Aug 3, 2008 4:48 pm

My gf, Winifred Cronkite, just put MJ on notice.

chrbal · Post #3 » by **chrbal** » Sun Aug 3, 2008 7:12 pm

Now I have no reason to care. The Boykins era is over.
First Tamar Slay, then Alan Anderson, and now this...my heart can't go on.

NBA Junkie · Post #4 » by **NBA Junkie** » Mon Aug 4, 2008 2:29 am

AvalonNick wrote:Point guard Earl Boykins may be headed to Europe to play for Maccabi Tel Aviv. Im sure this is no surprise to anyone, I wounder if Cats fans will miss him....probably not.

Maccabi Tel Aviv just signed Carlos Arroyo so I'm not sure if they would be interested in Earl Boykins anymore. Whether Boykins signs overseas or not, I doubt we will see him in a Bobcats uniform next year anyway. Personally I'd hate to see the guy leave the NBA. I enjoyed watching him play for the Warriors and Nuggets. Boykins wasn't a good fit on the Bobcats though, mostly because he takes way too many bad shots and doesn't make plays for teammates.

fluffernutter · Post #5 » by **fluffernutter** » Mon Aug 4, 2008 1:31 pm

Well Boykins was the biggest defensive liability I have ever seen. Ever. I'm not at all sorry he's gone.

e4Nf6 · Post #6 » by **e4Nf6** » Tue Aug 5, 2008 12:38 am

NBA Junkie wrote: Boykins wasn't a good fit on the Bobcats though, mostly because he takes way too many bad shots and doesn't make plays for teammates.

Which team would be a good fit with these attributes? (Cue Knicks/Twolves/Heat last year joke)

I think he is talented actually...good shooter/passer. Never really got in the groove here. (Like a lot of people)

Unfortunately the defense killed it for me completely, In the end I think we can do better....

Mr.Bottomtooth · Post #7 » by **Mr.Bottomtooth** » Wed Aug 6, 2008 12:29 am

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3520898

Cats' Boykins latest NBA player to bolt for Europe, signs $3.5 million deal
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
(Archive)
Updated: August 5, 2008, 6:33 PM ET

After a decade in the NBA, Earl Boykins has joined the growing legion of veteran role players unable to resist the lure of European riches.

Boykins' Cleveland-based agent, Mark Termini, announced Tuesday that Boykins has signed a one-year contract with Italy's Virtus Bologna. The deal, according to Termini, is worth more than $3.5 million for the 2008-09 season, which would make the 5-foot-5 guard Italy's highest-paid player.

Please don't post entire articles. Just a link and a snippet.

- Slam

Post #8 » by **Walt Cronkite** » Wed Aug 6, 2008 1:37 am

Highest paid player in Italy! NICE!!

doc.end · Post #9 » by **doc.end** » Wed Aug 6, 2008 12:11 pm

I knew that - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtus_Bologna - team with Alan Anderson, Wil Conroy, Brett Blizzard - all have connection with Bobcats...

Bassman · Post #10 » by **Bassman** » Wed Aug 6, 2008 1:09 pm

Again, thank goodness he's officially gone so no one in the front office can be tempted to bring him back here.

chrbal · Post #11 » by **chrbal** » Wed Aug 6, 2008 3:29 pm

I'm somewhat bothered by this trend of midlevel talent (and below) bolted for overseas. Although I find it crazy the amount of money this franchises are throwing at the likes of Carlos Arroyo, Earl Boykins, and such.

Post #12 » by **Walt Cronkite** » Wed Aug 6, 2008 5:46 pm

I think it's natural. Anthony Parker shouldn't have been in Europe, but made a name for himself and got a good deal here. Likewise, Virtus Bologna shouldn't have much interest in Earl Boykins, but he's made a name for himself and got a good deal there.

I think it's inevitable that a guy like Kirilenko signs with CSKA once his deal is up, but the homegrown American talent will stay around until their shoe deals expire.

baseline_jay · Post #13 » by **baseline_jay** » Fri Aug 8, 2008 9:59 pm

chrbal wrote:I'm somewhat bothered by this trend of midlevel talent (and below) bolted for overseas. Although I find it crazy the amount of money this franchises are throwing at the likes of Carlos Arroyo, Earl Boykins, and such.

I think those leagues are testing NBA players' popularity, in terms of merchandising, endorsements and more American media coverage. Once they show a player doesn't lose much by playing overseas, they will start coming top level talent -- first All-Stars, then Superstars.

e4Nf6 · Post #14 » by **e4Nf6** » Fri Aug 8, 2008 10:15 pm

Its not so bad to lose some players, even losing guys like Kirilenko won´t dilute the NBA talent too much. It´s good to have some real competition for the NBA. Maybe Stern won´t get away with so much if there is another league hot on his heels.