Jeremy Lin might not be playing overseas anytime soon, but some of his Warrior teammates are thinking about the possibilities. No, I'm not talking about Reggie Williams (qualifying offer) and Vladimir Radmanovic (unrestricted), but two of the Warrior starters from the 2010-2011 season. Should we be worried about them going overseas? Yes and no.
Dorell Wright and Stephen Curry, as told to Marcus Thompson II, have been open to the possibilities of playing in China, specifically. Allegedly, China has been described as the place with the biggest payoff for NBA players. And former NBA players like Stephon Marbury are the posterchild of how your career can be resurrected in China. But how easy will it be for them to secure work? And what other factors, basketball and non-basketball, would contribute to their ability to play overseas?
According to China's own collective bargaining agreement (2009), teams can only employ two foreign players. As you can see, the number of slots available are limited. If players like Smush Parker and former Warrior Rodney White are leading scorers in that league, it is clearly not a skill or talent issue we're talking about here. A paycheck is a paycheck and China does not seem that picky about who they employ from the United States.
For financial connections, China might be more interested in Wright, sponsored by Chinese shoe company PEAK, than Curry.
Also, I can't imagine Curry's soon-to-be-wifey, Ayesha Alexander, to be very happy about possibly relocating to a foreign country. With their lives deeply rooted in Charlotte, North Carolina and Curry publicly expressing interest in playing in front of his family and friends, it is hard to imagine the Currys making a move overseas of that nature if even just temporarily. Though, they did request a Asian cookbook on their wedding registry, so maybe that's a sign that the Currys are thinking internationally when it comes to their financials!
In the event that they both go to China if NBA games are canceled, I guess Warrior fans should probably worry more about how much they are willing to spend getting the Asian international cable plan that lets them access their favorite Warrior players in action even if it is against some of the worst international competition on earth.