International tournaments used to cause heated debates between the FIBA and NBA until both sides reached a mutual agreement in the late nineties. Over the past weeks however, the argument has resurfaced as the Eurobasket and FIBA Americas tournament are about to get underway.

Most importantly, NBA owners fear that their players could suffer injuries which subsequently may prevent them from performing in the NBA. Given the fact that some international players earn salaries exceeding $10 million a year, the concern appears to be understandable. Moreover, the lack of a key player can very well lead to fewer NBA games being won, playoffs being missed and the likes. Obviously, less success on the court often goes hand in hand with decreasing merchandise revenue and less tickets being sold. To make the long story short, NBA teams are worried to lose large amounts of money due to their players competing in international tournaments over the summer.

For instance, the San Antonio Spurs lost franchise cornerstone Manu Ginobili after he suffered a foot injury when playing for Argentina in the 2008 Olympics. Ultimately, his absence on the court led to the Spurs experiencing a humiliating first round playoff loss versus the Dallas Mavericks last year. Likewise, All-Stars such as Tony Parker and Pau Gasol hurt themselves in the past when they played in FIBA tournaments for France and Spain respectively.

While criticism from NBA owners has been frequent due to the aforementioned circumstances, the argument reached a new peek last week. After European FIBA teams prevented some of their players from participating in the NBA Summer League, Dallas Mavericks owner Marc Cuban stirred up a controversial debate. More specifically, Cuban did not allow JJ Barea and Dirk Nowitzki to play for their native countries this summer which in turn caused fierce criticism from Puerto Rico and Germany. After all, both players are known for their relentless work ethic and willingness to do whatever the franchise asks from them. Especially former MVP and All-Star Dirk Nowitzki has carried the team over the past decade and ensured that merchandise and ticket sales in Dallas have consistently been at the top of the NBA. As of now it remains unclear what the NBA will do about the issue, but the problem regarding international players could very well play a role in next year’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

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