Calathes to Greece

This is sort of a bummer, at least for American basketball fans. This is one player I was really looking forward to watching play. From reading various reports it sounds as if Calathes might be trying to work the system a little. That instead of heading back to Florida he'll bide his time in Greece and negotiate with select NBA teams he wants to play for. Of course this team of his choosing would have to be in a position to draft him either this year or next, but if he makes it clear that he'll only play and work out for certain teams he should be able to land with a team of his choice. Or at least avoid a team he wants nothing to do with. Since few teams will waste a draft pick on a player they know won't be playing for them, this could be a smart move. If this is true, what Calathes is doing is playing his junior season for cash overseas against a slightly higher level of competition. Again this is a smart move. He has little to prove at Florida. Cripes, if that season he just had isn't going to impress the scouts there's little else he can do that will.
This is something the NBA and NCAA should get used to. Right now the NBA and NCAA are squeezing their players. They have them on a rookie pay scale and have placed an age limit on entrance into the league. Next year the NCAA will impose a much shorter time frame on players deciding for the draft. The NBA is rumored to be thinking about cranking the age limit up to 20. And, oh yes, the NCAA still doesn't pay players for their services. The Associations are perfectly within their rights doing these things, but they have to remember that every action has a reaction. In this case the reaction is starting to be players going overseas to play for cash.