Charlotte Bobcat’s 7th Pick Bismack Biyombo facing serious buyout problems – NBA Update
The Charlotte Bobcats took the 7th overall pick in the NBA Draft 2011, Bismack Biyombo. The Congolese centre played in the Spanish ACB league last year and he has a contract with Madrid based side Fuenlabrada. Earlier
it was reported that Biyombo will be able to leave the club and join the Bobcats without much complications. However, now it has emerged that things are not as straightforward as they seem and the matter could even go to court.
Biyombo has a contract with Fuenlabrada that still has two years left. The buyout of the contract is around 1 million Euros, or $1.4 million. The Spanish side say they don’t want to stop the athletic big guy’s dream of playing
in the NBA, but are adamant that the release clause must be met.
Jorge Sanz, spokesman Fuenlabrada was very clear on the matter while talking to reporters and said in no way, the club will back down in its demands as they were ethically and legally sound.
“We have to reach an agreement over the compensation for the club,” Sanz said. “On July 1 there is a mediation session. We are asking for the million Euros that is stated in his contract.”
The Bobcats expected to get this issue resolved quickly but the situation now seems set to go on for a while. Under NBA rules, the Charlotte Bobcats, or any NBA team, can only pay $500,000 of the buyout money for a player’s current
contract.
This in effect means that the rest of the $900,000 of the buyout will have to come out of Bismack Biyombo’s pocket, which will definitely not go down well with the 18 year old.
Jorge Sanz also gave Biyombo and the Bobcats are warning, saying that the team will go to court if the situation demanded it,
“If we don’t reach an agreement, it will go to court and a judge will decide.” Said Sanz.
The current NBA labour dispute and the now seemingly inevitable lockout could also affect Biyombo’s case. The player could decide to go back to Spain for at least another year rather than pay a significant sum out of his pocket
only to sit around in the lockout.
On the other hand, a contract he receives after the end of the lockout, under a new and tighter CBA, could also be substantially less than what he would get now. In any case the matter will likely be put on hold until the lockout
goes into effect and a clear path towards the CBA dispute is chalked out.
The Charlotte Bobcats’ fans will apparently have to wait a while before they can see their new man in action.
Tags: