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PARIS (The Monday International Show) - The international players have been animating the NBA draft, trade, free agent and rumor mill for 10 days now and alot of fundamental and exciting changes are in store for many teams!

Turkoglou seems bent on going to cosmopolitan Toronto but he would have had a better chance at a title with either Orlando or Portland which goes against the logic of older players like Shaq, Rasheed or Artest whose priority is a ring.

Toronto will continue to have a very international flavor but I'm not sure this will be enough to convince Chris Bosh to stay or to go deep into the playoffs.

In Portland, Rudy Fernandez(and Batum) is breathing easier after Hedo's decision in terms of playing time but he's leaning towards heading back to a lucrative Navarro-type contract in europe sometime soon.

For mid-level NBA players like Rudy and Juanca the relatively low paying rookie scale doesn't compare with what top euroleague teams can offer them, an interesting paradox!

Same thing for the young spanish jewel Rubio who's learning the ropes of basket business fast after being burned by an excessive buyout clause he'll have to personally pay to Badalona similar to what happened with Scola and now Splitter, who belongs to the Spurs, in Vitoria.

As a sidelight, the Spurs need Splitter now!

In the NBA, top flight talent start making big money with their second contract after 4 years of rookie scale contracts so generally they want to start their NBA careers as soon as possible but for Rubio, the Minnesota winters, the big buyout and not being chosen higher are causing hesitation.

His family wants him in New York where business oppurtunities on the side are far more abundant than in Minnesota and the Rubios can use the threat of staying in europe (Real Madrid?) as leverage.

Ricky seems as precocious off the court with contract concerns as he is on it dishing out spectacular assists and using the pick and roll as efficiently as Tony Parker.

TP, who will be joined in 2 years by Nando De Colo in San Antonio because the Spurs are intelligently-they are still way ahead of the international curve-going to let their second-round draft pick mature in Valencia Spain.

Young players need desperately to PLAY and too often the rookie salary scale situation glues players with untapped potentiel to NBA benches when they would be better off playing in europe.

I hope this won't hinder the progress of Nando's Cholet teammate, Rodrigue Beaubois, surprisingly selected by Dallas in the first round ahead of DeColo because he's younger and more athletic.

Another smart Spurs decision is permitting Nando to join Parker for this summer's crucial campaign with the french national team instead of forcing him to play the summer league.

He will benefit from the higher level international competition and experience rather than waste his time in individualistic summer league play or doing drills and weightlifting alone somewhere like Joakim Noah.

With Mike Pietrus out with a wrist injury, DeColo's presence is necessary on the wing with Batum to drain some threes when the opposing defences triple team Parker's drives into the paint.

Once again, hitting open shots on the wings and moneytime free throws will be decisive for France!

Back to the NBA where free agent signings begin on wednesday and LA, Boston and Cleveland seem to lead the pack as far as reinforcing their teams for next season and Orlando stays pat switching Vinsanity for Hedo.

The Magic hope a homecoming for Carter will be as beneficial as it was for Billups in Denver but if Sheed and Shaq can squeeze one more good season out of their aging bodies I don't see Orlando eliminating Boston and Cleveland two years in a row!

All eyes will be turned to Portland to see how they use the money Turkoglou turned down.

If they can steal Odom away from LA, they would kill 2 birds with one stone, srengthening themselves and weakening the Lakers, who, nevertheless, applaud the inexpensive arrival of tough-guy Ron Artest in place of the younger Ariza and the return for a last 12 million dollar title dance of Phil Jackson!

If Odom stays in LA, I think they'll be my favorites to repeat.

In any case this summer is full of interesting free agent and rookie scenarios despite the global economic crisis.

George Eddy