It seems like I've been hit or miss lately. Not 24 hours after I made the strong proclamation that NBA superstars never leave their teams as free agents, Baron Davis opted out of his contract with the Warriors to, most likely, sign as a free agent with the Clippers. But hey, who could have expected a guy to take a $4 million pay cut to go play for the Clippers, of all teams, especially after their best two players, Corey Maggette and Elton Brand, both opted out to become free agents themselves? Now, you can argue (as I probably would) that Davis isn't really a superstar, but he is a great player that's clearly the the face of a franchise and team leader. Close enough.

And while Brand's opt out is most likely a play for what amounts to a contract extension, Maggette is as good as gone. And it looks like Gilbert Arenas may be gone from Washington, as well, although staying is still a possibility. If this were two years ago, or even last season, Agent Zero might have made a case for being a superstar. (By the way, is Agent Zero his nickname because of the number on his jersey or the number of late May and June playoffs games he's appeared in?) Now, he's coming off of a severe injury and nobody knows if he'll be his normal explosive scoring self, so the superstar tag doesn't apply. Same for Brand. Until we see if he's actually healthy and back playing like the MVP candidate he was three years ago, he's just another big name guy looking for a comeback season.

Davis himself is usually all about injured reserve, but he actually played all 82 games last year, right up to the point that Don Nelson benched him for the second half of the last game of the season. Apparently, that annoyed Baron so much that he left money on the table in Oakland to suit up for what is quite possibly the worst franchise in all of sports. Of course, if he can somehow win leading the Clips, he'll become legendary. After all, look what leading the New Jersey Nets to two straight NBA Finals did for Jason Kidd's reputation. Before that, he was just another wife-beater with a lousy a jump shot that Phoenix couldn't get rid of fast enough.

These three guys are most likely going to take home enormous amounts of cash this off-season, but my money's on the three of them not playing 82 games next season combined. Meanwhile, Maggette may be the guy most likely to rejuvenate his career. If, as the rumor suggests, he lands in San Antonio playing with great players and a great coach, gets his head on straight and remembers how he used to play defense, he may be hoisting a trophy this time next year while the other three are hoisting a cold one while watching the playoffs on TV.

While my free agency comment was a little suspect, I did, however, suggest that eventually, a big name player was going to head overseas for the money. When I wrote it, I expected it to be a year or two or three before someone tried it, but apparently, one of the top rated incoming freshmen in the country, Brandon Jennings, is strongly considering (i.e., taking the money and running) signing overseas instead of playing for the University of Arizona next year. The NBA had better be very, very careful with how they handle this.

In my mind, given the option of going right into the NBA, the very thought of playing in Europe would never, ever have been a factor. But now, faced with a year of essentially indentured servitude to the NCAA (especially for big time talents), real hard cash and actual professional-level instruction not only will become a factor, it's most likely the best decision. Now consider, if Jennings dominates over there, presuming he goes, builds a fan base, gets some international marketing dollars, will it be all that easy to get him back? After all, he will still have the NBA rookie pay scale to adhere to.

Tiago Splitter stayed in Europe this year instead of coming to the Spurs because of the rookie scale. Guard Juan Carlos Navarro of the Grizzlies, despite showing promise and most likely lining up for a nice payday, split back to Spain, primarily because being paid in Euros is now better than being paid in dollars. I'd be willing to bet somewhere David Stern is praying Brandon Jennings is a massive flop. Otherwise, there could be big, big problems on the horizon for the NBA. Isn't Internationalism great?