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In some ways the NBA Development League has changed the landscape of international professional basketball as NBA commissioner David Stern has sought, in recent years, to expand the D-League and turn it into a true minor league for the NBA. Many players who previously would have had no choice but to go overseas can now stay in the U.S. and try to make an NBA roster here.

But some players can make much better money going abroad, and the NBA still plucks players from overseas.

"If the guy is very, very close to the NBA and a team indicates they might bring them up, then the NBDL is useful,” said agent Doug Neustadt, who has "a number of very high-level players playing in Europe.”

"If they're far away they're better off proving themselves, working back to the NBA through Europe.”

Furthermore, Neustadt said, where NBA teams used to only scout for young European talent abroad, it is increasingly common for the NBA to pick up veterans overseas.

And then, of course, there is the money.

At the highest levels — namely the top teams in the Euroleague — players can make money comparable to NBA salaries, tax free.

According to