First of all, every foreign player does not want to come to the NBA. There have been numerous players that were even drafted relatively high that never cared to move and take a pay cut just to be in the NBA.
What I'm saying is that kids entering the draft and the NBA have a very skewed perspective of what basketball really is. They see lights and fame and parties and assume that's the rest of their life. But the NBA, and every league, is about business. Is the deep bench player really capitalizing on fame, is he even famous to begin with? Players entering the NBA are young and have very little perspective. They don't realize their career will probably only last 5 years or less, and that they money they make in those 5 years isn't going to last forever.
The prestige of being in the NBA is highly overrated. Unless you are a star, you are forgotten the minute you are out of the league anyway. Is it really worth saying, "I played with the best," when you are 35 and out of money? Call me crazy or naive, but I bet the perspective at 35 for those career backups on cheap deals is seeing a lot more value in making double their money overseas.
I'm not necessarily degrading late picks who come over. Most probably think they can be stars, and it just doesn't work out that way. Many probably just don't want to move out of the country. And many are equally stuck here due to family, education, or other responsibilities. I'm just saying, most of the players who are drafted will fail. They will play only a few years (if at all) and never see the NBA again. I don't blame them for trying, but I do think there is a lack of real knowledge and realistic expectation that keeps young guys from realizing the far better opportunities they could have overseas.
