Thanks for the clarifications.

Ultimately, as a raw young player with no professional experience, Hemofarm and the Serbian/Adriatic league/Eurocup might be the best situation possible for Jordan. Certainly top clubs weren’t looking to sign him. Eurocup may be better than playing for a low-level Spanish team.

I’m surprised about Serbia in large part because of culture shock. He’s going to be playing with like 80% Serbs and living in a place that may be more of an adjustment than other cities/countries. If the main goal is to spend a year in Europe and then get to the NBA, I would think he’d choose a different place. Obviously he and his agent have to also think about the very real possibility he never makes the NBA and has to maximize his career in Europe. Some success in Eurocup for a year or two could definitely be a good stepping stone to play in Spain or for a strong Euroleague club. This may also prove to be the best way for him to improve and make the Knicks down the road. I guess this is about what I would have expected, so not sure why I was surprised… I guess I just expected the Knicks to sign him.

Then there is the regional and national league where Hemofarm plays.

In the regional league Adriatic Basketball Acc.(yes its ABA) they will face 15 teams (from Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Monte Negro)from which four teams are participants in the Euroleague.
I’d say that this ABA is the third league( behind Spanish and Greek)in quality in Europe.(Ok – shares the third spot with Italian league:)
Hemofarm won the ABA title in 2005, and has been regularly in the final four of ABA.

Serbian national league is quite good also.

So if Jordan gets to be the starting C he could play in about 60 pretty intense(some of them chair throwing) games :).

Seems like the right move for both Jerome Jordan and the Knicks. If Jordan had been cut he could go to Europe and come back as a free agent if he were to succeed, but this way he’s got a clean NBA slate and an NBA team with an active interest in tracking him and bringing him back. The Knicks obviously win by keeping his rights and getting to see how he develops against professional competition.
Serbia does surprise me a bit. Hemofarm did play in Eurocup last season (the B division of the Euroleague), I can’t tell if they have a chance to qualify this season again or not (my guess is yes). They also had no C on their roster, so playing time may be easy to come by. However, they were 1-5 (in Eurocup) and their roster is almost entirely Serbians (Jordan may not feel at home… though it could certainly be a good opportunity for personal growth). He probably just took the most money, which is only a bad thing if it came at the expense of basketball development… it’s not clear it did: it’s tough for raw young guys with no pro track records to get on top teams. A strong season for Hemofarm could get him a spot next season on a more prominent European club if he’s not ready for the NBA.