Buyouts...

The South Florida Sun Sentinel ran the item below. It delves into the complicated world of international player buyouts in pro basketball. Seems that F.C. Barca is willing to allow their prized point guard Juan Carlos Navarro to test his skills in the NBA, but they need a decision - pronto.

Both Miami and Washington would be perfect NBA clubs for Navarro.

We saw him last year when FC Barca beat the Philly 76ers at Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona during the first week on NBA training camp - the famed NBA Europe tour.

The $3M buyout will need to come from Navarro's camp, as NBA clubs are limited to a paltry $500G according to the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement.

If Navarro comes over to the NBA, he will make a pretty decent impact. A step up from the likes of Jose Calderon of Toronto.

Juan Carlos Navarro's American agent, Alex Saratsis, said on Wednesday that the Heat remains "a solid possibility" for the point guard if the Washington Wizards trade his rights. The two teams are in active negotiations, according to a source.

Saratsis said Barcelona, Navarro's current team, has imposed a deadline of Aug. 3 for the Wizards to complete a deal. He said the Heat is one of seven or eight teams interested. The Wizards are over the salary cap but might not be eager to deal with the Heat because the teams play in the same division.

"Barcelona dropped his buyout number from $14 million to $3 million," Saratsis said, "so he could play in the NBA. Barcelona begins training camp in a couple of weeks. If we don't get a deal done, they will sign him to a new contract, and his buyout number will be prohibitive, at least $14 million again.

"He is a valuable commodity, but the Wizards are running out of time to get something of value for him. The question is what price will they require to obtain his rights?"

Navarro, 26, would give the Heat a connection to its Hispanic fan base. With the mid-level and bi-level exceptions available, Saratsis doesn't anticipate a contract problem with the Heat.