Here's your latest example of how the world economy is affecting life in the NBA: all of a sudden, it seems, those guys who took big dollar contracts to play in Europe are looking to get back into the Association.

Last week, rumors started to fly about Jannero Pargo -- currently playing in Moscow -- looking to return to the States. (He'd be a great fit for the Knicks, as I mentioned in this week's waiver wire recommendations...) Now, reports have surfaced that Nenad Krstic -- also playing in Russia -- is close to signing a three-year deal with the Thunder.

Thus far it's the Russian teams that seem to be suffering the most. It will be interesting to see if this trend spreads to the rest of Europe. If so, there are several other NBA veterans who could suddenly become available, including:

• Earl Boykins (Italy)
• Josh Childress (Greece)
• Carlos Arroyo (Israel)
• Primoz Brezec (Italy)
• Bostjan Nachbar (Russia)

This could also have a serious chilling effect on any American high schoolers who were considering following in Brandon Jennings' footsteps and playing in Europe instead of spending a year in college.