Trades in the NBA and in Europe

By Walter E. Block

Wizards forward Deni Avdija drives to the basket, from Washington Wizards vs. Los Angeles Clippers at Captial One Arena, Washington, D.C., January 25th, 2022 (Photo: Joe Glorioso | All-Pro Reels)

The trading deadline in the National Basketball Association has just been concluded. One of the most high profile switcheroos was the Dallas Mavericks trade with the Los Angeles Lakers. The former gave up their star guard, Luka Doncic, for the highly skilled forward-center of the latter, Anthony Davis. The jury is still out on this one, since Davis is on the injury list and has already missed out on a few games. Even were this not the case, it usually takes a season or two or three to determine which team got the better of the deal. For that depends upon are not only the abilities of the two traded players, but, also, on how well they fit in with their new team-mates.

As to the specifics, Doncic is a veritable scoring machine, and is only 25 years old, not yet having reached his peak. Davis is no slouch when it comes to point totals, and adds much more to team defense; on the other hand, he is 31 years old, and Father Time eventually beats every athlete, world-class or not as are these two.

Now let us discuss another trade, a different one entirely. Europe has in effect traded a large part of its exiting Jewish population for numerous incoming Muslims. Has this continent improved its standing? I ask, of course, not in terms of baskets scored, but on the basis of economics, health, wealth, prosperity, general welfare of the other peoples who are neither Jewish nor Arab. First, let us look at the statistics.

Here is what is going on with regard to the Arab newcomers to Europe:

“The number of Muslims in Europe has grown from 29.6 million in 1990 to 44.1 million in 2010.34 Europe’s Muslim population is projected to exceed 58 million by 2030. Muslims today account for about 6% of Europe’s total population, up from 4.1% in 1990. By 2030, Muslims are expected to make up 8% of Europe’s population.”

What, in contrast, is the Jewish situation?

In 1939, 9.5 million Jews lived in Europe, which housed 57% of the entire world-wide Jewish population. The comparable numbers for 1945 were 3.8 million and 35%; for 1960, 3.2 million and 27%; in 1991, 2.0 million and 16% and 2010, 1.4 million and 10%.  In 2020 there were 1.3 million Jewish inhabitants in Europe, the same in 2022. Another way to put the matter is that between 1970 and 2020 there was a decrease of 58.9% in the Jewish population.

I have no prognostication as to the future of this population trend, but the obvious expectation as more Muslims enter the continent and draw swastikas on Jewish Synagogues and harass Jews in many other ways, the exodus of the latter will continue.

No matter how you put it, Europe has in effect “traded” millions of its Jewish population of emigrants for millions of Muslim Arab immigrants. Has this continent improved its situation?

It is hard to see how the jury is still out on this one. What have the newcomers contributed to what remains of European civilization? On the positive side, they have taken up numerous unskilled and semi-skilled occupations. It cannot be denied that they have been a helpful influence insofar as that sort of thing goes. On the negative side, they have this wont to crash their cars into crowds of innocent people. This must be counted as a debit. And the same must be said about rape. In their tradition, if a woman is wearing a mini-skirt, or other revealing clothing, she must be taught a lesson. Of course, not all of the immigrants boast these characteristics; but a disproportionately high percentage of them do compared to other cultures and religions.

How many Jews in Europe have purposefully crashed their automobiles into crowds of innocent people? The incidence of this sort of thing is scarcer than hen’s teeth. If it were possible to have a negative number for this sort of thing, that would be the relevant statistic. Nor are the people of the book known for raping anyone. Rather, they are famous for being doctors, lawyers, economists, scientists, professors, mathematicians, physicists, chemists, Nobel Prize winners, chess champions. Here is what Charles Murray, no Jew, he, had to say about these people: “Jewish Genius: Jews are extravagantly overrepresented in every field of intellectual accomplishment.”

Has Europe benefited from this “trade” it has been involved in for lo these many years? It is extremely difficult to see how it has.

Since we mentioned basketball at the outset of this essay, what is the Jewish-Muslim situation in this regard? There are or have been no fewer than five Arab basketball professionals. They are: Salah Mejri, Mahmoud Abdelfattah, Alaa Abdelnaby, Ronald Seikaly and Abdelrahman Nader. How about Jews? Yes, a handful of them, too: Deni Avdija, Amari Bailey, Domantas Sabonis, Ossie Schectman, Amar’e Stoudemire, Jordan Farmar. Should we trade one group for the other? Beats me.

The European immigration and emigration case is a lot more clear than the one concerning basketball.