Hamed Ehadadi is a 7’2” center for the Iranian Olympic basketball team. He has soft hands, a good attitude and a desire to be the first Iranian player in the NBA -- the Persian Yao Ming, so to speak.
 
“It is my dream to play in the NBA,” he’s told anyone who wants to listen.
 
As the Olympics’ leading rebounder, the 23-year-old has attracted the attention of “two or three teams” in the league, his coach says. He’s even reportedly spoken with Marc Iavaroni, the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies.
 
But as tends to happen with any issue involving Iran and the United States, there’s a problem.
 
On Friday, the NBA sent urgent letters to all 30 of its teams advising them that even talking to Ehadadi would be a violation of US sanctions against the Islamic Republic -- what used to be known as trading with the enemy.
 
“It has come to our attention that representatives of Hamed Ehadadi, an Iranian basketball player, may be contacting NBA teams to discuss the possibility of signing Mr. Ehadadi to an NBA player contract,” said the letter from the NBA’s general counsel. “We have been advised that a federal statue prohibits a person or organization in the United States from engaging in business dealings with Iranian nationals.”
 
So now, the NBA is forced to seek a license from the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control to do any business with Ehadadi. If a license is granted, any NBA team could negotiate with Ehadadi and his agent (yes, even Iranian ball players have agents).
 
A league spokesman confirms that the OFAC license has been applied for. But the NBA doesn’t know how quickly Treasury will rule on its license request. If it takes too long, Ehadadi’s chances could suffer. While teams haven’t begun training camp—and won’t until the first week of October, they are filling out their rosters, and roster spaces are at a premium.
 
A State Department spokesman tells NBC News, "the State Department's role in any case like this is to advise OFAC and to provide foreign policy guidance." The department determines its "foreign policy guidance" after collecting information across the US government from those involved in the Iran sanctions process. They say they are still in the process of collecting that info and have not advised Treasury yet.
 
The Iranians apparently don’t have a problem with Ehadadi playing even for Memphis, one of the NBA’s worst teams in one of its smaller markets). Mehran Hatami, the assistant coach for the Iranian team and Ehadadi’s translator, told Yahoo! Sports “It’s our pleasure for one player from Iran to one day play in the NBA,” Hatami said. “I am sure he will play there this season because he has played great (at the Olympics).”
 
An Iranian diplomat at the nation’s UN Mission in New York told NBC News the prospect of Ehdadi throwing down dunks across America was “great” and pronounced that he was thrilled.

He also described Ehadadi as a “good boy.” Iran has no reciprocal law that would prevent Ehadadi from doing business with an NBA team.
 
What are the chances the US will grant a license? Pretty good, say foreign policy analysts. After all, the State Department approved letting the NBA invite the Iranian Olympic Team to the Rocky Mountain Revue in July as part of its people-to-people policy. The team, including Ehadadi, played against rookie teams from the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz in Salt Lake. It was there, in fact, that NBA scouts got their first look at Ehadadi. Previously, he had played for a professional Iranian team, Saba Battery.
 
Moreover, like the team's participation in the summer league, the signing of Ehadadi also would be seen as the latest (if only symbolic) example of a thaw in relations between the US and Iran. Ehadadi himself has expressed enthusiasm about his time in the United States, telling reporters, "I like America."
 
How good is he?
 
"I think he has a good chance to play in the NBA," said Andrew Bogut. Bogut, an Australian who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA and has played against Ehadadi in the Olympics, told reporters, "He needs to get a bit stronger. Once he hits the weight room, he'll be a pretty tough horse."
 
NBA scouts say Ehadadi has only a small chance of making the league, speculating that although he works well around the basket and can shoot out to 15 feet, he would likely struggle against anyone more athletic -- "which is just about everybody," offered one. A second scout was more encouraged after watching Ehadadi drop 21 points and grab 16 rebounds against defending Olympic champion Argentina.

Both scouts said the best Ehadadi could hope for is a non-guaranteed contract. If one can be negotiated—and he makes the team—Ehadadi would be paid $442,000, about 50 times the annual salary for the average Iranian.
 
Right now, the Grizzlies appear to be in the lead, but watch out for the two Los Angeles teams, the Lakers and the Clippers. The city is the center of Iranian culture in the US, with more than 300,000 Iranians and Iranian-Americans. They don’t call Los Angeles “Tehrangeles” for nothing.
 
Robert Windrem is the Investigative Producer/Special Projects at NBC Nightly News and recently traveled to Iran with Brian Williams to interview President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. He also has a passion for basketball.

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