I understand where you're coming from as a county supporter, as an Essex fan I was pleased to see nobody opted for Ravi Bopara so he should be free to start the season at Chelmsford. However, it's difficult to begrudge these players the chance to earn such good money for a few weeks work, whether you're in favour of the IPL competition or not. Very few players are going to opt for a few CC games and One-Day cup games ahead of playing and earning considerably more money, along with the majority of the best players in the world.
It's a shame the counties don't have the power to resist the pull of the IPL for their players but it is now becoming the norm to allow the players to enter the auction and hope for the best.
I agree that county cricket should be the priority, but each year that moves further away from being the case, and again it's hard to say the players shouldn't enter the competition such are the benefits, albeit primarily financial.
The type of player entering the IPL that I do slightly question are those that talk of Test cricket as still being the pinnacle yet by entering the IPL they are minimalising their chance of breaking into the Test side. With opportunities throughout England's batting line-up, I'm thinking Jason Roy and Jos Buttler, notoriously very good limited-overs players and if they want to stay purely LO players, then absolutely fair enough. But if they want Test cricket, then they should be starting the season with their respective counties and developing their long-form cricket. Rarely happens though.