OT: Jalen Green spurning Memphis, heading to G-League

[BlueDogs]

Green is also being awarded a "college scholarship" he can use at a later date. So I guess the G-League is putting ~$200k in escrow that he can access at a later date to attend college. Good lord.

The NBA covered every aspect of this.

After taxes the kid will have 250K in his pocket, and after living expenses, buying a car, and dropping big $$ on clubs and other stupid buys, he’ll have next to nothing. This against the prospect of a major injury and walking away with no life skills seems to be exactly why a little schooling might be a better path.

 

[huskypantz]

Is that at all realistic? In 4 years that’s 800 kids. No way the g league has the infrastructure for that or the nba cares to develop it

It’s a 1 year contract. I’d imagine g league is year to year. I don’t think the NBA wants more than 20 kids per year. How many freshmen are actually ready for the NBA? You get a crop each year. Let’s say 2/3 get drafted. The rest go back to the G, head overseas or flop. Even some of the current draftees get stashed in the G league as it stands. Rinse and repeat.

The more I think about it, this would make college more competitive top to bottom without the elite talents. Flip side is that college to NBA pipeline is impaired.

 

[Husky25]

Can anyone explain (serious question) why kids can play in the G League out of HS, but not the NBA? These are 18 year old adults, if they think their best option is going straight to the NBA then let them go.

Quite simply, the NBA does not want to pay an 18 year old millions of dollars for basketball development or to play wet nurse off the court to protect their investment on the court.

Age of majority does not an adult make.

 

[Jbirdp5]

It’s a 1 year contract. I’d imagine g league is year to year. I don’t think the NBA wants more than 20 kids per year. How many freshmen are actually ready for the NBA? You get a crop each year. Let’s say 2/3 get drafted. The rest go back to the G, head overseas or flop. Even some of the current draftees get stashed in the G league as it stands. Rinse and repeat.

The more I think about it, this would make college more competitive top to bottom without the elite talents. Flip side is that college to NBA pipeline is impaired.

My question was in response to someone who basically wanted to give 200 kids 50k

 

[pj]

My question was in response to someone who basically wanted to give 200 kids 50k

It wasn't a matter of wanting ... it was an explanation of why this could grow into a threat to college athletics. The NBA has the option of forming a highly profitable league that is a better deal for top-200 players than college basketball.

This threat is why the NCAA is becoming open to paying players, and giving them easier transfers etc. If the NBA and G-league weren't making moves toward competing with college, NCAA would hoard all the profits to themselves.

 

[Jbirdp5]

It wasn't a matter of wanting ... it was an explanation of why this could grow into a threat to college athletics. The NBA has the option of forming a highly profitable league that is a better deal for top-200 players than college basketball.

This threat is why the NCAA is becoming open to paying players, and giving them easier transfers etc. If the NBA and G-league weren't making moves toward competing with college, NCAA would hoard all the profits to themselves.

I just don’t think that’s realistic at all. Your talking about baseball level minor leagues with the numbers you are talking. Too much infrastructure to create and not to mention sure 50 k is nice but if ya get squeezes out after the first year and now you can’t go to college ur screwed. I don’t think it would wipe out college basketball

 

[navery12]

This is crazy. There's no scenario where the top 200 kids are going to the G league every year unless the NBA is forming 5 separate minor leagues.

Even if you assume nobody is drafted from the NCAA to NBA anymore that's 60 players leaving the G league and 200 coming in every year.

 

[the Q]

This is crazy. There's no scenario where the top 200 kids are going to the G league every year unless the NBA is forming 5 separate minor leagues.

Even if you assume nobody is drafted from the NCAA to NBA anymore that's 60 players leaving the G league and 200 coming in every year.

Exactly. We’re probably talking about 3-5 kids per year. Just like before the age limit kicked in.

 

[HooperScooper]

This is pretty funny. Mostly because it's about Duke.

Beal, who was a one-and-done at Florida, apparently would have been all over this.

“These kids are gonna say F college,” the Washington Wizards guard said, per The Athletic’s Fred Katz. “Just play in the G League and enter the draft? Where do I sign?

That opened up some fun back-and-forth, as Tatum says he might have turned down $500,000 and stayed loyal to his blueblood, Duke, where he spent one year.

“So Duke gave you $600,000?” Beal joked, as the Boston Celtics star defended his school.

“Hey, Duke might be the only stand-up school in the country,” Tatum responded.

We love you Tatum, but come on, man. Beal clearly got a kick out of that answer, too.

“Listen man, I was born, but I wasn’t born yesterday.”

Bradley Beal Jokes Jayson Tatum Got Paid At Duke Discussing NBA G League - NESN.com

NBA stars Jayson Tatum and Bradley Beal hopped on an Instagram Live broadcast together, and the St. Louis natives’ discussion led them to the NBA’s new G League initiative. The new program would allow elite high school prospects to skip college and focus on their NBA development, to provide a...

nesn.com

 

[UconnU]

Still no class of 2020 commits for Memphis lol.

 

[olehead]

When this becomes the norm, which it will be in about a year for the elite prospects, I'd expect that you'll see more coverage for G League games than you currently do. Plus these HS kids can now sign shoe deals, etc right out of HS. We need to remember that these are the Top 5-10 players, not just players who think they are good. These are the players who'd skip college anyway and likely end up with a shoe deal and endorsement deals once they were drafted anyway. I don't see why anyone wouldn't offer that to them now.

I can't see what's not good about getting 500k for a year before getting a multi million dollar deal after that. I'd rather that than play for free and risk injury before getting drafted.

This deal provides the opportunity for attaining an education funded through this NBA program.

 

[bfs3]

I doubt it. People only follow players because they played for their favorite college team or play for their favorite NBA team. The G-league is stuck in the middle and has no following whatsoever. A couple of top prospects aren’t going to change that overnight. Glad the kid got his $500K, but we’ll see if it pays off for him in the long run. You get so much more media exposure in the NCAA, especially in the tournament. You can argue I’m wrong, but most G-League teams would compete with or beat the best college teams, yet very few follow the G-League.

You don’t think if Zion was on a G league team ESPN wouldn’t find a way to air some of the games? They air high school games every year. I’m sure that’s exactly what the NBA is thinking.

Im hoping they off Dior a contract, Westry goes somewhere else and Syracuse loses any future hope of competing.

Im more worried that Duke and Kentucky just start their efforts at recruiting top 25 guys instead of 1-10. Lowering the level of talent that everyone else competes for.

 

[BlueMAB]

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2 High school kids in this list. We can make the what if argument on some of the 1 & done rule wasn’t in place, but we also don’t see any euro league players or others on this list.

You used perhaps the worst player to demonstrate your point.

1) that list you provided dates back over 20 years, but during roughly 15 of those years no HS kids could be drafted. So it's not very useful.

2) It includes very high profile players who weren't good enough to have gone straight to the pros. Guys like Allen Iverson was never going to that contract straight out of HS.

3) Of the one and dones, Zion got far and away more money than anyone else.

4) The point is Zion doesn't need to be the #1 prospect. He's a highlight reel. He's going to attract eyeballs regardless of whether he goes to Duke, Kentucky, UConn, Kansas, or UNC. He was going to be huge and was going to get a ton of money because of the wow factor.

Did going to Duke get him more money than going to Kentucky would have? Or Kansas? Or UNC? How do you know/prove that? What about UConn? Would he have only gotten $20 MM? How do you quantify that?

It's all speculation on your part.

People keep saying he's not the best prospect in his class. So what? He was still the number one draft pick, and got the second highest rookie sneaker contract ever. That wasn't because he went to Duke.

RJ Barrett went to Duke, was the number one player in his class, and signed with Puma for an undisclosed amount. But he just can't do the things Zion can, and doesn't attract as wide of an audience. So even though he's probably the better player, he was drafted after Zion, and (by all reports) got a lesser sneaker deal than Zion.

Guys like Zion don't "need" any leverage from any college brand. Any of the blue bloods will help, but they aren't needed.

Guys like Marvin Bagley stand to benefit far more.

 

[BlueMAB]

Using Zion and Lebron to prove your argument is the problem. You picked the two generational talents from the last 20 years.....I don’t think Jalen green falls in that category. Don’t think this will create a lot more buzz for him. This is a better move for kids who end up flaming out because they get a nice chunk of change in the bank. For the kids you mentioned they could go to college go to Europe go to where ever and they were going to be household names.
this move is smart for people money wise but who knows if it gets them a better shoe deal. That will have to be proven

I think you're responding to the wrong person. That's similar to the point I was making.

 

[Jbirdp5]

I think you're responding to the wrong person. That's similar to the point I was making.

You had said Zion and Lebron didn’t need college to get huge contracts/be household names. My point was those guys are the exception not the rule when it comes to most top 5 high school seniors

 

[Pmurph678]

You used perhaps the worst player to demonstrate your point.

1) that list you provided dates back over 20 years, but during roughly 15 of those years no HS kids could be drafted. So it's not very useful.

2) It includes very high profile players who weren't good enough to have gone straight to the pros. Guys like Allen Iverson was never going to that contract straight out of HS.

3) Of the one and dones, Zion got far and away more money than anyone else.

4) The point is Zion doesn't need to be the #1 prospect. He's a highlight reel. He's going to attract eyeballs regardless of whether he goes to Duke, Kentucky, UConn, Kansas, or UNC. He was going to be huge and was going to get a ton of money because of the wow factor.

Did going to Duke get him more money than going to Kentucky would have? Or Kansas? Or UNC? How do you know/prove that? What about UConn? Would he have only gotten $20 MM? How do you quantify that?

It's all speculation on your part.

People keep saying he's not the best prospect in his class. So what? He was still the number one draft pick, and got the second highest rookie sneaker contract ever. That wasn't because he went to Duke.

RJ Barrett went to Duke, was the number one player in his class, and signed with Puma for an undisclosed amount. But he just can't do the things Zion can, and doesn't attract as wide of an audience. So even though he's probably the better player, he was drafted after Zion, and (by all reports) got a lesser sneaker deal than Zion.

Guys like Zion don't "need" any leverage from any college brand. Any of the blue bloods will help, but they aren't needed.

Guys like Marvin Bagley stand to benefit far more.

Zion's brand absolutely benefited from playing a year in college.

No one watches the G-League, it is less exposure, thus reducing the value of a players brand.

How many Zion high school games did you watch? Probably not many, but he was doing crazy dunks during those too.

Unless you follow college basketball recruiting, no one knew who Zion was before he went to Duke. Everyone knew who he was once he went pro.

 

[BlueMAB]

After taxes the kid will have 250K in his pocket, and after living expenses, buying a car, and dropping big $$ on clubs and other stupid buys, he’ll have next to nothing. This against the prospect of a major injury and walking away with no life skills seems to be exactly why a little schooling might be a better path.

Must be easy going through life being able to predict exactly what other people will do before they do it.

Do you know how many lives you could have saved had you just told that guy not to eat the bat?

 

[BlueMAB]

Zion's brand absolutely benefited from playing a year in college.

No one watches the G-League, it is less exposure, thus reducing the value of a players brand.

How many Zion high school games did you watch? Probably not many, but he was doing crazy dunks during those too.

Unless you follow college basketball recruiting, no one knew who Zion was before he went to Duke. Everyone knew who he was once he went pro.

You're late to the party.

And wrong that "no one knew who Zion was before he went to Duke".

Among high school basketball players Williamson is a celebrity on a scale perhaps not seen since LeBron James. Other prep stars, such as John Wall, Thon Maker and Seventh Woods, have captivated millions of viewers with memorable mixtapes, and LaMelo Ball, the youngest brother in America’s most inescapable hoops family, has cultivated a vast online following, thanks mostly to his publicity-hungry father. But Williamson is unique in his capacity to consistently produce stunning plays that send tremors across basketball Twitter and serve as fodder for mesmerizing YouTube clips.

Sure he benefited from Duke. No more than he would have benefited from UNC, Kentucky, Kansas, etc, etc.

How much did he benefit? Put a number on it, then prove it.

Good luck with that.

I contend, it's not that much. Why? Because he got more money than any one and done ever, but not as much as Lebron, the only guy he compares to in terms of highlight reels.

I specifically responded to the comment that going to the G League would cause him to lose leverage. That's BS.

His leverage doesn't come from Duke, or the $500k rookie contract, it comes from his 6'6ish, 280ish pound body that comes with his 40+inch vert.

 

[BlueMAB]

You had said Zion and Lebron didn’t need college to get huge contracts/be household names. My point was those guys are the exception not the rule when it comes to most top 5 high school seniors

Exactly.

I've said at least 2 if not 3/4 times he picked the wrong guy to make his point.

Where did I say the G League is better for all of the top 5-10 HS guys all of the time?

Zion would have gotten a very similar contract no matter where he went to school. Guys can't do what he can do.

 

[the Q]

You're late to the party.

And wrong.

Among high school basketball players Williamson is a celebrity on a scale perhaps not seen since LeBron James. Other prep stars, such as John Wall, Thon Maker and Seventh Woods, have captivated millions of viewers with memorable mixtapes, and LaMelo Ball, the youngest brother in America’s most inescapable hoops family, has cultivated a vast online following, thanks mostly to his publicity-hungry father. But Williamson is unique in his capacity to consistently produce stunning plays that send tremors across basketball Twitter and serve as fodder for mesmerizing YouTube clips.

These kids are seeing that the plague known as social media gives them great brand power when they turn pro. Idk what greens follower count was before last week, but I’m sure he’s got a huge push since, and will command a pretty nice shoe deal.

I don’t know the rules of nba shoe deals for rookies, but when bench guys get free product and credits to get more gear, the top prospect is getting a nice deal. Do they do anything with a royalty to limit downside risk for the shoe companies?

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

After taxes the kid will have 250K in his pocket, and after living expenses, buying a car, and dropping big $$ on clubs and other stupid buys, he’ll have next to nothing. This against the prospect of a major injury and walking away with no life skills seems to be exactly why a little schooling might be a better path.

With the state of modern college basketball the way it is, most high level prospects don't get much out of the academic/life skills side of college anyway. So many NBA players end up broke - college or not. I would speculate confidently that going to college can be shown to make no difference in this regard, or only very marginal difference at best. The "student athlete" label the NCAA pushes is a myth.

 

[BlueMAB]

With the state of modern college basketball the way it is, most high level prospects don't get much out of the academic/life skills side of college anyway.

They get out of it exactly what they put into it.

They can graduate in 3 years like 2 of our own, or they can do the bare minimum to stay eligible until they get drafted.

 

[Jbirdp5]

These kids are seeing that the plague known as social media gives them great brand power when they turn pro. Idk what greens follower count was before last week, but I’m sure he’s got a huge push since, and will command a pretty nice shoe deal.

I don’t know the rules of nba shoe deals for rookies, but when bench guys get free product and credits to get more gear, the top prospect is getting a nice deal. Do they do anything with a royalty to limit downside risk for the shoe companies?

Jalen green is far from a household name and I would imagine a sneaker company would use that to get him a shoe deal on their best terms not his best terms.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

They get out of it exactly what they put into it.

They can graduate in 3 years like 2 of our own, or they can do the bare minimum to stay eligible until they get drafted.

The exceptions you cite don't disprove the point. The vast majority can and will do the minimum - with no repercussions until it's too late. The college's really don't care.

 

[the Q]

Jalen green is far from a household name and I would imagine a sneaker company would use that to get him a shoe deal on their best terms not his best terms.

After this week, he is a household name. He was the biggest news in sports last week.

I’m sure he won’t get the same deal a Zion got either. But he’ll definitely get paid.