Bouknight

[Chief00]

old news = Michael Jordan called James Bouknight with advice after off performance

That’s not it.

 

[Chief00]

And make $4M

So if he stayed another year everything would have imploded and he wouldn’t have made $4m+ the following year? And been in better position for the second contract, which typically is much bigger than the first.

 

[husky429]

This is it. Any argument saying he should have stayed for his financial future cannot be rationally made, in my opinion. The risk that something could happen in that "extra" college year that would render his basketball earning potential zero or close to zero is just too damn high. A $4 million dollar salary is enough to be set for life after just that season. (Granted, few 20-year-olds have the knowledge and discipline to make that happen, but the fact remains that the first year's salary alone is life changing.) There is a point where the risk-reward calculation points to staying at school. Should a sophomore leave if he's guaranteed to make $200k in his next year? Heck no. $1 million? Depends if he can improve his stock and future earnings by staying. $2 million? He or she should probably leave. $4 million? GTHO.

Remember, even if he is an absolute bust in his pro career, he will still earn that initial huge paycheck, then probably very decent paychecks until he decides to move on from playing.

There are a hundred other reasons that it makes no sense to argue that Bouk should have stayed, but the financial risk-reward argument is pretty black and white to me. Even if you convince me that staying another year could net him an extra $50 million over the course of his career, I still say it's not worth the risk. Furthermore, while I am not against anyone maximizing his or her earnings, I ask what is the difference when one lies on one's deathbed having earned $75 million vs. $125 million?

It isn't just 4 million either--his contract is guaranteed for 2 years out of the 4 a team has his rights. And the likelihood of not getting picked up for the 3rd and 4th year is unlikely. He's basically looking at a guaranteed 8.5 million, and a strong likelihood of close to 20 million.

Only a literal nincompoop would turn down that money.

 

[DaveHuskiesFan]

So if he stayed another year everything would have imploded and he wouldn’t have made $4m+ the following year? And been in better position for the second contract, which typically is much bigger than the first.

Bouknight entered the draft at 20 years old. He is now 21 years old.

Here's how many players 21 years or older have been drafted higher than 11th in the last 5 years:
Davion Mitchell
Deandre Hunter
Rui Hachimura

3 Players out of 50. Six percent.

Don't be an idiot (that's hard for you).

 

[Get a Job]

So if he stayed another year everything would have imploded and he wouldn’t have made $4m+ the following year? And been in better position for the second contract, which typically is much bigger than the first.

There is a greater-than-zero chance that everything would have imploded and he wouldn't have made $4 million the next year. Besides injury, he might have not improved or even regressed, lowering his stock in the next draft. He might have gotten arrested. He might have gotten hit by the Blue Line on a Tuesday afternoon.

It's game theory, man. The "leave early" scenario has a near-100% chance at a large lifetime payoff (let's continue to use $4 million). It has a near-zero percent chance at earning little-to-no money playing basketball. The tradeoff, according to you, is that he lowers the chance of him making an enormous lifetime earnings total. (And your arguments for that are specious at best.)

The "stay a third year" scenario has a much less than 100% chance at $4 million earnings, and a much greater than zero percent chance of earning nothing or next to nothing. For taking this risk, he (maybe, according to you) will earn more over the course of his career.

In summary, even if staying another year, playing well and staying healthy would improve his future earning potential relative to leaving early, it's still the wrong move because of the risk. Furthermore, almost no one agrees with you that staying another year would help his future earning potential.

 

[Okafour rings]

There is a greater-than-zero chance that everything would have imploded and he wouldn't have made $4 million the next year. Besides injury, he might have not improved or even regressed, lowering his stock in the next draft. He might have gotten arrested. He might have gotten hit by the Blue Line on a Tuesday afternoon.

It's game theory, man. The "leave early" scenario has a near-100% chance at a large lifetime payoff (let's continue to use $4 million). It has a near-zero percent chance at earning little-to-no money playing basketball. The tradeoff, according to you, is that he lowers the chance of him making an enormous lifetime earnings total. (And your arguments for that are specious at best.)

The "stay a third year" scenario has a much less than 100% chance at $4 million earnings, and a much greater than zero percent chance of earning nothing or next to nothing. For taking this risk, he (maybe, according to you) will earn more over the course of his career.

In summary, even if staying another year, playing well and staying healthy would improve his future earning potential relative to leaving early, it's still the wrong move because of the risk. Furthermore, almost no one agrees with you that staying another year would help his future earning potential.

Your argument against Bouknight staying omits 2 important points:

1. NIL earnings. If Paige Bueckers earned $387,000 this year for her NIL, what do you think Bouk could have earned - $1 million plus?
2. The NCAA Loss-of-Value insurance. If he was projected to go in the first round of the draft, he was eligible for up to $10 million of insurance for a debilitating injury. And it doesn't have to be career-ending, as the Loss-of-Value title implies.

And his lack of maturity shown recently will definitely have an impact on his second contract, as Chief stated. He really could have used an extra year of college.

 

[BGesus4]

Your argument against Bouknight staying omits 2 important points:

1. NIL earnings. If Paige Bueckers earned $387,000 this year for her NIL, what do you think Bouk could have earned - $1 million plus?
2. The NCAA Loss-of-Value insurance. If he was projected to go in the first round of the draft, he was eligible for up to $10 million of insurance for a debilitating injury. And it doesn't have to be career-ending, as the Loss-of-Value title implies.

And his lack of maturity shown recently will definitely have an impact on his second contract, as Chief stated. He really could have used an extra year of college.

Paige Bueckers has a million Instagram followers and is at the very top of NIL earners in any sport. Bouk has about 125k followers and had way less before entering the NBA this year. He’s wouldn’t have touched anything close to what Bueckers earns and is no doubt earning way more off his name, image, and likeness (not counting his huge salary) this year in the nba than he would’ve in another year at uconn.

 

[PAHusky]

Your argument against Bouknight staying omits 2 important points:

1. NIL earnings. If Paige Bueckers earned $387,000 this year for her NIL, what do you think Bouk could have earned - $1 million plus?
2. The NCAA Loss-of-Value insurance. If he was projected to go in the first round of the draft, he was eligible for up to $10 million of insurance for a debilitating injury. And it doesn't have to be career-ending, as the Loss-of-Value title implies.

And his lack of maturity shown recently will definitely have an impact on his second contract, as Chief stated. He really could have used an extra year of college.

Bouknight was not going to make anywhere close to the $1 million mark that you pulled out of thin air. Bryce Young barely crossed that threshold and he won a Heisman. I think he could have made an amount comparable to Paige, but that's a whole lot less than he made in the NBA during that time period.

He made the right decision in leaving. If you're going to go in the top half of the first round - and he did - it would be incredibly ignorant to leave.

Another year of college would have done nothing for him. You think DH would have magically made him more mature with an extra year? That he would get stronger in UConn's S&C program than an NBA teams? That as a basketball player he would get better going up against Hawkins/Gaffney/Cole in practice than, you know, NBA talent?

This is a tired debate that only gets legs when Chief starts his schtick. I think it's time for us all to admit that he made the right choice, wish him the best, and go back to arguing about some other idiotic topic.

 

[Kenny11]

Your argument against Bouknight staying omits 2 important points:

1. NIL earnings. If Paige Bueckers earned $387,000 this year for her NIL, what do you think Bouk could have earned - $1 million plus?
2. The NCAA Loss-of-Value insurance. If he was projected to go in the first round of the draft, he was eligible for up to $10 million of insurance for a debilitating injury. And it doesn't have to be career-ending, as the Loss-of-Value title implies.

And his lack of maturity shown recently will definitely have an impact on his second contract, as Chief stated. He really could have used an extra year of college.

Nobody on the mens team will ever get more NIL money than paige. If you are that good as a male you won’t be in college, period.

 

[Chief00]

This is it. Any argument saying he should have stayed for his financial future cannot be rationally made, in my opinion. The risk that something could happen in that "extra" college year that would render his basketball earning potential zero or close to zero is just too damn high. A $4 million dollar salary is enough to be set for life after just that season. (Granted, few 20-year-olds have the knowledge and discipline to make that happen, but the fact remains that the first year's salary alone is life changing.) There is a point where the risk-reward calculation points to staying at school. Should a sophomore leave if he's guaranteed to make $200k in his next year? Heck no. $1 million? Depends if he can improve his stock and future earnings by staying. $2 million? He or she should probably leave. $4 million? GTHO.

Remember, even if he is an absolute bust in his pro career, he will still earn that initial huge paycheck, then probably very decent paychecks until he decides to move on from playing.

There are a hundred other reasons that it makes no sense to argue that Bouk should have stayed, but the financial risk-reward argument is pretty black and white to me. Even if you convince me that staying another year could net him an extra $50 million over the course of his career, I still say it's not worth the risk. Furthermore, while I am not against anyone maximizing his or her earnings, I ask what is the difference when one lies on one's deathbed having earned $75 million vs. $125 million?

$4 million doesn’t set you for life at 22 with taxes etc. it was a very poor strategic decision and the consequences are playing out in front of our eyes. As I said previously, Drummond has made $133 million. There’s a lot of upside - what you don’t want to do is get pigeon hold into an image that you can’t lose. Be prepared and be ready when opportunity knocks. But, if you are not ready all around then work some more to get ready. You don’t get endless chances. Make them count.

 

[Chief00]

Bouknight was not going to make anywhere close to the $1 million mark that you pulled out of thin air. Bryce Young barely crossed that threshold and he won a Heisman. I think he could have made an amount comparable to Paige, but that's a whole lot less than he made in the NBA during that time period.

He made the right decision in leaving. If you're going to go in the top half of the first round - and he did - it would be incredibly ignorant to leave.

Another year of college would have done nothing for him. You think DH would have magically made him more mature with an extra year? That he would get stronger in UConn's S&C program than an NBA teams? That as a basketball player he would get better going up against Hawkins/Gaffney/Cole in practice than, you know, NBA talent?

This is a tired debate that only gets legs when Chief starts his schtick. I think it's time for us all to admit that he made the right choice, wish him the best, and go back to arguing about some other idiotic topic.

Yeah, this season is filled with evidence he made the right move - LOL

 

[giddyup]

Should have stayed and developed more. But, he took the big dollars in a weak draft. Can’t blame him. In the same token, it was clear he was not able to dominate in big games and needed more mental and physical maturity. Is what is.

 

[Husky68]

Why does everyone think playing for Hurley another year would get him to show enough in his junior year to propel him higher in this year's draft. Or for that matter improve his maturity (Hanging with bunch of college kids, ghee now that reeks of getting more mature).
Or for that matter improve his game more than he has as a pro. He's probably played more game minutes than all UConn's freshman combined and is getting pro coaching. If sitting so much is bad (as can't improve without playing) what does that say for Hurley's strategy on not playing his freshman.

 

[Umami Zen]

Bouk made his decision. Needs the right situation-Maybe not Charlotte- And needs to continue to look in the mirror and figure out who he is as a player and as a person. Not complicated. Part of maturing

 

[Okafour rings]

Why does everyone think playing for Hurley another year would get him to show enough in his junior year to propel him higher in this year's draft. Or for that matter improve his maturity (Hanging with bunch of college kids, ghee now that reeks of getting more mature).
Or for that matter improve his game more than he has as a pro. He's probably played more game minutes than all UConn's freshman combined and is getting pro coaching. If sitting so much is bad (as can't improve without playing) what does that say for Hurley's strategy on not playing his freshman.

In my opinion, his maturation stood a better chance of improving in college, with coaches who cared about his development as a person and as a b-ball player. Do you honestly think that pro coaches are going to take baby steps with this newly minted millionaire, or his teammates? He's in the doghouse with his coach, he's getting a rep as a malcontent that will certainly affect his future earnings. It's not like he's such a unique talent that these issues will be overlooked.

I hope for his sake that he gets a fresh start with another team.

 

[Chief00]

Why does everyone think playing for Hurley another year would get him to show enough in his junior year to propel him higher in this year's draft. Or for that matter improve his maturity (Hanging with bunch of college kids, ghee now that reeks of getting more mature).
Or for that matter improve his game more than he has as a pro. He's probably played more game minutes than all UConn's freshman combined and is getting pro coaching. If sitting so much is bad (as can't improve without playing) what does that say for Hurley's strategy on not playing his freshman.

Chief would have loved to have been wrong about this but contrary to what some here say, this season has been a difficult for James. While many here just talk about timing money earlier rather than later, Chief is concerned both about James foundational happiness and personal/career development. You get that right and the money will take care of itself.

What some don’t understand is it has never been about his talent. He has talent, it’s the mindset he has to work on. I still think he has the opportunity to turn things around. Both on and off the court. As Chief has preached, keep things simple, make it about the team and not yourself and become the master of preparation. Always be ready to play and play well.

 

[temery]

Should have stayed and developed more. But, he took the big dollars in a weak draft. Can’t blame him. In the same token, it was clear he was not able to dominate in big games and needed more mental and physical maturity. Is what is.

Maybe he should have transferred to Houston.

 

[aceboon]

UConn fans(w/o sense) sound just like Michigan fans did when Jordan Poole left. Not saying Bouk will have the same progression as Poole has, but I don't understand coming to conclusions on his career after 70 games played.

 

[rollskies]

Another great stat line from Bouk tonight in Greensboro: 22 points and 10 assists with 4 steals. He has been facilitating the ball so well since his return.

 

[Chief00]

Another great stat line from Bouk tonight in Greensboro: 22 points and 10 assists with 4 steals. He has been facilitating the ball so well since his return.

Starting to listen to Chief again. If you make your teammates better, the team will make you better. It’s not about getting rich overnight as certain well meaning casual fans believe, rather it’s about the Grind. The Grind will get you to your destination - it just takes talent, hard work and patience.

 

[twiceahusky]

When Hurley hits the transfer portal for guards & shooters … “Starting to listen to Chief again”.
When Jackson starts driving to the hoop and gets dangerous from outside … “Starting to listen to Chief again”.
When Gaffney regains his confidence … “Starting to listen to Chief again”.
You know what The Grind is? Listening to Chief.

 

[CTBasketball]

UConn fans(w/o sense) sound just like Michigan fans did when Jordan Poole left. Not saying Bouk will have the same progression as Poole has, but I don't understand coming to conclusions on his career after 70 games played.

At this rate he’ll get there in 3 years lol. But he needs out of Charlotte, he isn’t good enough yet to play in their rotation. Preferably he’s traded to a team that desperately needs guard scorers.

If he’s not I could see him swinging and missing on that second contract because currently his 3rd year is a team option right?

 

[pj]

At this rate he’ll get there in 3 years lol. But he needs out of Charlotte, he isn’t good enough yet to play in their rotation. Preferably he’s traded to a team that desperately needs guard scorers.

If he’s not I could see him swinging and missing on that second contract because currently his 3rd year is a team option right?

Greensboro might be the best place for him right now - plenty of minutes, work on his point guard skills. And a humble out-of-the-way place is the best spot to work on his attitude, if that's what needs work. ... For all the criticism of Borrego he might be charting the right course.

 

[CTBasketball]

Greensboro might be the best place for him right now - plenty of minutes, work on his point guard skills. And a humble out-of-the-way place is the best spot to work on his attitude, if that's what needs work. ... For all the criticism of Borrego he might be charting the right course.

The Hornets actually have a decent team, they’re above .500 and currently the 7 seed. They don’t need Bouknight it was a travesty he got drafted there with all the talent they have.

 

[Stinger92860]

Lol.

Starting to listen to Chief again

Is that one of the voices in your head?