OT: - Jalen Green spurning Memphis, heading to G-League | Page 2 | The Boneyard

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

I’m curious if this is actually “good” for ELITE prospects or not. The national exposure from the G League unless they do something different is minimal to say the least. While 500k for a season is nice. A kid like Zion, if he takes that deal, also isn’t in a position with leverage to sign the 80+ million dollar endorsement deal
 
haven’t read the thread but g-league reminds me of the secondary leagues behind the premier league in england. the 2nd tier teams are really good and pay players well.
 
borninansonia said:
I expect that this will be good for college basketball. I enjoy watching the kids grow and learn how to play a team game year to year. The "one and dones" don't interest me, and they usually don't win. Upperclassmen win.
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Yeah, most articles I've read don't think this will hurt college basketball at all. Remember, there was a time not so long ago where many of the top prospects went straight to the NBA without playing in college.

www.cbssports.com

Why players like Jalen Green heading to the G League won't hurt college basketball as much as you think

Top prospects going pro out of high school is nothing new and won't really hurt college basketball
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com

247sports.com

How does the big picture change with Jalen Green going pro?

With Jalen Green going pro, and the G-League changing their model for top prospects, what is next for college basketball?
247sports.com 247sports.com
 
tcf15 said:
At least Memphis has that one JUCO commit with offers from Tulsa and Grambling State to fall back on.
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TCF from the top rope!
1587080151175.gif
 
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HooperScooper said:
If they start offering that much money to the top 5-10 kids in each class then forget about even recruiting those kids. I'd imagine most of them would take that deal and prepare for the NBA that way.

While Green is signing up to play in the NBA G League, multiple sources told 247Sports this won't be a normal G League setup and the program will be tailored for Green and other elite high school recruits. Green is not expected to be the only prospect in the 2020 recruiting class to go that route.

247sports.com

Details on Jalen Green's decision: Lucrative salary, shoe deal

Jalen Green, the No. 3 prospect in the 247Sports Composite Rankings, is expected to bypass college and sign a deal with the NBA G League, multiple sources told 247Sports.
247sports.com 247sports.com
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Ehhhh, I don't know. Personally I think I'd still take the $125k from the blue blood school and play in front of a rabid fanbase on TV.
 
MDHuskFan said:
I’m curious if this is actually “good” for ELITE prospects or not. The national exposure from the G League unless they do something different is minimal to say the least. While 500k for a season is nice. A kid like Zion, if he takes that deal, also isn’t in a position with leverage to sign the 80+ million dollar endorsement deal
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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.
 
$500k plus a shoe contract and a few local endorsement deals (I'm guessing) to play basketball as a pro at the age of 18, I think 4 out of 5 elite prospects will go this route. The top prospect for 2022 has already said he plans on skipping college.
 
This will help college ball by getting rid of most of the one and dones. You'll still have stars in college ball, but now most of them will stay at least 2-3 years, giving the fans a chance to become acquainted with them.
 
MDHuskFan said:
I’m curious if this is actually “good” for ELITE prospects or not. The national exposure from the G League unless they do something different is minimal to say the least. While 500k for a season is nice. A kid like Zion, if he takes that deal, also isn’t in a position with leverage to sign the 80+ million dollar endorsement deal
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Elite prospects don't need the exposure of college. Crazy that you would try to make this point using Zion. You think he needed to go to Duke to sign an $80 million endorsement deal? He was practically a household name before he graduated HS.

Lebron got $90MM from Nike before he ever played an NBA game.

Why do you think they don't have any leverage? If they're willing to bypass college they have even more leverage, not less because they no longer have to worry about amateurism rules.

You think Nike would hesitate to sign a player to a $10-$15MM deal because they got a 1 year $500k contract??
 
Doesn't anyone care how this will affect poor Kentucky and Duke?
 
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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.
 
husky429 said:
This will put a lot of butts in G-League seats too.
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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.
 
WingU-Conn said:
Elite prospects don't need the exposure of college. Crazy that you would try to make this point using Zion. You think he needed to go to Duke to sign an $80 million endorsement deal? He was practically a household name before he graduated HS.

Lebron got $90MM from Nike before he ever played an NBA game.

Why do you think they don't have any leverage? If they're willing to bypass college they have even more leverage, not less because they no longer have to worry about amateurism rules.

You think Nike would hesitate to sign a player to a $10-$15MM deal because they got a 1 year $500k contract??
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If you think Duke wasn’t good for Zions brand idk what to tell you. He wasn’t even the top recruit going to Duke out of that class.

Yes, kids will get shoe contracts still, and yes they will get their salary from the G League, but in order for them to get a contract like a Zion, the GLeague really is going to have to put some kind of plan in place to show these kids marketability.

Lebron was a Household name, cover of SI and everything before entering the league. There were questions about Zion that he quieted at Duke. Do you really think his Jb contract would have been the same had he not played on National TV numerous times while at Duke?

Edit: to answer your initial question... yes. He 100% isn’t getting that same contract w/out the exposure he got at Puke
 
The one potential issue is that coming out of high school, while great athletes, they are still just kids.

At college, they are there with several similar kids, and there is a coach and support system to help them negotiate the transition. In the G league they will be surrounded by an older crowd, and a coach who may or may not be attuned to, or have time for some of the additional attention some of these kids may need off the court. I think that even one year in college probably makes a difference in that department.
 
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husky429 said:
This will put a lot of butts in G-League seats too. Might actually start making money off of it. Imagine if you had been able to go see Zion live in a high school gym for 5 bucks. People will be interested in that.
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Dunno. The average fan cares about the jersey more than the player. Basketball hardos might show up.
 
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Lefty2one said:
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.
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That is probably the best part of this move. So kids don't flame out and are left with nothing.
 
Hurleyman216 said:
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.
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I’m not convinced this will remain the reality in a few years. I’m not a NBA fan, but those that are likely only follow college b-ball to see upcoming draft prospects. Outside of the tournament, I’m not sure how many casual fans watch games. I don’t have ratings or anything of the sorts so I’m just saying this on my own opinion.

the NBA is on a mission is take control of the top talent and they are looking to take over the leaderless NCAA. Emmert is a failure and has not done a thing to prevent this from happening.

time will tell and we’re looking at this from a rabid fan b-ball board. It’s hard to see what will happen.
 
MDHuskFan said:
If you think Duke wasn’t good for Zions brand idk what to tell you. He wasn’t even the top recruit going to Duke out of that class.
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There's a difference between "good for his brand" and "has no leverage". HUGE difference.

MDHuskFan said:
Yes, kids will get shoe contracts still, and yes they will get their salary from the G League, but in order for them to get a contract like a Zion, the GLeague really is going to have to put some kind of plan in place to show these kids marketability.
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Based on what exactly?

Kids are getting a couple hundred thousand dollars from sneaker companies while in HS to push them to certain schools. Why in the world would they "need" the G League to prove their marketability?

Provide some evidence or rationale rather than just making blanket proclamations.

MDHuskFan said:
Lebron was a Household name, cover of SI and everything before entering the league.
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The viral thunder-dunks delivered by Zion Williamson don't merely demoralize opponents. They have made him better known than any prep star ever. (Yes, including LeBron.)


MDHuskFan said:
Edit: to answer your initial question... yes. He 100% isn’t getting that same contract w/out the exposure he got at Puke
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You don't know that. It's a supposition that you'll never be able to prove (nor would I ever be able to disprove it). But let's play this silly game anyway.

You're moving the goalposts. You didn't say "he wouldn't have gotten as much without Duke".

You said this:
"While 500k for a season is nice. A kid like Zion, if he takes that deal, also isn’t in a position with leverage to sign the 80+ million dollar endorsement deal"

What does $500k have to do with an $80 million contract? You think Nike is going to say (internally) "Well we were going to give him $80MM, but he's getting $500k from the G League, so let's offer up $10MM, he's got no leverage now"

His value to the G League, and his value to the sneaker company, are entirely different. And they don't factor in his NBA salary in their valuation of his worth to them.

How many of his sneakers they can sell, has nothing to do with how much the G league pays him, and therefore doesn't impact his leverage in any way.

Explain your argument instead of just repeating the same statements.
 
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intlzncster said:
Dunno. The average fan cares about the jersey more than the player. Basketball hardos might show up.
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Older people, yes. The kids I coach follow HS players/college players/NBA players much more than they do any team. If Zion had gone to a g-league game HS kids would have filled up the gym every away game he played
 
This kid spurned the G League for college. Should be interesting to see how many kids do that.

“I didn’t want to [go the pro route] because personally I want to compete to win a National Championship and learn under a program and a system that will help me mentally and physically to prepare me for that next level,” Burnett told Stockrisers.com.

stockrisers.com

G-League offered Nimari Burnett, he declined and will compete for nat’l title

Nimari Burnett, without a doubt, was one of the top-rated guards nationally regardless of his class. Was set to compete in the McDonald’s All-American game as well as several other major games. Bur…
stockrisers.com stockrisers.com
 
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WingU-Conn said:
There's a difference between "good for his brand" and "has no leverage". HUGE difference.


Based on what exactly?

Kids are getting a couple hundred thousand dollars from sneaker companies while in HS to push them to certain schools. Why in the world would they "need" the G League to prove their marketability?

Provide some evidence or rationale rather than just making blanket proclamations.


The viral thunder-dunks delivered by Zion Williamson don't merely demoralize opponents. They have made him better known than any prep star ever. (Yes, including LeBron.)



You don't know that. It's a supposition that you'll never be able to prove (nor would I ever be able to disprove it). But let's play this silly game anyway.

You're moving the goalposts. You didn't say "he wouldn't have gotten as much without Duke".

You said this:
"While 500k for a season is nice. A kid like Zion, if he takes that deal, also isn’t in a position with leverage to sign the 80+ million dollar endorsement deal"

What does $500k have to do with an $80 million contract? You think Nike is going to say (internally) "Well we were going to give him $80MM, but he's getting $500k from the G League, so let's offer up $10MM, he's got no leverage now"

His value to the G League, and his value to the sneaker company, are entirely different. And they don't factor in his NBA salary in their valuation of his worth to them.

How many of his sneakers they can sell, has nothing to do with how much the G league pays him, and therefore doesn't impact his leverage in any way.

Explain your argument instead of just repeating the same statements.
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I’m not saying that they’re going to offer him less cause he got the 500k. What I am saying though is that the GLeague does need to have some kind of a plan on how to market these kids.
How many GLeague games have you seen on ESPN or anywhere for that matter? How many Duke and other big programs have you seen on TV? If you think that Zion would have got the same contract w/ or w/out going to Duke, please just say that.
24/7 composite had him at 5, 24/7 had him at 7, ESPN had him at 2. He wasn’t the top player even projected from his class.
To clarify, my position is not that sneaker companies are going to offer less money because they took the $500k bag, but more that these kids build valuable brands at blue blood programs. I’m curious how the GLeague creates a similar value off the court for these kids.

www.nicekicks.com

The Biggest Rookie Sneaker Deals in NBA History

Where to buy The Biggest Rookie Sneaker Deals in NBA History shoes. Nice Kicks has release dates, prices, and where to find The Biggest Rookie Sneaker Deals in NBA History for sale.
www.nicekicks.com www.nicekicks.com

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.

Lastly, to go back to Zion, Duke grew his brand. The Viral/IG argument is valid, but even with that, going to Duke saw his followers increase by over 1 million followers in months.

www.google.com

How Zion Williamson Has Helped Duke Dominate College Sports On Twitter, Instagram And Facebook

Zion Williamson's presence at Duke has helped the school dominate college sports on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Duke leads all college athletics programs with a combined 4 million followers across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
www.google.com www.google.com

Instead of derailing the whole thread, I’ll try and clarify the point I was trying to make.
College is exposure. Exposure for these kids to build and strengthen their individual brands. If someone decides to take the initial 500k check, good for them. But I’m just interested in seeing what/how the GLeague is going to get these kids exposure to where they are in the houses of people nationwide.
 
Which begs the question. High school kids now have the option to make money if they want. They also have the option of getting a free education if they prefer.

So, why should colleges pay kids?
 
The big risk to the college game is really that the G-league becomes a revenue-positive source for the NBA. They start with 10 kids and a $5m payroll bump. After a year or two, NBA will decide that they should have two tiers - 10 $1m spots and 10 $500k spots. Kids refocus their goals from Duke or Kentucky to "G-league roster spot".
 
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