I enjoy the discussion, but all is going to end up ok for THT IMHO.. Gets to live in LA and play with Lebron and either make 75k-385k in the G league as a two-way, or since LA needs players, get a rookie minimum deal for 800k.
THT Going into the Draft
- Thread starter JM4CY
- Start date
Guys that had never stepped foot on a CBB court regularly got drafted before the rule changes.
"We cannot know for sure the results of alternative decisions, therefore we have to accept what actually happened as the best possible outcome" is not intellectually defensible. It is quite literally the definition of Panglossian, if you read your Candide.
It was not like seeing THT go in the second and Lindell not at all was all that unpredictable. Most of the decent mocks lately had Talen slipping like that, and few ever had LW.
The "upside risk" of playing themselves into the first-round and the lottery is a substantial amount of money and "prestige" -- teams invest more and give more chances to their high draft picks than their low ones, and being marked as a "former #12" or whatever will give you more chances/bites at the apple (each of them lucrative) in the NBA than just being a guy in the back of the second-round or an undrafted free agent. I know Ivy League Ph.D.s who are complete idiots who get chance after chance because of that high profile personal branding.
The draft works much the same way.
Sorry, but if you told me a few months ago that Horton-Tucker would go in the mid-second and Lindell not at all, I would have told them both they were better back coming back to Ames and playing themselves into a better starting point for their professional careers. Sometimes where you start and the first chance you get is everything that matters.
Not sure that is a good thing -- maximizing the return for Klutch and LeBron/using the Lakers as a slush fund is not the same thing as trying to win basketball games.
I would have told them, do whatever you want because it is your career and if you want to go get paid, then do it. Give them all the information and risk on each decision and let them choose.
I agree completely that Talen and Lindell should have done what they wanted.
I just think their "expected return" in terms of $$$ and opportunities to play in the NBA (so about the same things) is much higher if they can end up in the first-round or the lottery. I know leaving money on the table is hard, but their career prospects in the U.S. as a mid-2nd and UDFA are pretty meager versus what they might have played up to.
Lakers currently trying to dump both of their second round picks from 2018, not sure how that applies to THT but he may want to hold off on buying a home in LA.
I would imagine Rich Paul and Klutch Sports will easily be able to convince the Lakers to pay THT more than a minimum salary. How much more? Not a lot. But not minimum either.
What are the odds though of them actually doing that? THT has the best chance of turning himself into a first rounder next year but he was told he was a first rounder this year so it could have been the same scenario. Or the same thing could have happened with him that happened with Wigginton. And Wigginton's best case is playing himself back into a second rounder. There are plenty of guys that get drafted in the first that don't get much of an opportunity to play.
And the odds of them ending up in the lottery are slim to none.
THT will likely be on a 2-way contract which will not be anything close to league minimum.
They already traded Svi last year. Mo Wagner was a first round pick and they are trying to trade him to make more cap space. Bonga was a second round guy they are trading for a similar purpose. If they sign THT to a rookie deal, his contract doesn't count against their cap for this year.
For everybody saying that THT should have come back to get better: You realize it is easier for him to get better without the distraction of school and while playing against NBA (or G League guys). All at the same time getting paid to do it.
And I fully expect him to get a contract with the Lakers, they need bodies.
I think THT's decision will be viewed favorably.
And I fully expect him to get a contract with the Lakers, they need bodies.
I think THT's decision will be viewed favorably.
I was on the record long before the draft expressing my doubts on the early hype surrounding THT. He doesn't do anything exceptionally well. This was completely predictable. Obviously, it's impossible to know whether coming back would have ultimately changed his trajectory in any way, but from watching him this year at ISU, it is not apparent to me that he has the ability to make it to the NBA in any meaningful way. Wigginton had a bad year at ISU, but he has far more NBA potential, IMO.
What can you afford on 800k in LA? A studio over a bowling alley?
His stock was higher after his freshman year for sure, but hindsight is 20/20. Going into his sophomore year he was widely expected to be the # 1 option on offense with the chance to boost his NBA stock. All the stuff that affected him - the broken foot, the loss of his starting position, team chemistry issues - nobody could have seen that coming. Just bad luck. He had the right idea in coming back to solidify his status. Everything just broke wrong for him.
Would you just **** off? Seriously, you aren't an ISU fan. Nobody cares what you think and you are only here to talk ****. Just go away!
The Lakers will figure out quickly that he is too slow to guard on the 2 or 3 perimeter and too small to guard the 4 or 5 inside in the NBA. In college he certainly showed he could do both. THT better hope he grows another 3 to 5 inches if he ever wants to be in the league for extended period of time. Fortunately for him, he is young and that may actually happen. But for now, he has G league written all over him. He will not make the opening day roster for the Lakers or any other team.
Not getting drafted does not mean not making money playing professional basketball.
Only an elite few in any profession make it to the biggest stage but multitudes and multitudes make great livings at all the other levels be it engineering or basketball.
He has the length despite his height to guard guys much taller than him. He needs to work on his body though to get in better shape. he doesn't need to grow to make it. he needs to work on his handle and shooting/shot selection
