McD AA spurning college for the G-League

[jbindm]

Agreed. This route won't be for everyone. Some will succeed with it. Some will fail. Just like some highly touted recruits don't pan out in college. Look at a guy like Cliff Alexander. Dude was thought to be a stud before he got to college. A year at KU didn't do much for him. If he could have signed a deal similar to Hampton, he probably would have come out ahead.

As long as he gets drafted and lands on a roster it ends up being a pretty good deal for him. And I suppose that's where signing with Lebron's agent is going to come in handy. Klutch Sports has enough pull and influence in the league now that if they want Bazley to get drafted, it'll happen.

 

[Sigmapolis]

As long as he gets drafted and lands on a roster it ends up being a pretty good deal for him. And I suppose that's where signing with Lebron's agent is going to come in handy. Klutch Sports has enough pull and influence in the league now that if they want Bazley to get drafted, it'll happen.

Reading that ESPN article about LA and Klutch makes Klutch sound like Hydra or something, a shadowy conspiracy taking over the NBA from within.

 

[jbindm]

Reading that ESPN article about LA and Klutch makes Klutch sound like Hydra or something, a shadowy conspiracy taking over the NBA from within.

I didn't read it. They do have a fair amount of influence, but clearly not as much as they'd like. If they did they would have been able to engineer the AD to the Lakers midseason move that ultimately fell through.

 

[Sigmapolis]

I didn't read it. They do have a fair amount of influence, but clearly not as much as they'd like. If they did they would have been able to engineer the AD to the Lakers midseason move that ultimately fell through.

It was not for lack of trying.

The Pelicans were the ones who would not budge on that one.

There were even a few accusations in there of the Pellies negotiating in "bad faith" -- that they had no immediate intentions of trading Davis, instead wanting to see how things played out (and good thing they did), but they negotiated with teams, especially the Lakers, to introduce disorder and strife within opposing rosters and front offices.

It was tinfoil hat stuff. The above is how basketball works. The LAL were/are toxic, and Klutch pulling on the strings has no small part to do with that.

 

[Mr Janny]

It was not for lack of trying.

The Pelicans were the ones who would not budge on that one.

There were even a few accusations in there of the Pellies negotiating in "bad faith" -- that they had no immediate intentions of trading Davis, instead wanting to see how things played out (and good thing they did), but they negotiated with teams, especially the Lakers, to introduce disorder and strife within opposing rosters and front offices.

It was tinfoil hat stuff. The above is how basketball works. The LAL were/are toxic, and Klutch pulling on the strings has no small part to do with that.

The stuff about Rich Paul complaining to Adam Silver about not liking Luke Walton is crazy.

 

[AuH2O]

College basketball is discussing the image/likeness rules for this very reason. They know that they can't remain a lucrative enterprise if more and more kids start opting for other options and if one and done goes away.

I don't see how this has much impact on NCAA basketball. Each year there are maybe a handful of guys that could go straight to the G-League and get some modest endorsements. The G-league isn't going to be paying big money any time soon. Think about it, do you think people are going to suddenly start tuning into to G-league games because they have Cam Reddish? Other than the occasionally hugely hyped guy coming out of HS, by the time people figure out they are blowing up in the G-league the season is over and they're on to the NBA. Think about it, coming into the season there was talk of Duke's class as a whole, but Zion, who's been the most hyped college player in a long time wasn't a huge story until he got to Duke and started tearing it up. Hell, he was ranked 5th in 247.

If they NBA gets rid of the one and done restriction, this won't matter at all. The few guys that can move the needle and get decent endorsements are going straight to the NBA anyway. There will be a few guys that go to the G-league that don't get to the NBA, but no one will notice.

 

[heitclone]

When Brandon Jennings skipped school for the Euro leagues, we heard that would start becoming the norm. It didn't. G league will be the same. This is just offseason filler for the CBB talking heads. The people advocating for this will be the exact same people saying this was a bad decision the first time someone gets hurts playing for peanuts in the G league.

 

[Halincandenza]

I don't see how this has much impact on NCAA basketball. Each year there are maybe a handful of guys that could go straight to the G-League and get some modest endorsements. The G-league isn't going to be paying big money any time soon. Think about it, do you think people are going to suddenly start tuning into to G-league games because they have Cam Reddish? Other than the occasionally hugely hyped guy coming out of HS, by the time people figure out they are blowing up in the G-league the season is over and they're on to the NBA. Think about it, coming into the season there was talk of Duke's class as a whole, but Zion, who's been the most hyped college player in a long time wasn't a huge story until he got to Duke and started tearing it up. Hell, he was ranked 5th in 247.

If they NBA gets rid of the one and done restriction, this won't matter at all. The few guys that can move the needle and get decent endorsements are going straight to the NBA anyway. There will be a few guys that go to the G-league that don't get to the NBA, but no one will notice.

Who cares if anyone tunes into the GL. What players want is to start their pro career and get paid. They aren't going to college so they can be on TV. Zion had a huge online following just from HS highlight videos. The GL continues to increase their pay and Silver just stated he is going to work with the commissioner on making the GL a more attractive option for kids coming out of HS. He wants it to be a legit developmental league and option for kids who have graduated HS. You see more and more kids talking about how college is a joke in how the rules work, probably because guys like Lebron and other major figures have spoken out against it. They are only going to college because they have to and the college game benefits from it. Zion drove up ratings for college basketball this year. College basketball just isn't as good if they aren't getting top talent. Will some still watch? yeah, but it won't be the money maker it is now. Again, this is why there is talk of changing image/likeness rules for NCAA. They realize they need to keep players from going to other leagues.

Just look at two ISU players. Wigginton and THT. Now they wouldn't have gotten drafted out of HS, but clearly they were looking to turn pro as fast as they could. If they have a legit option to go play in the GL or Australia or wherever for a year and get paid, it seems like they would have considered it. I think Hampton expressed the sentiment of a lot of highly ranked recruits when he said his dream has never been to play college basketball, his dream is to be a pro.

 

[Mr Janny]

I don't see how this has much impact on NCAA basketball. Each year there are maybe a handful of guys that could go straight to the G-League and get some modest endorsements. The G-league isn't going to be paying big money any time soon. Think about it, do you think people are going to suddenly start tuning into to G-league games because they have Cam Reddish? Other than the occasionally hugely hyped guy coming out of HS, by the time people figure out they are blowing up in the G-league the season is over and they're on to the NBA. Think about it, coming into the season there was talk of Duke's class as a whole, but Zion, who's been the most hyped college player in a long time wasn't a huge story until he got to Duke and started tearing it up. Hell, he was ranked 5th in 247.

If they NBA gets rid of the one and done restriction, this won't matter at all. The few guys that can move the needle and get decent endorsements are going straight to the NBA anyway. There will be a few guys that go to the G-league that don't get to the NBA, but no one will notice.

You're right, the one and done guys are going to go into the NBA anyway, but making the gleague more lucrative is going to provide more of a safety net for the borderline one and done players. They might be more likely to test the pro waters if failing to get drafted still allows them to make some money.

 

[LivntheCyLife]

Who cares if anyone tunes into the GL. What players want is to start their pro career and get paid. They aren't going to college so they can be on TV. Zion had a huge online following just from HS highlight videos. The GL continues to increase their pay and Silver just stated he is going to work with the commissioner on making the GL a more attractive option for kids coming out of HS. He wants it to be a legit developmental league and option for kids who have graduated HS. You see more and more kids talking about how college is a joke in how the rules work, probably because guys like Lebron and other major figures have spoken out against it. They are only going to college because they have to and the college game benefits from it. Zion drove up ratings for college basketball this year. College basketball just isn't as good if they aren't getting top talent. Will some still watch? yeah, but it won't be the money maker it is now. Again, this is why there is talk of changing image/likeness rules for NCAA. They realize they need to keep players from going to other leagues.

Just look at two ISU players. Wigginton and THT. Now they wouldn't have gotten drafted out of HS, but clearly they were looking to turn pro as fast as they could. If they have a legit option to go play in the GL or Australia or wherever for a year and get paid, it seems like they would have considered it. I think Hampton expressed the sentiment of a lot of highly ranked recruits when he said his dream has never been to play college basketball, his dream is to be a pro.

Personally, I think college basketball might have actually been better when guys like LeBron and KG could skip college altogether. Sure the talent might have been less but the guys in college wanted to be there and were committed to their school. If you want to watch the most talented players, you watch the NBA.

If I was in charge, I'd let guys do whatever they wanted. I'd even let a guy go to the G-League first and then back to college if he washes out and wants to earn a college degree.

 

[AuH2O]

Who cares if anyone tunes into the GL. What players want is to start their pro career and get paid. They aren't going to college so they can be on TV. Zion had a huge online following just from HS highlight videos. The GL continues to increase their pay and Silver just stated he is going to work with the commissioner on making the GL a more attractive option for kids coming out of HS. He wants it to be a legit developmental league and option for kids who have graduated HS. You see more and more kids talking about how college is a joke in how the rules work, probably because guys like Lebron and other major figures have spoken out against it. They are only going to college because they have to and the college game benefits from it. Zion drove up ratings for college basketball this year. College basketball just isn't as good if they aren't getting top talent. Will some still watch? yeah, but it won't be the money maker it is now. Again, this is why there is talk of changing image/likeness rules for NCAA. They realize they need to keep players from going to other leagues.

Just look at two ISU players. Wigginton and THT. Now they wouldn't have gotten drafted out of HS, but clearly they were looking to turn pro as fast as they could. If they have a legit option to go play in the GL or Australia or wherever for a year and get paid, it seems like they would have considered it. I think Hampton expressed the sentiment of a lot of highly ranked recruits when he said his dream has never been to play college basketball, his dream is to be a pro.

I understand why they do it and I think that's a reasonable choice. What I'm saying is this isn't going to have a big impact on college basketball as a business. On one hand you're saying who cares if no one watches the G-league, but if no one cares about the G-league, it's pretty tough to pay the players big dollars or attract sponsors for endorsements. Most likely the one year out of HS requirement is going to be gone again. The guys that matter to CBB and can possibly garner interest in the G-league are going to be in the NBA anyway. So, without the one year requirement you've got:
1. The former one and dones going to the NBA anyway
2. A handful of guys not good enough to go straight to the NBA that decide to just go to the G-league
3. A handful of guys not good enough to go straight to the NBA that decide they are better off trying to position themselves for the NBA and build something of a brand in college.

Again - once this reaches a steady state the number of guys in category #2 isn't going to be that many, and college basketball isn't going to suffer because a few straight to G-league level guys don't go to college. There are only so many spots to fill, so it's not like the top 100 HS kids can all go to the NBA/G-league every year.

In the 80s - early 90s the CBA was very similar to the G-league. In those days there was very little opportunity to get feedback, so lots of delusional guys declared out of HS, declared early, and ended up in the CBA. Lots made it to the NBA, most didn't at any impactful level. It really had no impact on college basketball interest or viewership.

 

[AuH2O]

You're right, the one and done guys are going to go into the NBA anyway, but making the gleague more lucrative is going to provide more of a safety net for the borderline one and done players. They might be more likely to test the pro waters if failing to get drafted still allows them to make some money.

The question is how to make it more lucrative. The NBA can dump money into it to boost salaries and attract better talent short-term, but owners are only going to do that if it at some point can sustain itself at that level financially. Getting rid of the one year requirement hurts that cause. Now your chance to snag a few would-be one and dones and get some interest in the G-league is out the window. Even then, some of those guys make a huge amount of money in the long-run by building a brand at a place like Duke. Do you think Zion Williamson would be nearly as popular and ripe for huge endorsements if he was putting up 20 and 10 for the Maine Red Claws instead of Duke? Not to mention, even if they double salaries and a guy can make $50-60k in the G-league or go to a major conference program for a year and have all living expenses paid for, is it that big of a difference?

My point is long-term in order to make it an attractive option financially, people need to care about the G-league and watch it at a MASSIVELY higher rate than they are now. Otherwise salaries are still going to suck and there will be limited endorsement opportunities. There will be guys that choose to do it and it makes sense for them. But it isn't going to be a ton of guys, and college basketball will carry on. Seriously, do people think if a handful of guys like Lindell Wigginton never went to college and went straight to the G-league every year College Basketball is going to lose interest or viewership? College hoops thrived while missing out on LeBron, Kobe, KG, and TONS of guys most people don't remember and college basketball fans never knew.

 

[Mr Janny]

Interesting article on this subject

https://www.cbssports.com/college-b...draft-but-can-the-ncaa-reverse-the-trend/amp/

 

[Knownothing]

It was not for lack of trying.

The Pelicans were the ones who would not budge on that one.

There were even a few accusations in there of the Pellies negotiating in "bad faith" -- that they had no immediate intentions of trading Davis, instead wanting to see how things played out (and good thing they did), but they negotiated with teams, especially the Lakers, to introduce disorder and strife within opposing rosters and front offices.

It was tinfoil hat stuff. The above is how basketball works. The LAL were/are toxic, and Klutch pulling on the strings has no small part to do with that.

Would love to See AD stay with the Pelicans and see what happens with him and Zion on the same team. Do they have a point guard at all?

 

[Sigmapolis]

Would love to See AD stay with the Pelicans and see what happens with him and Zion on the same team. Do they have a point guard at all?

Yep.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jrue_Holiday

 

[VeloClone]

If I was in charge, I'd let guys do whatever they wanted. I'd even let a guy go to the G-League first and then back to college if he washes out and wants to earn a college degree.

They can do that right now.