On Thursday the NBA announced that it’s G-League would offer elite high school players $125K as an alternative to making a boy go to college as a potential “One and Done.” Instead of wasting a kid’s time making him go to college to fake like he’s getting an education for 4 months, starting in the summer of 2019, they can go straight to the G-League and get a little over a 100 stacks and be eligible to sign endorsement deals as well.
Makes sense to me. In the old system kid’s (the elite players) were literally showing up to these colleges and universities taking classes pass/fail the first semester and then enrolling in school the second semester and NEVER going to class. There was no incentive to go because by the time the grades came out the season would be over and the draft is in June. Who cares if the kid flunked out? He’s paid at that point.
Even the chair of the Commission on College Basketball, Condoleezza Rice, told the Associated Press, “Elite high school players with NBA prospects and no interest in a college degree should not be forced to attend college, often for less than a year.” If she’s saying that it makes no sense to force these elite high players to go to college for the sake of sending them then don’t.
It’s about time somebody is trying to make sense of all of this foolishness. However, giving them $125K isn’t enough. That’s peanuts relative to what they’re worth. Yeah, I know that they can sign outside deals with companies etc. but if I had a kid in that position I’d send him overseas to get the bag until the NBA draft. He could earn more than $500K and in some instances even more playing for six months, then come back and get an NBA rookie deal worth millions!!!
I’m surprised that more kids haven’t taken advantage of going overseas after Brandon Jennings went straight to Italy right after high school in 2008 instead of doing the “One and Done” foolishness. He made a clean $2 million for that one season and then dipped into the 2009 NBA Draft. Makes sense to me.
So again, what the NBA is doing is cool but it doesn’t make sense to take $125K when you can get more for the same period of time and still go to the NBA. I’m just sayin’!