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The G League announced Thursday the creation of a new "career path" for the best candidates in high school, as well as the creation of "contracts of selection" worth 125 000 dollars, intended to accommodate these players and to offer a viable alternative to college basketball. These 18-year-old candidates would spend a year on a list of G League players, then eligible to participate in the NBA project, where their rights would make them accessible to all 30 teams.
This news is the latest development of the ongoing reform of the American amateur basketball system, and deserves to be watched as the NBA moves towards a possible removal of its minimum age, which should occur in 2022 as soon as possible. The G League is not glamorous, but it has become a very stable professional environment, the product on the field has improved and it will not be long before all NBA teams have a direct affiliate of the league minor. It is clear that there is an impetus for change, and between the NBA, the NCAA, the NBPA and USA Basketball, more is expected.
For the moment, we only have a few questions.
What are the benefits for the best players?
No matter what you do, you can understand the feeling that came with the first time you were told that you no longer have to go to class. In isolation, it is an excellent opportunity for young professionals to learn their craft. Think of it as a trade school. This is undoubtedly the most viable career path that US high school players have taken since the NBA set its minimum age. Elite prospects who are serious about basketball and less concerned about the outfit – as difficult as they can be at a time when social media has turned teenagers into Almost celebrities – can double their hashtags, start fighting for greatness and start to set the bag starting next fall.
What are the risks?
The lifestyle of the G League is an arcade game for anyone and will be a warning for high school players who are waiting for preferential treatment. The league is made up of players who have been very good at college, looking for their next pay, be it in the NBA or overseas, and who need the G League program for one reason or another. Many of these guys have been sued themselves. Jared Dudleys or Tyson Chandlers have the time or security to take a rookie under their wing. The G League can provide infrastructure and education for these guys, but in the field, it's a serious business. The chances that an 18 year old is able to contribute immediately every night and stay productive in the respect of a rigorous schedule are rather long.
The long-term monetary risk remains that these players run the risk of being exposed (read: they look like teenagers playing against 25-year-old players, what they are), which can directly affect their planned inventory (read: long-term gain potential). ). Recent projects have shown that having some degree of mystery about you can really be helpful – for example, Mitchell Robinson fell at the start of the second round this year, but landed in what appears to be a good situation in New York . He left with two years of guaranteed money that put him in the range of last minute choices.
Recall the case of Darius Bazley, the American striker who was to enter the G League's draft this year as a kind of guinea pig, but who changed his mind after aligning himself with the ### Power Officer Rich Paul. It was not really money for Bazley, but to weigh the real gains that could result from a simple toothpick, with few discernable skills, immersed in a basketball situation beyond his control during a year. I am less concerned that the G League teams are not managing the development of players well – after all, these are coaches who are climbing the ladder as well – but it's just not easy to be a young player in this environment, with a target of choice. your back, making more money than your more established teammates and opponents and, in many cases, receiving high level coaching for the first time.
Prospects in this position will have to weigh the same kind of problems and determine if money divides the difference. It is possible that the players who end up signing these contracts are the Robinsons and Brian Bowens of the world, who, for one reason or another, become ineligible or indifferent to playing college basketball and see this choice as the best choice.
What is $ 125,000 worth?
Well, it's really better than the previous $ 35,000 basic G League solution. But let's say you're a must-see rookie of the top ten high school recruits who, at the very least, are considered a very safe choice to be a first-round pick and win a new contract. Is a year of * taxable * professional salary a reward enough to risk at least some of the pending future earnings? You can consider small sums for approval money and larger sums to get a shoe contract. And the fact is that Joe Ballplayer is worth a lot more money nine times out of ten for Nike wearing the swoosh while being dressed in Duke blue rather than as a Sioux Falls Skyforce member.
The 30th pick in the 2018-2019 draft will receive an additional salary of $ 1.3 million in the first year. Each previous slot of the first round comes with an additional sum incorporated. If the G League really has to come for the top of only prospects, then they come to recruit players with a substantial chance to do as much as a bare minimum in a year, no matter what happens during their first year at the university . I am not a financial analyst, but these children will have to understand what a sum of money actually means in relation to the inherited risk of a G League season. In addition, between colleges, shoe manufacturers and agents, the best players can still order $ 125,000 under the table.
Why do these kids do more than WNBA players?
A controversial aspect here is that the WNBA's maximum salary is $ 110,000, and that these players will earn more than that over five months if they sign a contract with the G League. While there is hope, of course, that WNBA players will be able to make more money and the league receives more investment, the NBA still has to pay these future prospects at face value so they can start the conversation financially. . The sum of $ 125,000 is a relevant figure in the WNBA players' argument for higher wages, but it is a separate issue: large sums of money will be needed for the G League to even get into the room with these players.
What is the impact on the G League product?
The way these players are distributed and the other ramifications of these selected contracts will have to be quickly resolved. Currently, the G League draft is taking place in reverse order, and theoretically nothing prevents NBA teams from giving instructions to their G-League affiliates to allow them to bring in a specific player and the club. have in their system for a season. This individual meeting is a free and intimate evaluation from a promising perspective. Although this team may or may not be in a position to select it in the NBA project, this information is always useful. G-League teams need to consider a range of consequences, and it will take time to see the repercussions.
Is being a university athlete not really fun?
At the risk of resembling a 75-year-old politician, no, university athletes are not paid (legally), but they enjoy life on campus for a year, and all that goes with it. We are talking about human beings, and virtually every young person in the world aged 18 can learn something about themselves by going to university, whatever their length of stay. I do not care about the gross monetary value of a diploma or a course; the first year of college is just a life experience that these guys will never really get back to. Become a university star and gain notoriety, at least locally, for the rest of your life.
There is a certain attraction that comes from playing for a blue blood program, following in the footsteps of the greatest of the past, traveling in private jets, living in comfortable dorms and being the coolest people. from the dining room. These fan bases tend to treat their old players well. It's probably better than having most of your day living in Canton, Ohio, and having money and time. Some college programs will be disappointed by this news, but this is another obstacle to recruitment. Until the G League decides how aggressive its players will be, it will be hard to say if a team will lose big. The NCAA can be a low-key winner here, as it will not pay players and can now simply designate frustrated parties to this option. Time will tell if the product on the field of college basketball suffers.
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