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NBA agent and Klutch Sports co-founder Rich Paul called the choice of top prospect Darius Bazley to forgo college and opt for a $ 1 million shoe-company internship the product of a broken system, saying Wednesday the on-court component of the next seven months was "the one thing that we were missing."
Bazley, ranked the No. 13 prospect in 2018 by ESPN, has been awarded to the NBA's G League. This week, he again changed course, a first-of-its-kind, three-month job with New Balance, a Paul brokered deal.
Paul, speaking in an appearance on ESPN's The Jump, said he was not sure the move would start a trend but it was a pioneering leap out of an institutionalized process that needed to change.
"And until that happens, they need options," Paul said.
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Paul said Bazley was part of a system of people in charge of a long time.
"And when you're a threat to that system, they do not like that," Paul said.
Bazley, a 6-foot-8 forward from Ohio, will enter the 2019 NBA draft, Paul said. Bazley had been poised to be the first five-star prospect to skip college for the G League, after several players have gone overseas. Like most high school players, Bazley was ineligible for the 2018 NBA draft because he was not one year removed from his graduating class. In the past, he had gone overseas – like Brandon Jennings, Emmanuel Mudiay and Terrance Ferguson.
In May, Bazley signed with Paul, who also has LeBron James, John Wall and Ben Simmons among his NBA clients.
Paul earlier this week told The New York Times the internship was part of a multiyear shoe contract that will pay Bazley at least $ 1 million and up to $ 14 million if Bazley reaches performance incentives written in the contract.
"Darius is a very, very different kid," Paul told The Jump. "The best thing to do for me is the best thing for Darius to spend his time when he was not going to college." And New Balance is a Darius Bazley is what he wanted to do. "
The slender Bazley, who was listed at 195 pounds in high school, will also work on his strength and skills in the run-up to the draft. In an interview with The Times, he called the move "my risk."
"For who he is," said Paul, "regardless of what happens in the life of his life, he will have a head start. he'll learn. "
But Paul said the on-court component uncertain.
"It's tough to find runs, right?" Paul said of pick-up games. "So, he has an unbelievable skill set.But he needs to play.It's going to be on the run, obviously find pick-up games here and there.But the way this goes, we're here in october and tomorrow we're It's like that.
"So any rookie that comes into our league, it still takes time for you to develop, so he has a skill set that you – he's 6-9-and-a-half with a guard skill set. would be the actual play part, and that's okay, it's okay to say that we're going to talk about it, 'Even if you have to play one-on-one, one-on-none to work on certain things, that's what we have to do. ' But I'm not going to throw him out there and I'm not going to happen. "
Bazley's move will not come without controversy.
On Wednesday, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim – who later tweeted he wished Bazley the best and even called Paul to apologize – told Stadium's Jeff Goodman, "LeBron did a nice job helping his client." "It's LeBron's client, right?"
James was quick to respond via social media.
OH THEY BIG MAD !!!!! ??? https://t.co/DP2bGAeWq8
– LeBron James (@KingJames) October 24, 2018
Paul said he was not sure if it would be better to follow Bazley's path.
"It's not for everybody, so I'm not going to sit here and say anyone should follow this path," Paul said. "This was the right path for Darius Bazley." This is the right path for Darius Bazley and his family. Parents are important in this, it's not just the parents who are important to you.
Paul said the road was "the right thing" for most players.
"Because you need to learn how to play the game," Paul said. "And you need to learn how to mature as a man."
New Balance has not been marketed since the 1990s. Bazley, who is not in the development league, is the first athlete signed to promote the company's re-entry into the basketball shoe market. Paul said Bazley would start the three-month position in January and work out of Boston.
"Paul said of New Balance," They wanted to be able to tell their story and tell us the right way. "For me, I do not have a platform for NBA scouts to reach out and call and say, 'Well what's his character like? How's he doing in class?'
"And so, I presented to him," Paul said. "I said 'Let's do this deal, but while doing this deal, let's implement this deal.' And so, he's going to be an intern He is going to be in Boston He'll be in Boston He'll be working out and he'll be able to learn He'll learn about a story, why they picked a certain athlete that they pick, and so – rollout plan, how to execute it.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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