G League to offer $125K to elite prospects as alternative to college one-and-done route
- Thread starter wocka
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Is the NBA ever NOT in front of an issue?
The NCAA (or whatever it becomes) really needs to get its act together. They need to address the reality of their version of amatuerism, rather than the fading idea of what it "should" be. Otherwise, we're looking at the 2030 version of Jordan Ash as first-year all-B10.
Maybe it's just me, but getting the right guy to negoiate with owners and the union should make this workable. The simple question: what can we do to help reduce the cost of rookies on the end of your bench, and your minor league investment?
There's a huge space in the middle for the NCAA if they get somebody with a brain to work on this.
The NCAA (or whatever it becomes) really needs to get its act together. They need to address the reality of their version of amatuerism, rather than the fading idea of what it "should" be. Otherwise, we're looking at the 2030 version of Jordan Ash as first-year all-B10.
Maybe it's just me, but getting the right guy to negoiate with owners and the union should make this workable. The simple question: what can we do to help reduce the cost of rookies on the end of your bench, and your minor league investment?
There's a huge space in the middle for the NCAA if they get somebody with a brain to work on this.
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I read this three times and still can't get your point. What do you think the NCAA should do?
And the NBA and the players union essentially have a revenue (profit) sharing agreement. There is no mechanism for cost savings for players at the end of the bench. The money has to go to the players.
I believe you're trying to make a point about the NBA salary cap, and you make a good point I haven't considered.
I see the savings at the end of the bench on fewer first-round picks who aren't ready to start. If I was an owner, I would HATE how much money I need to invest in a player for a year or two while they are still developing. Last year, nine first round picks were injured or played 9 minutes/game or less.
This was the response from a number of writers on twitter. They also noted that the G in the G-League does not stand for glamorous. That its a tough existence and that top players would opt for college facilities and the lighter schedule over the travel and stress of the G-League. That said, there are certain athletes who this option would benefit and they deserve to have the option available to them.
Aren't nearly all of the G League teams affiliated with an NBA team now? I know they weren't all affiliated a few years ago. Assuming each team is an affiliate now, why can't the parent team put a little more money into it and develop a real minor league system? I think we have seen that the NCAA is no longer an ideal training ground for prospects due to the prevalence of zone defenses and the wide disparity of talent. Guys like Bagley and Young could have developed further in the G League than they did in the NCAA. What did Young learn from his usage rate with OU? It was a waste of a year in my opinion. Bagley played in a zone scheme at Duke, didn't he? How did that benefit him?
Very fair points. The NBA prints money right now and could easily afford it, as evidenced by todays announcement.
Any theories on how these developments could impact us? My guess is it would weaken us long term as the recruiting battles drop down a tier for the MSU, UNC, Duke levels after the one-and-done rule goes away in 2022. Guys we recruit now will start looking attractive to programs a level up from us traditionally.
I think this will affect 10-15 guys a year. Not enough to have any meaningful effect on NU.
Northwestern is never really going to attract one-and-done type talent, except in very special circumstances like perhaps PBJ. So like Fitzphile said, it's not as if this would shrink NU's pool.
The goal should be to fill the roster with Top 100-150 players, with maybe one Top 50 per class. That's more or less what the 2018 group looked like with Lathon (yes Young is more of a project but that's just what you get with Bigs).
No, I meant, without the potential one-and-done guys in the pool, every recruit essentially jumps up 15-20 spots so a guy we might have had a slim chance with under one-and-done conditions is now going to be an MSU offer.
This is a wonderful first step to an actual minor league development system.
Per Wikipedia, only New Orleans, Denver, and Portland don’t have a direct G-League affiliate. Additionally, teams are investing their G-League affiliates by bringing them closer to the parent club - Chicago did it recently, Atlanta is doing it next year. In fact, in my perusal, it appears that only Miami (with Sioux Falls) is geographically disparate from its affiliate.
The G-League works.
If the NBA wants to keep an age limit, they should simply make everyone draft eligible and start the free agency clock after three years from the age limit. Of course, the age limit becomes pointless when it’s clear that some 18 year olds are already men among boys in the G.
This is a great move. And, by resulting in more two year players on top teams, it will also *improve* college basketball.
(Quick: name someone other than Anthony Davis or those twins on Kentucky in the last decade.)
Can't see how having 20 or 30 of the top high school recruits playing professional ball helps the college game. Still I feel that all high school kids should be allowed to try and play in the NBA. Just think of what a waste it would have been for Lebron James or Kobe Bryant to play one meaningless at State U.. It also seems quite unfair to limit participation to only a top 125 players.
I am not as sold on this as you are given the assumption that the age limit stays (as you noted). If I am a one-&-done, why would I choose to play against harder competition and potentially allow NBA execs to see holes in my game that they may not see at the college level? I would lose all media attention, as well, which would limit initial endorsement deals. I would rather play the one year of college and go into the draft for big money than sign a $135k deal that subjects a big money NBA contract to more risk.
It’s just another realistic option for kids who don’t want the college “experience.” It “helps” the college game because it removes from the system a few more of the pseudo “student athletes” who don’t really want to be there. Not a panacea by any stretch but a positive step forward.
John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, KAT, Terrence Jones, Tyler Ulis, Skal Labissiere, Marquis Teague for the Bulls, and I could name about 5 more (was Devin Booker also UK?)... they’ve been running at probably like 3-4 first round picks a year they have players all over the league. Though I have to say I think there’s probably been more than a fair share of disappointments compared to the # of highly touted prospects.
It helps the college game because Kentucky - for example - collects a whole bunch of guys and hopes they figure out how to play together by March. Everything is prelude.
A second year allows for rivalries and rematches and opponent villains in a way that doesn’t happen with one-and-dones. Add to that the fact that these elite players know how to play together better - and the basketball becomes better.
“You’re cheering for laundry” is truly the case at top-tier college hoops today.
Could you imagine only thinking you hated Grayson Allen for one season, rather than letting your hatred (and your joy in his failure) grow over time?
A second year allows for rivalries and rematches and opponent villains in a way that doesn’t happen with one-and-dones. Add to that the fact that these elite players know how to play together better - and the basketball becomes better.
“You’re cheering for laundry” is truly the case at top-tier college hoops today.
Could you imagine only thinking you hated Grayson Allen for one season, rather than letting your hatred (and your joy in his failure) grow over time?
So I'm gonna throw something into this conversation. I admit I haven't read deeply into the structures at play here, and I'd like to think that the very smart people involved have thought of this.
The G League is not a single-entity league like the MLS, nor is its labor organized into a union such that there's a collective bargaining agreement.
As a result, a bunch of employers in a marketplace for labor seem to be agreeing to set a fixed price for that labor, even though in a free market that labor could probably demand and receive more. (This $125K is only available, after all, to a special category of arbitrarily determined "elite" players.) In other words, these types of arrangements could well violate the Sherman Act and result in antitrust liability for the organizations involved.
The NCAA would do well to figure out a solution to address its own, um, labor question. But its hands are somewhat tied on the issue of whether the NBA (or the G League, or some other pro league) will permit players of certain ages or experience levels to enter the draft or otherwise join a league.
This issue is complex, both from the business and the legal perspectives. Will be interesting to see how it plays out.
The G League is not a single-entity league like the MLS, nor is its labor organized into a union such that there's a collective bargaining agreement.
As a result, a bunch of employers in a marketplace for labor seem to be agreeing to set a fixed price for that labor, even though in a free market that labor could probably demand and receive more. (This $125K is only available, after all, to a special category of arbitrarily determined "elite" players.) In other words, these types of arrangements could well violate the Sherman Act and result in antitrust liability for the organizations involved.
The NCAA would do well to figure out a solution to address its own, um, labor question. But its hands are somewhat tied on the issue of whether the NBA (or the G League, or some other pro league) will permit players of certain ages or experience levels to enter the draft or otherwise join a league.
This issue is complex, both from the business and the legal perspectives. Will be interesting to see how it plays out.
Calapari and Coach K have already made the transition from a traditional program to the one-and-done programs. I have no doubt they would be able to make the transition back. Then they would gobble up the B players who would eventually be the "star recruits" after G League picks up "elite prospects."
That's the beginning of the dominos.
That's a great quote. Probably burns Coach K, given that Duke was at the head of the buffet line for the 2018 Class.....
A positive step but incremental. instead of just solving the problem they push the real decisions down the road and hope they’ve satisfied public opinion for a little while.
The "one-and-done" problem (if it is indeed a problem) will only get "solved" by the next CBA between the players union and NBA owners. The NCAA has no say in this.
The NCAA members could pay the kids, reduce administrative and coaching salaries and become a real nonprofit.
