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Originally posted by CatFanInYankeeville:
I just don't see Richards as anywhere near ready for the NBA, but I've been way wrong before. Particularly about big men, as they seem to draft on size and not really talent.

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Dakari Johnson, and Daniel Ortin come to mind.
 

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Posted by blue hoot (Member # 398) on 04-27-2019, 11:23 AM:
 
Anytime these kids see as little as 100-200k, they still go for it! There all money hungry.
 

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Posted by WHO?UK (Member # 2286) on 04-27-2019, 11:47 AM:
 
How many 200k jobs have y'all turned down? hahaha
 

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Posted by Tiptree (Member # 844) on 04-27-2019, 05:50 PM:
 
Only one.

But, consider that that $100-$200k has to pay for all their (extensive) travel expenses, and the skills they "learn" will not translate to any other job (except, perhaps, coaching). It really is short-sighted. Those who do sign for such a small salary are already marked as "not likely to last long", and then what? There rarely is a viable Plan B to take them past their early 20s.
 

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Posted by WHO?UK (Member # 2286) on 04-27-2019, 09:08 PM:
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Tiptree:
Only one.

But, consider that that $100-$200k has to pay for all their (extensive) travel expenses, and the skills they "learn" will not translate to any other job (except, perhaps, coaching). It really is short-sighted. Those who do sign for such a small salary are already marked as "not likely to last long", and then what? There rarely is a viable Plan B to take them past their early 20s.

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I completely disagree. Hypothetically if someone came to me in my job or yours and offered roughly 1-3 million dollars to play basketball. For a year or even 3 years 100% of us would take that opportunity. No questions asked because you believe in yourself. You dont think, "aww man I'm not going to pan out." You think, "Im going to make it!" But even if they don't make it look at the below contracts.

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/memphis-grizzlies/marquis-teague-10854/cash-earnings/

Marquis Teague 3.2 million over 3 years.

https://hoopshype.com/player/dakari-johnson/salary/

Dakari Johnson 1.2 million this year.

I chose these two because they are both two people we all agree should have come back. Let's face it, we are all homers and just want to see these kids play longer at UK. That is fine too. Im guilty of it. But I do not fault these kids for trying to make millions and change their entire family's life. Unfortunately for our fandom it is the nature of the game these days.

There is not a single one of us that wouldn't take that risk for ourselves or our families. These guys are not turning down 100K-200K. They even have the opportunity to make 1-3 million in China. Hell I'd wipe peoples behinds in Arkansas for 1-3 million.

[ 04-28-2019, 09:12 AM: Message edited by: WHO?UK ]
 

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Posted by Tiptree (Member # 844) on 04-28-2019, 12:39 AM:
 
Who?UK,

The question was not "would we take a job for $1M to $3M." It was $100k - $200k. BIG difference.

Of course any of us would take the $1M salary, even if it was only for a year, since we could save enough to put ourselves back through college and thus have a "Plan B". Also we could sock enough away in investments to ensure that we also have a "Plan C".

But what about those who leave for the G-league and get low salaries (by NBA standard) and have little hope of signing a nicer contract? They are frankly taking some extra now, but have probably short-changed their lifetime earnings. What the hell is a washed up basketball player with no college degree going to do?
 

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Posted by PaulCat (Member # 513) on 04-28-2019, 08:36 AM:
 
I, too, recently turned down a six figure job. Why? Because the alternative was better.

With that said, I think the real question is - would anyone turn down $1 million if they thought they could get $3 million a year later? This is the question that applies to kids who are projected to go in the mid to late part of the first round.

And there are kids projected to go in the second round that still stay in the draft. I think this shows that some of these kids just don't want to be in school. That's why the G-league is needed.
 

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Posted by WHO?UK (Member # 2286) on 04-28-2019, 08:53 AM:
 
You are correct about the premise of the conversation. However...

The point that I was trying to make is that the 200k salary assumption isn't even realistic. We automatically look at the G League Salary and think the worse because we want our guys to come back a play for 0$.

Lets face it while playing for UK may have been our childhood dreams, it may not be theirs. These kids dream about the NBA way more than the College game. Some of these kids surprise, surprise may not even love basketball that much and are using their God given ability to get their family out of poverty.

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/doron-lamb-10867/

Doron Lamb another player that we scoffed at for leaving. 900K one year, almost all of it being guaranteed.

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/milwaukee-bucks/james-young-15369/

James Young 1.6m this year! Good for him!!!

https://www.news.com.au /sport/american-sports/nba/isaac-humphries-sets-new-record-of-australians-in-the-nba/news-story/b3eb8340d9a7bcab189802cef714782f

Isaac Humphries 66,000 for ten days. Way to go kid. Guess what? His overseas contract making well over 200k will be there too.

Dont forget some of these overseas teams shell out big bucks for American players. Especially the kind that come form UK.

https://www.reference.com/sports-active-lifestyle/much-money-overseas-basketball-players-make-f7061620190d4bfd

1-3 million in China and contracts start at 100k in Europe. Our guys will make a lot more than 100k.

[ 04-28-2019, 09:11 AM: Message edited by: WHO?UK ]
 

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Posted by Tiptree (Member # 844) on 04-29-2019, 10:44 AM:
 
Who?UK,

I have no problem with kids having NBA dreams, striving to lift their families out of poverty, etc. I DO have a slight problem with kids coming to UK who take no pride in that uniform and see UK merely as a vehicle to riches; that is the opposite end of the spectrum from the accusation that colleges use athletes to earn millions themselves. The whole system is out of balance, and the incentives are too large to be able to fix it short of some sort of fiat (like the NBA 20-year minimum age rule).

I am in New York now for my job. At the hotel I am staying in, there is a guy who claims to be related to Hamadu Diallo. Coincidentally, my Uber driver's last name was Diallo. He was from the same country in Africa (Guinea) that Hamadu's family came from. He knows of him, and follows his career. Diallo made it big (well, big enough), having recently signed a $2M+ 2-year contract with the Thunder. With some wisdom and good advice, he is set for life.

But Hamadu is one of those who has done well, but not made headlines (like AD, KAT, Boogie or John Wall). So is Doron Lamb (but honestly, did anybody here really doubt he would make it?). But so many others have flamed out, and with no college degree, and having spent all their lives developing now-useless basketball skills, what options do they have? Not many. And those few hundred thousand dollars, if they did not blow it all, will make a nice nest egg for the future, but won't last too long in your 20s.

BTW, even those who make it big are not necessarily set for life. Remember Antoine Walker, who blew tens of millions of dollars and ended up dead broke after a 10-year NBA career.

The league, to their credit, has been providing some financial and "life skills" coaching to new players, which is good. But they are still young and rich beyond anything they have experienced, and thrust into the spotlight... and that is a pretty potent brew that lures one into excess.

I will maintain that for those who linger in the g-league, or are offered a chance to play overseas for a "relatively small" salary (i.e., $100k or $200k), their better choice is to get back in college and earn a degree that can bring them lifetime earnings far in excess than their moment-in-the-sun money as a basketball player. UK offers its players "scholarships for life", so they can always return and get a degree for free, should they choose to do so. I sincerely hope most of them who don't get the truly big bucks do so.
 

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Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 04-29-2019, 11:02 AM:
 
Tip you are spot on in all you said. These kids need to have some control over their wants and desires or have someone to watch over them until they attain the ability to know what kind of life they need to develop according to their income.
 

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Posted by SCWC (Member # 2464) on 04-29-2019, 06:51 PM:
 
Great post Tiptree, I totally agree with your assessment of the NBA situation. When this thread started, the first name I though of was Antoine Walker and the millions he lost because he was not prepared to handle such wealth.
 

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Posted by Old Norm (Member # 1482) on 04-29-2019, 08:58 PM:
 
From what I've read about Antoine's situation, he had some 'hangers on' that really did him harm.
 

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Posted by PaulCat (Member # 513) on 04-29-2019, 09:03 PM:
 
I totally understand WHO's point although i think like Tiptree in this discussion. Give a 20-year old kid a $3 million contract and that probably won't last until he's 40 years old. I guess then they could just go get a normal job.
 

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Posted by WHO?UK (Member # 2286) on 04-29-2019, 10:09 PM:
 
TIP,

Im with you. I wish these kids loved UK so much they stayed all four years. Unfortunately as you pointed out that's not the current system. Case and point if you go back and look at Patrick Patterson's draft combine, it was literally seen as a negative that he played all 4 years in college. The NBA felt that he already wasted 2-3 years of his legs playing in college. So our 18 year old freshmen are being told that they are wasting their legs by coming back to UK. Thats not Cal's fault or the kids fault. That is 100% on the NBA system (also like you described).

The point that Im trying to make is that these kids are not making peanuts. The G league salary is not what they will make permanently. At a certain point they will take the1-3 million in China. 100K is the starting point in Europe (Im sorry but 100k to play ball is great) and they all make much more than that. Not to mention like you stated they have a free scholarship waiting on them if they do want to go to school. So why not role the dice and make less money in the G League trying to strike gold. Especially when your back up plan is in the 1-3 million range or well over 100k in Europe.

Lastly, to assume that every kid that leaves early is going to end up like Antoine Walker is ridiculous. Walker stopped playing in the NBA in 2008. Thats 11 years ago. Social Media, ESPN, Twitter, Youtube has all highlighted the failures of all these guys like Walker. If a kid blows his 1-3 million dollars it was not due to a lack of information. To be frank that kid would have probably blown any amount of money.

https://www.reference.com/sports-active-lifestyle/much-money-overseas-basketball-players-make-f7061620190d4bfd

1-3 million in China and contracts start at 100k in Europe. Our guys will make a lot more than 100k.
 

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Posted by rlt4uk (Member # 3194) on 04-29-2019, 10:47 PM:
 
Antoine Walker blew 40 million dollars, he's just plain stupid if you ask me.
 

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Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 04-30-2019, 01:15 PM:
 
You really have to work hard to blow 40 million dollars. Ouch!
 

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Posted by WHO?UK (Member # 2286) on 04-30-2019, 07:15 PM:
 

quote:

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Originally posted by rlt4uk:
Antoine Walker blew 40 million dollars, he's just plain stupid if you ask me.

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