G League vs the NCAA
So, as we all know the NCAA is responsible for all
collegiate sports in America and has basically been the gateway for athletes to
move onto the pros in order to follow their dreams. They have ruled with an
iron fist and has forced all athletes to conform to their rules and regulations
no matter if you're Zion Williamson or a walk-on.
There were times were prospects could’ve entered the NBA
Draft from high school but that was shot down in 2006 by the NBA. This made it
so that every player now must spend at least one year in college before
declaring for the draft. And ever since then the popularity of college basketball
immediately skyrocketed. For 5-star recruits who have made a name for
themselves before touching a college court, they’re just going to improve their
draft stock and not fail any classes so that they can leave next year where all
the glory and fame awaits them in the NBA.
But for top recruits, who know that its either basketball or
bust, why should you bother with classes for your communication degrees and the
rigorous schedule of the school/practice balance? Why can’t you just focus on ball and ball alone? Well if you find
yourself in that category then the NBA G League might be the place for you.
History of the G League Pathway Program.
According to a report from the official NBA G League
website; on the 18th October 2018, the NBA G League announced that
it would be offering Select Contracts for elite players who are at least 18 to be a part of
their pathway program. These elite prospects must be eligible to play in the G
League but not yet eligible for the NBA and they would be paid $125,000 for a
five-month season.
The article goes on to state, “NBA G League Select Contracts
are designed for year-round professional growth and will include opportunities
for basketball development, life skills mentorship and academic scholarship.
These offerings are slated to include basketball workouts during the summer
months through existing NBA infrastructure like NBA Summer League and NBA
Academies, year-round education programs designed to increase players’ ability
to personally and professionally manage their careers, and a scholarship
program for athletes who want to pursue higher education after their playing
days. Additionally, the NBA G League will further enhance player experience
through existing partner relationships and NBA player development programming.”
They would hire a manager and a group who are responsible for finding eligible
elite players and implementing the pathway program.
However, their first go went anything but smoothly. In an
article by Ray Giller, “According to a G League spokesperson, three to five
select contracts were available for elite players for the 2019–20 season. So
far there have been no takers. Not a single one.”
The main reason that caused top prospects to turn down this
option was the contract itself. Now, on the surface, $125,000 looks like a lot
to anybody but these athletes are smarter now, they know how contracts work.
According to an article from Ray Gillier, “Take away taxes and 4 percent to the
NBA agent, and $125,000 is a pittance, especially with college programs offering
more than that under the table.”
So that left people wondering, how did the G League fail?
They are literally paying athletes to play however they are turning it down to
play for “free” in college because the exposure is worth more. So, with that,
the G League and its president Shareef Abdur-Rahim went back to the lab again
with their tails between their legs.
Back to the drawing board
So, in order to making this pathway enticing for top
prospects to join, members of the G League came up with a very simple solution:
Pay them more. Instead of contracts being worth $125,000 they would now be
paying players $500,000. So, is it that simple? Can one change make all the
difference? Not to be a spoiler, but yes, yes it did.
Round 2, Fight.
The first domino fell on the 16th of April 2020
when the number 1 prospect in the 2020 ESPN 100 Jalen Green announced that he
will become the pathway’s first participant and bypass college altogether. This
totally came out of left field and surprised not only the NCAA, but the entire
country. With the #1 prospect committing to the pathway, who would follow?
A day later, the 14th ranked prospect in the 2020
ESPN 100 Isaiah Todd decommitted from the University of Michigan to join Green
in the program. Within two days, two of the top 15 most sought after high
school players in the nation were gone, but they didn’t stop there.
On the 28th of April, the 20th ranked
prospect in the 2020 ESPN 100 Daishen Nix, backed out from joining UCLA to be
with both Green and Todd. Just like that, three of top 20 prospects are off the
board and you know that the NCAA must be a little mad.
The previous year NBA G League got knocked down, but instead
of lowering their standards and go after lower end prospects (no offense guys)
they never faltered. They knew their offer was good, but it just needed
tweaking and who knew offering people more money than before would help sweeten
the deal.
Omar Little from the Wire (great show, you should binge it)
said , “You come at the king, you best not miss.” Safe to say that this year
the G League didn’t squander their opportunity. However the NCAA is like the
Empire from Star Wars, no matter how many times you think they’re gone, they
always end up coming back.
My thoughts
It’s going to take WAY more than one good year for we start
to worry about the state of college basketball, but I do think that this is a
great start for the NBA G League. It’s providing prospects a professional
environment to work on their skills and get paid for it. My only concern with
this program is that it might not give their players a chance to perform in a
clutch moment with millions watching and it may hinder them in terms of
developing their leadership skills.
I think we will see more players forgo college basketball
whether it’s going to the G League or going overseas like Lamelo Ball and R.J.
Hampton. This will allow them to play against grown men, get paid while doing
it and develop and profit from their brand image.
The NCAA should think of this as a declaration of war and
their enemy has fired the first shot. Now all we can do is sit back and wait to
see what type of response that they come up with. Well NCAA, it’s your move
now…
5th of May 2020
https://www.ozy.com/news-and-politics/the-nbas-g-league-literally-cant-pay-players-to-play/96787/
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