Johnson?!?!?!?!?!
- Thread starter Kratz
- Start date
Never hurts to hear from future employers what you need to work on
It doesn't hurt him in any way as long as he doesn't hire an agent, and withdrawls his name in time IF he wants to return to college. He may not want to be in college anymore. He isn't NBA ready but he is professional basketball ready. He can land a really good paying job playing basketball somewhere. Getting the free feedback from NBA professionals is good for him. I would do the same thing if in the same situation. ALL juniors should declare. It costs them nothing.I get Mitchell and Adel testing the waters, but Johnson?
Wow! I cant believe Johnson would test the waters. Just wait until you graduate and then make good money overseas.
I actually have changed my outlook on OAD's. I still don't like them because they hurt college basketball but if you start to look at the athletes perspective, they realize that they only have a short period of time, relatively to have a career playing basketball. The John Havliceks, John stocktons are rare, so it makes sense that you're been paid during the prime of your life, which athletically is 18-26. That's why the discussion of playing college athletes especially BB makes some sense. By waiting until you graduate like Mango might mean you only have 5-6 years to earn your money as opposed to 9-10. If you make your money you can always finish your degree, although it becomes less likely the older you get. Again I don't condone it but I think I understand more. We look at it as fans rather than the young athlete who wants to make a living.
Great post! Why not play overseas and make good money? Cant blame these kids. Make a great living doing what you love!
And the money keeps getting bigger and bigger too. If you're a sure thing (Wall, Simmons, Ball) type, your third contract can set you and your family up forever. The endorsement money too - shoes, soda, razors, whatever - the sooner you start making money, the better off you'll be. Even a guaranteed rookie contract can set you up very well if the money is managed correctly. Kids are getting smarter these days too. If you can get drafted after your freshman year on potential alone, what's the point of exposing yourself during a 2nd season? Like Steve Miller said - go on, take the money and run.
The big "if" in your statement is sure thing. Yes those guys are sure things but there are quite a few that fizzled either by injury or wrong situations. The problem is NBA scouts are promoting their product. They don't give these kids honest or negative information. They focus on positive feedback. We like this and we think you can do this for us... if you work hard....Now you add the players family and "friends" who want to ride your coat tails and the process gets cloudy. You paint the pretty picture of things but there is an ugly side too.
There are several things going on , several posters have touched on ;
1. money is getting bigger. The current highest paid player has NEVER been an all star!
Mike Conley signed a 150 million deal. Astounding.
2. JJ is getting feedback from other sources than the coaching staff. This obviously was advice from either his family, or Coach Pitino, or both. Doesnt hurt, especially if he doesnt attain an agent.
3. He might be tired of class and practice and may ready to start his professional basketball career.
1. money is getting bigger. The current highest paid player has NEVER been an all star!
Mike Conley signed a 150 million deal. Astounding.
2. JJ is getting feedback from other sources than the coaching staff. This obviously was advice from either his family, or Coach Pitino, or both. Doesnt hurt, especially if he doesnt attain an agent.
3. He might be tired of class and practice and may ready to start his professional basketball career.
If I was a high profile player (ones that Cal typically signs) I would go play overseas straight out of high school. Why not start making money right away?
They have options, but the truth is the OAD factories are providing a stage on national TV. It has to do with self promotion and marketing. It's easier to self promote to the NBA reps when you're on TV every time you play. Of course they could just go to the NBDL to play for 1 year as they try to make their way. The issue with doing that is what happens if the hype doesn't match the product? That's the thing the OAD factories offer that the NBDL can't. They can offer unproven hype against other college level players. NBDL players are a notch above that level so it's more difficult to succeed.
Isn't the NBDL subject to the same age restriction or time removed from high school as the NBA? I'm really not sure.
NBDL salaries aren't very big either, and the big names are rock stars while in school. On an NBDL roster, they are JAG.
Nope. The NBDL is the alternative choice for kids coming out of HS who don't want to or can't gain acceptance to college. 18 years is the minimum age limit for the NBDL.
Actually this what was suggested for Ball. Go straight to overseas, earn a million dollars and then go to the NBA. I think the only issue is they want you to sign at least a 2 year contract and you don't get to play in front of family or friends. Even SVT, also known as "Vanilla Godzilla" says the hotels, food and transportation in Japan are not like we are accustomed to.
Or maybe coaches like Cal have convinced them that going to college is some sort of necessity. A true "players first" mentality would be to steer them to well paying pro leagues.
Lol.
Didn't Jeremy Tyler try to go that route? He's still roaming around mainland China. Great decision.
I'm pretty confident that De'Aaron Fox would still be a top 5 draft pick despite Cal's molding of him. He could've earned a couple million dollars. The future value of that money is pretty nice pocket change.
I had to laugh when I heard JJ was putting his name in too! Really? While JJ is very much improved, the first thing that popped in my mind when I heard this was - is Matz testing the waters too!!! Funny stuff.
That's a good point.
From most accounts, life overseas for a young American player isn't exactly fun either. If you're a OAD, you get to be the BMOC for 9 months, get all the tail you can handle from hot chicks, and then go on about your life.
Lol you think an 18 year old kid wants to travel across the pond to another country? If that was such a good option it would have happened more than one or two times and to kids who weren't struggling academically. Use your head.
18 year olds travel great distances for far less money. Just off the top of my head: travelers, exchange students, soldiers, IT prodigies, models and actors. Maybe they haven't given it enough consideration because the so called "players first" handlers and coaches don't want to cede control of their commodity. Heck, they could go play in Australia and wouldn't even have the language barriers.
I get Mitchell and Adel testing the waters, but Johnson?
Why not? Hurts nothing. He could grow into that "enforcer" role that this team severely missed this past season. The lack of an enforcer is the difference between what we got and another Final Four, IMO. Our bigs just didn't play tough enough. Maybe hearing that from a guy who holds a large checkbook will further motivate Jaylen.
This is a digression, but this post really got me thinking. As an athletic young man, how cool would it be to play as an international basketball player? Those guys pull down the low 6 figures, get to travel all over (expenses paid), get to eat all kinds of cuisine they probably wouldn't be exposed to hear, plus imagine the women. Get your degree, go play abroad for a few years, come back and start your career based on your degree. You'd then be in your late 20's, you would be debt free, have a nice nest egg, full of great stories and perhaps even be fluent at a new language. Wow!!!!!
We are talking about kids who are either well below the poverty line or have been spoiled their whole life and made think they are heaven on earth. I doubt they want to go to another country and live less than they would with a high division 1 basketball program.
And how many coaches recruit these kids to college? Probably just about every one of them even RickGod Pitino. And how many of those coaches are suggesting they go overseas directly out of high school? ZERO.
If it was that much better of an option I think we would see it from more kids and not just ones who have trouble getting into school ala Brandon Jennings
I think Morgantown means post graduation - for guys that don't have realistic NBA hopes.
You are correct. Guys who don't have the NBA in the future, but earned their degree with no debt as a 22 year old. Why not go to China or Europe or whatever an dplay for 5 years? Guys like Stephen Van Treese, Larry O'Bannon, Peyton Siva, etc. See the world, get paid to play basketball, and come back to the States in your late 20's with a nice nest egg, maybe even pay cash for a house once you have your job from your degree. That is what you called SET for a nice life.
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I would have loved to go over seas and play ball but hell I wasn't even a college basketball player. Great post Morgantown. I wouldn't have cared to go anywhere that would have paid me and lodged me just to play basketball. Talk about living the life.
So if someone is well below the poverty line, we shouldn't encourage them to earn great money immediately and to have the opportunity to see parts of the world only rich Americans get to see? To paraphrase Zipp, you can't put one year of unpaid internships in the bank.
None. It's not in their best interest. Just like it's not in the best interest of the AAU coach.
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