Starting next
season, the NBA will start offering something called “select contracts” paying
$125,000 to elite-level 18-year olds who want to play a year of G-League ball
before entering the draft. This is the
league’s response to the one-and-done phenomenon of players playing one year of
college before turning pro. But it
doesn’t strike me as much of a response.
For openers, how
do you define “elite”? Just about any
18-year old with hoop dreams will think he qualifies. This will mean lawsuits and/or publicity
nightmares centering on poor, talented kids frozen out by an arbitrary
system. Good luck with that.
And with those
18-years suddenly $125,000 richer; they’re supposed to play in the NBA version
of the minor leagues but not belong to any one team the way other G-League
players do? In that case, how will the
coaching work? If these young players
don’t feel a connection to the teams they’re on, why would they listen to some
guy who’ll be out of their lives in twelve months telling them how to box out
or set a pick?
It’s a good thing
wiser minds than mine have thought this out.
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