Jalen Green, ESPN’s No. 1 prospect in 2020, commits to G-League with Isaiah Todd: Five takeaways

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2020/04/jalen-green-espns-no-1-prospect-in-2020-commits-to-g-league-with-isaiah-todd-five-takeaways.html




Jalen Green, ESPN’s No. 1 prospect in 2020, commits to G-League with Isaiah Todd: Five takeaways



Today 2:09 PM




Jalen Green plays for Prolific Prep during the Hoophall Classic. Prolific Prep faced LaLumiere during the Hoophall Classic on Jan. 19, 2020 at Blake Arena in Springfield.



By Tom Westerholm | twesterh@masslive.com




On Thursday, Jalen Green -- the No. 1 prospect on ESPN’s recruiting rankings -- announced he plans to play in the NBA’s G-League, rather than spending a year in college. We briefly covered his announcement, but a series of interesting developments have occurred since, so let’s break the situation down a bit.


1. Jalen Green is the real deal.

First, we should note that Jalen Green is not your average prospect. He isn’t on Zion Williamson’s level, but he’s nearly as famous online (he has 885,000 followers on Instagram), and he draws hundreds of fans to all of his events.

More to the point, Green can really hoop. A 6-foot-6 shooting guard with elite athleticism, a solid handle and a nice jumper, Green can explode by opponents and elevate around the rim with otherworldly bounce reminiscent of Zach LaVine. Even a mediocre year in college (depending on the degree of mediocrity) likely would have been enough to vault him into the top 5 in next year’s draft.

This is a fascinating move by Green, and it carries some risk if playing against grown men in the G-League proves to be a challenge.


2. The G-League will pay him more and will start a new team.


This is perhaps the most eyebrow-raising element: The G-League not only will pay Green well (roughly $500,000, per Shams Charania), it is creating an entirely new team on which he can play. Green and whichever other prospects join the team will be surrounded by veterans, according to ESPN, who are “willing to balance mentorship of Green and other prospects with the personal opportunities that might emerge because of the intense NBA scouting exposure that will come with these teams.”

This new G-League team, which will be based in Southern California, will not play a full schedule. Rather, it will take part in the G-League showcase, as well as 10-12 games during the season that won’t count in the standings. Per ESPN, the “primary objective will be assimilation and growth into the NBA on several levels -- from playing to the teaching of life skills.”

In other words, Green gets to remain in California, he will be highly paid, he will be very intentionally put in a position to succeed, and he will be surrounded by players who are expressly brought in to aid in his development. For Green, who told Yahoo! Sports’ Chris Haynes in his announcement video that development was a major reason to join the G-League, that’s a potent combination of offers.

G-League president Shareef Abdur-Rahim deserves a lot of credit for getting creative to convince high-level talent to sign up.


3. Green will be joined by Isaiah Todd.

Todd is the No. 13 prospect on ESPN’s top 100. According to ESPN, other prospects can negotiate deals with the new squad but will likely be paid in the $250,000 range, rather than Green’s lofty $500,000 number.


4. Jalen Green can always go back to college.

Green told Haynes the league will pay for a scholarship if he decides to go back to school, a very smart addendum by Abdur-Rahim to convince prospects to join the G-League. Green is much too talented to wash out, but on the off chance something awful happens, he can always go to college for free.


5. This will be a big deal for the NCAA.

The NCAA will always be able to market itself to second- and third-tier NBA prospects who need a little more time to get on the radar of the NBA, and fans of specific schools will likely watch no matter who is on the court.

But coaches who excel at landing one-and-done prospects should be a little nervous. The G-League is offering legal money -- not under-the-table shoe deals -- as well as superior professional development focused on the players specifically.

The NCAA should be fine, but losing top prospects will cause some nerves (think how many Duke games you would have watched two years ago if Zion Williamson wasn’t there). The NBA, meanwhile, is making a powerful move to try to improve its least profitable -- but still valuable -- product. Watching how this plays out for Green and Todd will be fascinating.



bob



.

So how can Boston acquire Jalen Green? To we draft him out of G-League?

worcester wrote:So how can Boston acquire Jalen Green? To we draft him out of G-League?

No. The NBA cannot sign a player right out of high school.

http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q55

55. Are there restrictions based on a player's age?

There are rules regarding the minimum age for draft eligibility. A player can't play in the NBA unless he's been eligible for at least one draft (he doesn't have to actually be drafted, he just has to have been eligible). A player who is eligible for a draft must be at least 19 during the calendar year of that draft, and if a U.S. player, at least one year removed from high school. In addition, at least one of the following must be true:

Use the link to see the rest.

I do not know why the G-League doesn't follow the same rules as the NBA.

While I think the one-and-done rule is a load of crap, this scenario stinks even worse. Just eliminate the one-and-done rule and let all players play whenever they want. The NCAA will survive.

gyso

I agree let all men 18 and over be eliglbe to be drafted or sign as free agents. I looked up how many high school players went directly into the pro game and its between 40-50 depending on how you count them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_high_school_draftees


and that's from 1974 until 2005.

so the NBA has a rule to protect college basketball (or not) that really effects one or two players a year?

come on man!

we have the G-League now AND NBA teams have TWO players each fro 2-way contracts.

Let all men who desire to make themselves eligible for the draft and if need be expand the draft to 3 rounds.

here's a breakdown of the one and doner's from 2006 until 2017

https://herosports.com/news/one-and-done-rule-list-college-basketball-nba-visualized

If the NBA and the player's union can agree to do away with the one-and-done rule (I've read by 2022), NCAA basketball will improve.  

It will clean up some (probably not all) of the dirty money shenanigans by the shoe companies and alumni groups.  The coaching squads will get back to coaching and not be required to spend so much time recruiting players who are not really committed to going to class and working towards a degree.  The game itself will improve by having more guys spending 3-4 years in college, becoming better players and revert back to being student-athletes.

Many of the pundits are predicting gloom and doom for the college game if this happens.  My guess it that it will have the opposite affect.

This temporary stopgap by creating a new "elite" G-League team, unaffiliated with any team, is the part that grates on my last nerve.  This team won't play in the regular G-League season or if it does, the games won't count?  It will include a handful of players who make $500K playing opposite others who make $7K a month (or $35K if they last the entire season).  Hard fouls are coming!

If the end result is to allow high school "graduates" (LOL) to go directly to the NBA, then call an emergency meeting between the league and the union and make it happen now.  Don't forget social distancing in the process.

gyso

I think the greater danger here is to the 18 and 19 year olds who jump to the G-League, and not so much to the NCAA game. The NCAA game will be fine and the more elite players will still go through the college ranks where they can showcase their game on a bigger stage then the G-League.

The one thing the one and done does is to create a year between high school and going pro to see if a prospect might have an NBA level game. Playing NCAA D1 level ball, players develop a little more and pro teams get a look at them there. By letting them go direct to the G-League, for what amounts to a pretty low payday, the number of quick washouts might increase. I think the level of play and number of competitive teams will remain below NCAA D1, as it is now. G-League will continue to be heavily populated by players who couldn't attract a college scholarship, in my opinion. If so, young players may miss the chance to develop against the better competition in the college game.

I think this is a path for more wanna-be pros, who have been led to believe their game is more than it is, to end up out of basketball. My bet is they're not going back to school after they're out of the League either.

Maybe you get a couple of prospects like Green, but I think you lead many more to a dead end. No good solution here.

I think the majority of players in the G-league played at division 1 schools to be honest.

I also think most of the G-league teams would beat many , if not most of division 1 college teams (especially in a multi-game playoff). So I disagree about the level if play (ers) in the g-league today.

kdp,

D1 players, yes. D1 scholarship players; maybe not what you'd call the majority. D1 hoops can only give out a max of 13 scholarships per team, and there are cases they reserve a couple.  Check out a couple of those G-League rosters and you'll see why I made that comment. The 24 or so D-League/G-League players that made rosters on local tryouts each of the past couple of seasons add to that total. Overseas teams also take some of the better college talent at a more lucrative pay the G-League can offer.

I like Jayson Tatum's take on it. He's said, in serious and comic exchanges, even for the $500K Green is getting, he would have still gone to Duke rather than the G-League. On the comic side, in an Instagram post, Tatum's friend Beal said something like 'So Duke gave you $600,000?' Side-note to ACC alumni; careful how you make out those checks.

Regards

I think the biggest issue will be $$$

$$$ is always an issue. Resentment from low salaried players seems inevitable.

This is along the lines of my earlier point. I'm with both Calipari and Barkley here.

John Calipari worries G League's player poaching is going to have one very bad side effect

Jack Baer, Writer
Yahoo Sports April 29, 2020

The NBA’s G League has made waves in the past few weeks by securing the talents of three five-star recruits — Jalen Green, Isaiah Todd and, most recently, Daishen Nix — and beating out the NCAA in the process.

That initiative was bound to see some detractors, and one of them was, unsurprisingly, Kentucky coach John Calipari. But not for the reason you might think.

Rather than worry about losing out on blue chip prospects he’s recruiting to Kentucky, Calipari said on his weekly “Coffee With Cal” show that he is more worried about the prospects who are not blue chips ... and don’t quite know it yet.

From the Louisville Courier-Journal:

"My issue with the G League trying to entice players by giving them more money, is not the kids that you’re getting," Calipari said Monday during his weekly "Coffee with Cal" web show featuring guest Charles Barkley. "It’s the thousands of ninth and 10th graders that think that’s how they’re going to make it, when you and I know it’s going to be 2%. We’re not talking 50. It will be thousands and thousands and thousands."
Nix reportedly chose to begin his professional career in the G League rather than play in college after being offered a contract worth around $300,000. Todd is reportedly getting $250,000 with incentives and Green — the most well-regarded prospect of the bunch — will reportedly receive $500,000.

Obviously, that is an amount of money plenty of recruits are going to be eyeing, even as college coaches preach the long-term benefits of a college education.

In Calipari’s mind, that appears to mean some high school players will prioritize basketball over their studies, let their grades slip, then lose out on a college career after finding out they aren’t the level of player the G League is looking for. It’s probably on the G League to be communicative with prospects about their chances of a contract so that doesn’t happen, but that would be difficult if there are thousands of players out there thinking they could be G League material as Calipari estimates.

Calipari’s guest on the show, Charles Barkley, agreed that some players could make the error:

"We spend all our time talking about the small little percentage of guys who want to go to the NBA," Barkley said. "I only concern myself with all the other guys, all the other young black men who go to college. ... I’m worried about the 99%. We’ve got to make sure these young black kids get their education, because that’s going to dictate their future."
Even though it’s against his perceived interest, Calipari has long been a supporter of allowing players to enter the NBA draft out of high school, as the Courier-Journal notes. However, he also believes that those who aren’t good enough for the draft should attend college.

It seems possible that the G League entering the equation could further blur that line between good enough and not good enough that created so many missteps for non-elite high school players before the NBA imposed its age minimum.

In related news, the NBA has informed teams that 205 early-entry candidates, including 163 college underclassmen have filed to enter a draft that has 60 total slots.

The G-League One-and-done bypass will only happen for a couple years, but it is still a lame idea.  Supposedly the NBA will try for full None-and-done by 2022.  That may be when the current CBA is renegotiated.

John Cap says,  "It’s the thousands of ninth and 10th graders that think that’s how they’re going to make it, when you and I know it’s going to be 2%. We’re not talking 50. It will be thousands and thousands and thousands."

Not exactly.  By the time the ninth and 10th graders become juniors and seniors, they will be able to go directly to the NBA once they graduate high school or become 18 years old.  Then they can enter the draft, not get picked and then go to college.

The "dream of the NBA" for high schoolers is caused by the NBA and not the possibility of making money in the G-League.  Case in point: 163 college underclassmen have filed to enter a draft that has 60 total slots.

On a similar but different subject:

IMO, many people overemphasize the college 4-year degree.  Not everyone is cut out to go down that path.  Community colleges and other vocational programs often can give a person the leg up that is needed to have a nice paycheck and a nice life.  Now I sound like my youngest sister, who is the Academic Coordinator at the local high school Tri-County Technical Center.

I see the G-League idea of signing high school guys as one that will finally get the NBA to get back to signing guys right out of high school again regardless of the percentages of how many Kevin Garnetts there are who make it.

With the glamor of the NBA shining directly into the eyes of many, many many middle school and/or high school kids very few even think of actually going to college for a college degree. So, why not just let them shoot for the moon with their basketball dreams?

Everyone has dreams. Some are more realistic than others when in high school, and expecting to make millions and play with the best of the best is a great goal and dream. It is just that most will not achieve such dreams, and then it is a matter of making adjustments and getting on with life.

There certainly are far more young men who will graduate from college than will ever get to the NBA, but I do not believe that the dream of becoming the next Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, etc should be taken from any kid.

For the many who fall short of making the NBA, there will always be rec and YMCA leagues.

gyso wrote:
On a similar but different subject:

IMO, many people overemphasize the college 4-year degree.  Not everyone is cut out to go down that path.  Community colleges and other vocational programs often can give a person the leg up that is needed to have a nice paycheck and a nice life.  Now I sound like my youngest sister, who is the Academic Coordinator at the local high school Tri-County Technical Center.

Off-topic Social/professional commentary time.

WAY too many people going to college now. For a high number of college grads, it's just not needed. This is a discussion I often have with clients about their kids, and they often look at me like I have three heads. They then go on to ruin their retirement chances, or put their kids and themselves in horrible debt, just to get the kid a $50,000 a year job with $120,000 of loans. For just an undergrad degree. Meanwhile, the smarter parent who knows their kid isn't college material, puts the kid through vocational school. Little to no debt. Kid goes out, gets a master electrician's license, has a few electricians sub-contracting for them, and pulls in six figures/yr within a few short years.

I actually went a lot further with this one, then deleted the majority of it so as not to offend anyone here. My apologies if I did. Personal observation/professional rant!

I'll wrap it up with the fact that college debt is now the second highest debt amount held in the US, behind only mortgages. At least with the mortgage, you don't get wet when it rains.

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Oh yeah... and the elevated G-League contract is going to give lots of young players false hope and a false floor. 1 fairly minor payday, no further pro career, no viable skills, education, or network to compete in the game of life. Not a great business model for the G-League either, as some teams may struggle with costs, and wholly owned teams may depend on their NBA parent for ever-increasing subsidy. That won't last long. Put me down squarely in the this is a BAD idea camp.

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OK, that's my lunch break. I'll shut up and stop preaching now.