Darius Bazley - Players Tribune

[Madbiker]

“But a few months ago, I was having a conversation with my mom and one of my coaches, and they brought up this notion of playing professionally for a year before entering the NBA draft. At first, I basically dismissed it entirely. I just had trouble picturing myself doing that. A little time passed, then we all had another conversation, and for the first time the G League was brought up.”

And we found out last week 10 mins before the announcement.

Whatever dude.

If there isn't an agent who offered to front him six figures as an advance against his future NBA contract if he just signed on the doted line I will be shocked. This move was all about immediate $$. Find the agent and you find the real story.

 

[br801]

Are there any pros at all other than not having to do school work?

You get to run NBA sets against mostly physically developed men who either have NBA experience or have realistic aspirations of someday getting there. That may or may not be a good thing for someone about to turn 18, but it will certainly give him a good idea where he stands.

 

[Briancuse]

if the title of this thread were a Jeopardy answer, my question would be "what is an article I won't likely read?"

I have to be honest I lost interest after the first paragraph. If you guys want to root for him thats fine. I wont.

 

[Knicks411]

Are there any pros at all other than not having to do school work?

Level of play is higher I would imagine. You're playing more of an NBA system.

I’m sure he’s a great kid based on what I’ve heard.

But he didn’t write that piece.

And SU was his dream school? Sure. Whatever.

His dream was making a lot of money and playing in the NBA.

End of story.

I mean yeah, that's literally the first sentence of the piece.

 

[Toga]

Who?

 

[reedny]

So what changes if he tells JB in February that he's thinking about the G-League?

Oh please. Really? Do you not think the staff relied on his commitment in recruiting other forwards? The kid signed an LOI and was all in for months. We weren't even sniffing other forwards. Everyone in the world was shocked by this stupid/selfish move. But ok. I mean, it's over. That doesn't mean it was cool. "Blink of an eye", pffffft.

 

[Trueblue25]

I can’t find it in myself to be mad at DB.


Unfortunately, I think this is a kid chasing his dream who was given very very bad advice by people who’re supposed to be looking out for his future and well being. Most likely for their own gain.

I’ll root for his success in the pros.

 

[Briancuse]

Level of play is higher I would imagine. You're playing more of an NBA system.
Is it that much better playing in the acc. Playing in t he NBA gets you a lot of money. Playing in the g league barely gets you above unemployment.


I mean yeah, that's literally the first sentence of the piece.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

I can't 'buy' the rationalizations.
He cites a worthless statistic: 38% — of NBA players have played in the G League. Meaningless. More relevant is that 90% of them played in american college. That seems like a pretty straightforward, standardized, proven route.

Secondly, i think it's unwise to think he can just skip a pretty valuable development stage. The G league is replete with players who have already developed in college, and some of them were ranked as highly as he is as a recruit. But, they've had a few years of physical development. Bazeley didn't impress me physically when he was playing in high school or against his recruit peers in the McD game. He will bring energy and versatility, but the problems i saw for him at this stage are going to be exacerbated against grown men.
Odd and sad that he completely ignored his Ohio State commitment. Hopefully that was just an edit/orial decision, but methinks it was more like 'spin' by omission—not leading the reader toward a conclusion that he's a flibbertigibbet, and/or doesn't honor his word as a theme in his life.

Sad, also, that it was his mother who lead the thought process of skipping college. College isn't all about the books and classes. It's an experience i think any parent should want for their kid, regardless of the ultimate destination. I can understand a high school kid not yet realizing that. I wonder if Mom went to college—maybe she doesn't understand that either. Unfortunate.

Oh, well. I'm not sufficiently angered as to hope he blows out a knee or anything. When he begins his career, i'm going to hope his route and process prove to be the wrong route and process, but not because of him. Because i don't wish it to be a blueprint for others.

 

[cuseguy]

Level of play is higher I would imagine. You're playing more of an NBA system.



I mean yeah, that's literally the first sentence of the piece.

Fine, but we don’t need to hear that SU was his dream school. It wasn’t. He didn’t have much interest in playing college basketball.

 

[Knicks411]

So you think he's going to make $26,000 in the g league next year and then not make any money playing basketball again, but if he plays in college for one year, he's a lottery pick?

 

[Knicks411]

Fine, but we don’t need to hear that SU was his dream school. It wasn’t. He didn’t have much interest in playing college basketball.

I'll grant that, especially since he didn't even commit here first. Laying it on a little thick. Probably trying to soften the blow.

 

[reedny]

So you think he's going to make $26,000 in the g league next year and then not make any money playing basketball again, but if he plays in college for one year, he's a lottery pick?

Yes. Except for the one straw man phrase you put in there ("not make any money"). Sure he'll make money. But joining the G-L bus tour in sparcely attended arenas against much older players (many of whom developed in college already), with wannabe coaches and guard-oriented teams with ball-hoggers looking to make a name? Face it, it's a dumb decision that was likely influenced by a bag of money ... when even a couple draft slots higher would have made him a lot more. The exposure and yes, development, with HOF-level college coaching and all the TV of ACC/NCAA .. no doubt that would have helped a lot ... as pretty much every observer has stated.

One thing I do agree on is that it's time to move on.

 

[orangepassion]

I'm not rooting against him, but I sure ain't rooting for him

 

[cuseguy]

So you think he's going to make $26,000 in the g league next year and then not make any money playing basketball again, but if he plays in college for one year, he's a lottery pick?

He’s getting a lot more than 26k to play next year. I’m not naive.

And, yes, I think his chances of being a lottery pick would have been greater after a year at SU. He might struggle a bit in the G league and see his stock drop a bit. But we’ll see. I wish him well, but I’ll take about as much interest in his future as he takes in mine.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

"Of course I know the decision was really upsetting to Syracuse and their fans. I definitely understand that, but I also know that in my heart, this is the right decision for me. That being said, I’m always going to pull for the Orange. I’m hopeful that my spot is given to someone who can go there and help that team win a national championship."

It's only my opinion, but this gave me closure. Over it completely, no hard feelings towards the kid.
I know this still doesn't sit well with some, and I understand that, but I think most will get over it.

Well said.

Newsflash #1: 17 year olds are self-centered, rash and impulsive
Newsflash #2 - they are inexperienced so can be easily swayed but adults
Newsflash #3: he is entitled to be the adjectives in newsflash #1; that is part of being 17
Newsflash#4: He is allowed to change his mind - the reasons don't matter
Newsflash #5: He doesn't owe anybody on this board or the fans or the players, the coaching staff or the university or even the guy whose scholarship he supposedly took a g****mn thing

Good Luck to him...

Hope the kid kills it in the G-League and goes #1 in the draft next year...

We'll be fine. And if next year is a tough year, then we'll be fine the year after that...

 

[Knicks411]

Yes. Except for the one straw man phrase you put in there ("not make any money"). Sure he'll make money. But joining the G-L bus tour in sparcely attended arenas against much older players (many of whom developed in college already), with wannabe coaches and guard-oriented teams with ball-hoggers looking to make a name? Face it, it's a dumb decision that was likely influenced by a bag of money ... when even a couple draft slots higher would have made him a lot more. The exposure and yes, development, with HOF-level college coaching and all the TV of ACC/NCAA .. no doubt that would have helped a lot ... as pretty much every observer has stated.

One thing I do agree on is that it's time to move on.

I guess i don't really see what the size of the attendance has to do with anything; or the tv exposure. The scouts know how to find him, hell, now he's already in the nba system. Might even be easier to scout him.

The development stuff; it's a fair question. I don't think it's a given he'd develop better in college, nor do I think the opposite is true and he'd develop better in the G league.

 

[GooseMutt]

Why I'm Jumping to the G League | By Darius Bazley

Respect. Good luck son

 

[cuseguy]

I guess i don't really see what the size of the attendance has to do with anything; or the tv exposure. The scouts know how to find him, hell, now he's already in the nba system. Might even be easier to scout him.

The development stuff; it's a fair question. I don't think it's a given he'd develop better in college, nor do I think the opposite is true and he'd develop better in the G league.

He would have been the man at SU. He would have been given the keys to the car at times.

It’s unlikeky that happens in the G league.

 

[reedny]

I guess i don't really see what the size of the attendance has to do with anything; or the tv exposure. The scouts know how to find him, hell, now he's already in the nba system. Might even be easier to scout him.

The development stuff; it's a fair question. I don't think it's a given he'd develop better in college, nor do I think the opposite is true and he'd develop better in the G league.

You're entitled to an opinion. But others in a position to know - JB, Bilas, etc .. down the line - have pretty much ALL said the G-L is a dumb move that will reduce his draft stock, skew his development (force him to play in a guard-oriented league with little team play), limit his exposure and cost him big-time in the long run. And that's all aside from the point that he totally shafted SU at the last minute for a sheisty loan.

 

[RF2044]

That's probably because Bazeley didn't write it.
Most of the PT articles are ghost-written.

NY Times magazine had a really good article a few weeks ago.
It refers to the fascinating piece "written" by Dion Waiters as possibly the best thing they've ever done.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/21/magazine/what-happens-when-athletes-do-the-sportswriting.html

As for the Syracuse reference in the Bazeley article...it plays as an obvious afterthought.
He's trying to take care of #1...which is fine.
But that doesn't mean you should ignore obligations you may have to others...such as reasonable notice.
Pretty sure he wouldn't have liked it if SU suddenly yanked his scholarship offer.

That's what I figured, too -- hence, why I said "perspective."

 

[cuseguy]

And you know why Griffin didn’t bother to change Bazley’s mind. Pretty safe to assume that Bazley told Griffin that he signed with an agent.

 

[Knicks411]

You're entitled to an opinion. But others in a position to know - JB, Bilas, etc .. down the line - have pretty much ALL said the G-L is a dumb move that will reduce his draft stock, skew his development (force him to play in a guard-oriented league with little team play), limit his exposure and cost him big-time in the long run. And that's all aside from the point that he totally shafted SU at the last minute for a sheisty loan.

Understood, but this has never been done before, so it's hard to say with any certainty.

Also, JB is just a little biased here. I just did a quick google search and there's a d league coach who think it';s a great move for Baze. He's not exactly unbiased here, my point is more that it's kind of uncharted territory here.

As an SU fan, I obviously wish he was playing here next year. I am pretty interested to see how this works out though, it could totally change the college hoops landscape.

 

[Waltdods]

“But a few months ago, I was having a conversation with my mom and one of my coaches, and they brought up this notion of playing professionally for a year before entering the NBA draft. At first, I basically dismissed it entirely. I just had trouble picturing myself doing that. A little time passed, then we all had another conversation, and for the first time the G League was brought up.”

And we found out last week 10 mins before the announcement.

Whatever dude.

A few years ago, my then-employer offered a job to a professional acquaintance of mine, and myself and my boss spent several hours over a couple weeks talking with her about joining us. She strung us along for a while, and then ultimately decided to stay at her current job. By the time she rejected us, our hiring window had closed so we weren't able to find a replacement in that hiring cycle. We were all very upset with her, and my then-boss (who is now a friend) to this day uses her name as a shorthand for all manner of terrible things.

Then a couple years after that, I got a job opportunity that I liked but required a major lifestyle change. I dithered and dithered for months before making the decision to leave at the last possible moment, leaving my then-employer down a senior person at a particularly bad time with a bare minimum of notice.

This is to say, making big personal decisions is really challenging, even for adults. It's easy to say everyone should handle these with perfect grace and professionalism, but when so much is at stake (or seems to be a stake), making these decisions can be very difficult.

 

[cuseguy]

We don’t know how much money Bazley got from an agent. Let’s say it’s 200k. If he slips in the draft next year, from lottery to outside the lottery, he’ll have made a mistake. We’ll see.