Darius Bazley - Players Tribune

[DeGrozz]

I think there's some flawed logic in the piece. For one, he says "38% of NBA players have G League experience." That may be very true, but what % of players have college experience? North of 80%. He also says "everyone I have played with at a competitive level has the dream of going to the NBA." But he also says "I'm going to the G League because I want to be around people who want to make it to the NBA," as though Cuse's players don't have that mindset but the kids on his AAU team do?

I think it's a nice PR piece by whoever his agent's firm hired to write it. I wish him the best, but the decision still doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me...

 

[tee1222]

I think you have a massive fundamental misunderstanding of the DEVELOPMENTAL league.

I hear ya and sorry to nitpick, but I thought it was now pronounced GEVELEOPMENTAL league

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Thanks for the article but he didn’t have to mislead Syracuse University, take a scholarship from another potential player, and be THAT self centered about it.

I reached my goal in life too (earning a PhD from Syracuse) but I didn’t have to hurt people along the way or leave damage in my path.

I’m happy he thinks he is getting what he wants but he should have left SU out of it.

I bet someone didn't get into the PhD program because you were there.

 

[reedny]

I think there's some flawed logic in the piece. For one, he says "38% of NBA players have G League experience." That may be very true, but what % of players have college experience? North of 80%. He also says "everyone I have played with at a competitive level has the dream of going to the NBA." But he also says "I'm going to the G League because I want to be around people who want to make it to the NBA," as though Cuse's players don't have that mindset but the kids on his AAU team do?

I think it's a nice PR piece by whoever his agent's firm hired to write it. I wish him the best, but the decision still doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me...

It was a damage control piece. The "38%" argument is bogus because many players are sent there after injuries, not as part of any "developmental" path. I don't think Blake Griffin needed the G-L to make an NBA roster.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

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.

JB and Bilas have combined to make 0 NBA draft selections for NBA teams.

 

[cuse10]

JB and Bilas have combined to make 0 NBA draft selections for NBA teams.

But Boeheim has worked with USA Basketball for a decade. He knows what an NBA player looks like and the skill set they need to succeed at the next level. He's worked with the best of the best in the world. His word holds more weight than any of us here, Bilas and Biancardi who have all said that it is a bad move.

 

[Newhouser]

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.

JB and Bilas have a vested interest and they and everyone opposed better be right because if this kid is in the league next year, it will be a sprint to the G-League.

 

[reedny]

JB and Bilas have combined to make 0 NBA draft selections for NBA teams.

Well pick your source Grotto. I haven't heard any analyst saying this was a smart choice. Is that what you're saying, or just being contrary?

 

[Knicks411]

JB and Bilas have combined to make 0 NBA draft selections for NBA teams.

yeah but at least JB doesn't have any reason to say players should go to college instead of the d league.

 

[djcon57]

I can't wait to see the reactions if this kid is a lottery pick. My god, the spin we will see

 

[DaCuse]

I can't wait to see the reactions if this kid is a lottery pick. My god, the spin we will see

Or if he isn’t.

Look how Q. Green turned out.

 

[ORANGE OATH]

First of all I sincerely wish this young man the absolute best in his future. That said I have read Mother Goose, now I have read Darius Brazley. In the end it is all about
M-O-N-E-Y !! I'd not be shocked to learn at some latter date Mr. Brazley was lured by more than the $26,000.00 a year in the G league.
Again I really do wish him great success and I do mean it. I was fortunate to come from a less despite situation than apparently Darius Barzley has experienced, so perhaps I would have made a similar choice where I in his shoes.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Well pick your source Grotto. I haven't heard any analyst saying this was a smart choice. Is that what you're saying, or just being contrary?

There are exactly 31 opinions that matter - Baz's, and the front offices for each team. That's it. That's the list.

Nothing that anybody says now means anything.

 

[orangenirvana]

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

 

[djcon57]

Or if he isn’t.

Look how Q. Green turned out.

Huh? That's essentially like saying "look how Rakeem Christmas" turned out.

The player went to college and is not a high draft pick. I don't see how it's similar at all.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

That's how it's done, everybody. Right there. That.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Oh.

Utah Jazz can reshape the NBA G-League forever with Darius Bazley

 

[GooseMutt]

Aren’t there any wild and crazy guys in Europe we can grab

 

[orangecuse]

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.

If that was his attempt, softening the blow, it failed miserably. The dude is from southern Ohio, about 2 hours from Columbus. OSU was his dream school and why he committed there first. This, in my view, just weakens his credibility when he makes a statement like this, which then, only further makes one (especially someone from a far) question anything he spews verbally or in print.

 

[Arangeman]

Why I’m Going to the G League (what I’m willing to tell you that is)

- By Darius Bazely (or some other dude)

 

[orangecuse]

JB and Bilas have a vested interest and they and everyone opposed better be right because if this kid is in the league next year, it will be a sprint to the G-League.

So, Jay Bilas has a "vested" interest? Please enlighten me on that and how Bilas has a personal stake and/or financial interest in anything this particular 17 year old unproven commodity does.

 

[DaCuse]

Huh? That's essentially like saying "look how Rakeem Christmas" turned out.

The player went to college and is not a high draft pick. I don't see how it's similar at all.

I’m talking about all of the hype around Green and he didn’t exactly turn out to be a stud.

Derius hasn’t really played against good competition yet.

 

[joct]

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.

I never knew it was that high until I'd seen that published in a few other pieces after this decision. I'm curious no taking that further. Of those 38%, how many actually are part of rotations? Or is just the last 4-5 positions on most teams that go back and forth, and never crack a line up, meaning their time in the NBA is not long?

 

[djcon57]

I’m talking about all of the hype around Green and he didn’t exactly turn out to be a stud.

Derius hasn’t really played against good competition yet.

Plenty of guys came to Syracuse hyped and were duds. So again, I'm not sure how him going to the G league changes anything.

 

[sufandu]

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...

I'm glad newsflash #1 is not true of everyone. I've known a lot that would not be described like that.

Delayed gratification is a concept/skill that is eroding in our culture. I wish I had understood it as well as some of my peers when I was younger.