Donnie Nelson: D-League “fastest, most effective” path to the NBA

[Oráiste]

It brings up (kinda) a question:

Best NBA draft prospects of the last 25-30 years. Lebron, Anthony Davis, Shaq, Tim Duncan. Anyone obvious I'm missing?

is David Robinson inside your 30 year window?

 

[Knicks411]

is David Robinson inside your 30 year window?

He would be, I guess I sometimes forget how old i am. I didn't consider him, I would say he has to be in that group, right? He's a little before my time but everything I've read tells me he was right there with those guys.

 

[UnknownOrange]

It brings up (kinda) a question:

Best NBA draft prospects of the last 25-30 years. Lebron, Anthony Davis, Shaq, Tim Duncan. Anyone obvious I'm missing?

Allen Iverson

 

[UnknownOrange]

Allen Iverson

Yao Ming too

 

[Alsacs]

It brings up (kinda) a question:

Best NBA draft prospects of the last 25-30 years. Lebron, Anthony Davis, Shaq, Tim Duncan. Anyone obvious I'm missing?

Greg Oden and Kevin Durant were seen as sure things as well.

 

[jncuse]

If the NCAA decided to stop its phony amatuerism perhaps players could get drafted, get a nice little bonus, and then return to college for development if that is what they or their team thought was better for development.

Some teams like Toronto have very development oriented D-League setups. They work out at world class facilities. They eat well, The head coach was generally an assistant with Toronto before, The draftees playing in D-League have access to same trainers and dieticians. The team is based in a suburb so they have coaching resources when the team is in town. They generally only get sent down on long road trips when the assistants are not available. If used properly by an NBA team the D-League is a good tool. But it is hit or miss depending what team you end up with. It needs to be standardized more. If you end up in Toronto as a pick in the 20's you will be highly respected and they will take a long time trying to develop you before giving up.

The decision to extend roster sizes to 17 instead of 15 is a sign that the NBA is taking the minor league more seriously. It will allow teams to carry extra contracted players and have them develop with the team or in D-League. A major reason first round picks are sometimes given up on quickly is that the NBA is only allowed to carry 15 contracts.

 

[Alsacs]

If the NCAA decided to stop its phony amatuerism perhaps players could get drafted, get a nice little bonus, and then return to college for development if that is what they or their team thought was better for development.

Some teams like Toronto have very development oriented D-League setups. They work out at world class facilities. They eat well, The head coach was generally an assistant with Toronto before, The draftees playing in D-League have access to same trainers and dieticians. The team is based in a suburb so they have coaching resources when the team is in town. They generally only get sent down on long road trips when the assistants are not available. If used properly by an NBA team the D-League is a good tool. But it is hit or miss depending what team you end up with. It needs to be standardized more. If you end up in Toronto as a pick in the 20's you will be highly respected and they will take a long time trying to develop you before giving up.

The decision to extend roster sizes to 17 instead of 15 is a sign that the NBA is taking the minor league more seriously. It will allow teams to carry extra contracted players and have them develop with the team or in D-League. A major reason first round picks are sometimes given up on quickly is that the NBA is only allowed to carry 15 contracts.

2 way contracts are a step in the right direction. The problem is cost though.
Will NBA teams which are cheap be willingly to lose millions of dollars running full D league teams full of their property.
I bet the Toronto Marlies in one weekend homestand draw more fans than the entire season attendance for the Toronto D league team.

 

[upperdeck]

If the NBA spent less money at the top, they would have more money for the bottom and probably end up with a better product

 

[721Comstock]

If the NBA spent less money at the top, they would have more money for the bottom and probably end up with a better product

Completely WRONG.

NOBODY is paying to see the 10th and 11th men on an NBA team play.
Not fans, not advertisers, nobody.

Meanwhile, guys like Lebron and Curry are probably underpaid, regardless of their salaries, since they drive so much of the viewership of the league.

 

[orangetrojan]

I think the NBA really hasn't done anyone any favors on this one. If they made it a requirement for kids to be at least 2 years out of high school it would give NBA teams more film to accurately assess a draft pick and have a better understanding of which kids have star potential and/or the ability to contribute as a role player. They wouldn't need to waste time and money with a d-league if they just created policies that helped make college basketball relevant outside the tournament again.

Instead they have a situation where maybe 1/3 of the entire draft ends up being contributors. I understand there are some kids with undeniable talent (lebron, Kobe) who should just go straight to the NBA, but the majority have no business puttingt heir name in the draft after 1 year of college - I can think of a few Syracuse players that fall into this category. But for some reason the NBA is more than happy to willingly roll the dice on a kid they saw play in the tournament for a few games.

As far as the d-league is concerned, that's a joke. If you get relegated to the d-league just cut your losses and go play in Italy/Greece/Australia and make $300k a year living in a beautiful country instead of living just above the poverty line riding greyhound buses to your games.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Instead they have a situation where maybe 1/3 of the entire draft ends up being contributors.

That's always been true.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Oh, I'm sure the NBA would love that, too. Unpaid internships are great for team owners. The downside right though is that, say there are ~10 players a team targets as potentials, but need some seasoning. Is a team better off letting them blow up in college and being drafted by another team, or taking a player maybe a year too earlier and developing them under their control. Baseball used to have a way around this with draft-and-follow, but they did away with that.

Edited to add: 90% of the guys in the D-League are there so that the odd handful of real prospects can play/practice against decent competition.

Just like minor league baseball

 

[maxxyz]

Just like minor league baseball

The reason the NBA loves the NCAA is that it is a marketing monster. A one and done gets 100x the media coverage that they would in the d-league. A player comes from UNC to play in the league and every fan knows who he is. Baseball prospects in comparison live in a shadow world.

Personally I would love for the d-league to be a minor league system and let the NCAA retain its amateur status. 18 year olds should be able to enter the NBA draft. Three year commitment if you sign scholarship papers. I feel that one and dones have hurt the college game. Wouldn't bother me in the least if 25 of the top 100 guys went pro from HS.

 

[upperdeck]

Completely WRONG.

NOBODY is paying to see the 10th and 11th men on an NBA team play.
Not fans, not advertisers, nobody.

Meanwhile, guys like Lebron and Curry are probably underpaid, regardless of their salaries, since they drive so much of the viewership of the league.

if they paid those guys 5 million a year they would be worse players?

if they paid those guys 5 million a year the avg ticket price would drop by 50% and more people could afford to go and this more people would be fans?

other than the talk on this board I personally do not know one person who follows NBA ball

salaries are high but not because of the value to the league or the sport, all pro athletes are vastly over paid.

and you dispute that if more money was paid to the D league players would have more of reason to be there and stay there and try to get better and that product wouldnt be better and provide better players to the pros?

 

[HOFCeluck]

if they paid those guys 5 million a year they would be worse players?

if they paid those guys 5 million a year the avg ticket price would drop by 50% and more people could afford to go and this more people would be fans?

other than the talk on this board I personally do not know one person who follows NBA ball

salaries are high but not because of the value to the league or the sport, all pro athletes are vastly over paid.

and you dispute that if more money was paid to the D league players would have more of reason to be there and stay there and try to get better and that product wouldnt be better and provide better players to the pros?

The NBA set an attendance record in 2015 and then broke it in 2016. So obviously people are willing to pay their prices.

 

[l'orange]

I'm not sure how this would work but could anyone think of a way to allow college players to be drafted by an NBA team but have the option to finish out school rather than be shipped to Europe or play in the D-League? The team that drafts them retains the rights to them and pays some percentage of their contract while they are in college?

 

[orangenirvana]

I'm posting this here rather than Other Sports because, as the attitudes in this article become more widely known and accepted, it is going to change the nature of college ball. More and more marginal players will opt to leave early (and fewer and fewer quality grad transfers will become available). Why should Battle or Lydon, for example, return when a major NBA talent decision maker is telling them they have a better chance of making it in a league where they are at least getting paid?
D-League Gaining Respect As Minor League System

Solution: start paying the players and/or allow college eligibility to be retained/continued after getting drafted (baseball, hockey).

The phony NCAA system worked well in the 70's and 80's when no one in the public knew better. Now everyone knows (well, most know - others are still in denial) what a charade it all is and the sooner they swallow their pride and start treating these athletes more fairly the better for everyone.

 

[l'orange]

Solution: start paying the players and/or allow college eligibility to be retained/continued after getting drafted (baseball, hockey).

The phony NCAA system worked well in the 70's and 80's when no one in the public knew better. Now everyone knows (well, most know - others are still in denial) what a charade it all is and the sooner they swallow their pride and start treating these athletes more fairly the better for everyone.

DO baseball and hockey allow for a college player to be drafted but have the option to complete their college degree / retain eligibility? That sounds like the perfect solution. Do they get paid a portion of their salary while they complete their degree?

 

[Fly Rodder]

I'm not sure how this would work but could anyone think of a way to allow college players to be drafted by an NBA team but have the option to finish out school rather than be shipped to Europe or play in the D-League? The team that drafts them retains the rights to them and pays some percentage of their contract while they are in college?

That used to happen in baseball where it was called draft and follow. A team could draft a player and retain rights for one year if the player returned to college. There were a couple of issues with it. Namely players could increase their leverage with teams by having a great year and then demanding a much higher salary, or they would return to college for another year and then reenter the draft. The other big issue that they had was tampering. A player would be drafted say 30th round by the Reds, return to college, blow-up, and then have a team like the Yankees whispering in their ear saying that if they would return to college, the Yankees would draft them in the first round (or whatever) and give them a much larger signing bonus.

The NBA has much different contract rules, but ultimately, the NCAA just shouldn't be the de facto minor league system for professional sports. It creates far more headaches than it actually helps. Taking away the top-twenty or so recruits every year and sending them directly to the NBA would not kill NCAA basketball.

 

[Fly Rodder]

DO baseball and hockey allow for a college player to be drafted but have the option to complete their college degree / retain eligibility? That sounds like the perfect solution. Do they get paid a portion of their salary while they complete their degree?

Not sure with the NHL, but baseball is draft, sign, or go back to school and re-enter the draft the following year. A lot of high-end HS players who sign with a MLB team instead of going to college often have a scholarship clause in their contract where the team will pay for their education at any/some point down the road (e.g., they flame out AA, or injury, or even take classes during offseason, etc).

 

[two3zone]

DO baseball and hockey allow for a college player to be drafted but have the option to complete their college degree / retain eligibility? That sounds like the perfect solution. Do they get paid a portion of their salary while they complete their degree?

I know Miami gives lifetime scholarships, not sure how many other schools do.

 

[JrodCuse]

Not all NBA franchises have affiliated D-league teams, but the Heat have done an excellent job of using their affiliated team (Sioux Skyforce) as a farm system of sorts. They're constantly bringing players up from their team and several have stuck in the NBA whether with the Heat or other teams.

 

[Knicks411]

Allen Iverson

My memory is that Iverson wasn't considered a sure thing on the level of the guys I've mentioned. I was 12 though.

.

 

[UnknownOrange]

My memory is that Iverson wasn't considered a sure thing on the level of the guys I've mentioned. I was 12 though.

.

Possibly. Then again AD wasn't a sure thing to EVERYONE (but must had him as the #1 guy)

 

[Knicks411]

Possibly. Then again AD wasn't a sure thing to EVERYONE (but must had him as the #1 guy)

Maybe he was just to me? i remember being convinced the guy was a star. But I would say he was a level below Shaq and LBJ, I buy that.

 

[two3zone]

My memory is that Iverson wasn't considered a sure thing on the level of the guys I've mentioned. I was 12 though.

.

AI was for sure, he came into the league with a lot of fanfare and a lot was expected from him early on. I think he did exceeded expectations but he was thought of as a high level player coming out of school.