NBA Asst GM: The value of staying in school another year

[MonsterGame]

This is the logic that drives me batty. My thinking is this: if CJ was good enough to be an NBA player then he would have shown it this year. If one extra year of college ball is enough to lower your draft stock substantialy, then you probably aren't an NBA caliber talent. I mean if you lowered your draft stock in that extra year, what would you have done in the NBA during that year? You woul be just one year closer to being unemployed. If you get drafted you likely aren't going to play and you will be out of the league in 2 years or so.

So it all gets down to what the goals are. Is the goal just the thrill of hearing your name called at the draft and devil may care if I fail in the NBA or is the goal to have a career in the NBA? You get a year maybe two to prove yourself in that league, then you go on the trash pile and younger players are brought in to replace you. Forget playing skills, what about maturity and the understanding of work ethic, leadership, team concept, etc that people learn in college? Most of us here went to college, don't tell me you learned how to give a presentation to the board of directors of your company in college. You learned how to be prepared, what it took to tly have your bases covered, how to handle defeat, success, struggle, etc. Maybe a guy with some skills is good enough to get drafted but hasn't matured enough yet to keep himself in the league or to do the necessary things to improve enough to get more minutes, etc.

Let me ask you a very simple question. Would you rather have the million dollars I'm offering you or would you rather just say no thanks. (I mean, it's only money right? Smart thing to do is just pass on it right?)

If you are one of the sane people on the planet, who thinks logically, saying yes to the million dollars is extremely, extremely, extremely, EXTREMELY tempting. Many people here are trying to cloud the issue. Money is the most basic issue here. And saying no may end up becoming saying no to the money for good. Yes, it can be gone for good if certain bad things happen and the good things you are hoping for don't fall into place. Living costs money, at least on the planet I live on.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Let me ask you a very simple question. Would you rather have the million dollars I'm offering you or would you rather just say no thanks. (I mean, it's only money right? Smart thing to do is just pass on it right?)

If you are one of the sane people on the planet, who thinks logically, saying yes to the million dollars is extremely, extremely, extremely, EXTREMELY tempting. Many people here are trying to cloud the issue. Money is the most basic issue here. And saying no may end up becoming saying no to the money for good. Yes, it can be gone for good if certain bad things happen and the good things you are hoping for don't fall into place. Living costs money, at least on the planet I live on.

Straw man. The question should be:

Do you want $1M/year for three years right now (end of 1st round), or do you want to roll the dice for a chance at $3M for four years (top 6 picks)?

You are also ignoring that $1M in a single year gets taxed to the high heavens, plus there are agent fees, and a generally higher cost of living associated with being a professional athlete.

 

[MonsterGame]

Straw man. The question should be:

Do you want $1M/year for three years right now (end of 1st round), or do you want to roll the dice for a chance at $3M for four years (top 6 picks)?

You are also ignoring that $1M in a single year gets taxed to the high heavens, plus there are agent fees, and a generally higher cost of living associated with being a professional athlete.

True, best to not take the money at all and avoid the disappointment eh?

The most accurate way to state things would be like this: Choose A or B.

A) Here's your million+ dollars. It's yours if you want to take it.

B) Choose between doors 1 and 2. Behind one of the doors is better exhibited skills, a higher draft pick and a bit more guaranteed money. Still no guarantee you stick in the NBA, but hey, improvement. Behind the other is, injury, unimproved skill level, a drop in guaranteed money/maybe no guaranteed money. Hope you get the right door!

 

[SaltLakeOrange]

True, best to not take the money at all and avoid the disappointment eh?

The most accurate way to state things would be like this: Choose A or B.

A) Here's your million+ dollars. It's yours if you want to take it.

B) Choose between doors 1 and 2. Behind one of the doors is better exhibited skills, a higher draft pick and a bit more guaranteed money. Still no guarantee you stick in the NBA, but hey, improvement. Behind the other is, injury, unimproved skill level, a drop in guaranteed money/maybe no guaranteed money. Hope you get the right door!

Folks, one million dollars will last 10 years MAX...it's not that much money. Especially when that same million will be there in a year. I can also tell you that a SU degree will be worth way more than a million dollars over the course of a lifetime. At the end of the day, it's all about your goals...

 

[MonsterGame]

Folks, one million dollars will last 10 years MAX...it's not that much money. Especially when that same million will be there in a year. I can also tell you that a SU degree will be worth way more than a million dollars over the course of a lifetime. At the end of the day, it's all about your goals...

So, is Grant a bad person for taking the million dollars? Are his priorities all screwed up? Is there no hope for him? Just another lost soul?

Get a grip. Grant is as good a kid as any. Wouldn't surprise me if he turns into a very successful business man someday. Also, don't think anyone here ever said that a million dollars was going to last a lifetime. It won't, well, unless you live like a hermit in some backwoods somewhere, then maybe. I did say it's better than most college grads get over their first 5 to 10 years of work life.

Grant, because of his pedigree, is going to be afforded every opportunity to succeed in the NBA. If he doesn't, it will be because he doesn't have it in him to succeed at that level, not because he didn't stay at SU a year or two more. That I'm certain of.

 

[HoustonCuse]

So, is Grant a bad person for taking the million dollars? Are his priorities all screwed up? Is there no hope for him? Just another lost soul?

Get a grip. Grant is as good a kid as any. Wouldn't surprise me if he turns into a very successful business man someday. Also, don't think anyone here ever said that a million dollars was going to last a lifetime. It won't, well, unless you live like a hermit in some backwoods somewhere, then maybe. I did say it's better than most college grads get over their first 5 to 10 years of work life.

Grant, because of his pedigree, is going to be afforded every opportunity to succeed in the NBA. If he doesn't, it will be because he doesn't have it in him to succeed at that level, not because he didn't stay at SU a year or two more. That I'm certain of.

My point is, once you enter the NBA, the clock is ticking. If you are LeBron James - great, the ticking counts down the time till your next highly lucrative contract. If you are a borderline NBA talent, or a young kid with maturity issues, it is a clock ticking like the expiration date on ground beef. Its funny how difficult we all acknowledge it is for a guy like Roberson to go from being THE MAN at the HS level to being a role player or bench player in college. We all know it is true, there are maturity issues, ego issues, the sudden need to work your ever loving buttoff just to keep one nostril above the water when it was all so easy before, getting coached like you're not the super stud, etc. Now take a guy like Grant who is certainly above average in college but will be probably the worst player on whatever NBA team drafts him (and that is not a shot at the kid, it is just fact when you look at the personnel in the NBA and Grant not even being All-Conference in a down ACC). How will he react? Is he ready to handle that? Is he ready to still get to a high performance level while his rotten meat timer is ticking away? I don't know these answers. I do know that if you matured for another year you have a higher chance at succeeding in that environment and if that year caused your draft stock to drop severely, you know you weren't going to make it anyway (thus all you missed was a late first round payday - which I admit is substantial but not compared to an actual careers worth of earnings in the NBA).