Thamel: Syracuse forward Jerami Grant plans to announce he's declaring for the NBA Draft today.

[jgeorge322]

Have you ever heard of the sophomore jump before. Guys are blowing out their knees and coming back even better these days, blowing out your knee isn't a career ending injury anymore?

man, i cant wait to blow out my knee. i hope it fixes my damn slice.

 

[Briancuse]

yes, but then he is stuck in school for another 2 years, and is out of $2million dollars.

Where did you get two years from, I said he comes back for one year, and how is he out 2 million. If he improves and becomes a lottery pick, he gets more than 2 mil.

 

[AZOrange]

yes, but then he is stuck in school for another 2 years, and is out of $2million dollars.

He could insure against that though.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

He's also paid what in taxes and how long does he plan on living?

IF he developed like guys used to develop he makes more than that in a season.

Or, he doesn't develop or he gets hurt and doesn't get drafted at all.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

He could insure against that though.

Insurance only kicks in if you can't play basketball. It does nothing if an injury hurts your draft stock.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Or, he doesn't develop or he gets hurt and doesn't get drafted at all.

That's the thing people don't get it.

As much as we like to think players will get better as they go, sometimes it doesn't happen.

If Grant doesn't get better (I think he will, just using this as an example), but still gets paid because he was drafted so high, good for him. Better than coming back to try to get better and then end up not getting drafted because you are 2-3 years older and won't make it in the league regardless.

It's a fine line. It's an incredibly tough decision.

 

[AZOrange]

Insurance only kicks in if you can't play basketball. It does nothing if an injury hurts your draft stock.

Ok so the argument to leave is that he could suffer a non catastrophic injury that hurts his draft stock compared to his currently unknown draft stock? I think in grants case the upside to next season was better than the downside injury risk. The draft class is worse, he's going to improve and be the focus. There's simply no way to know now which move was better.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Probably none, but that isn't the point. It is about how much he could have made, and what type of player he could have become.

Prove to us exactly what that would have been, with certainty, and not conjecture. Now, compare that to $5-7 million, in hand, plus any endorsement deals.

 

[anomander]

Where did you get two years from, I said he comes back for one year, and how is he out 2 million. If he improves and becomes a lottery pick, he gets more than 2 mil.

if if if. is it a guarantee that will happen?

do you know his Mother died when he was younger? what if he needed the money for his family?

and you knock him for playing in China, do you know he went to school in Japan?

There is always a lot more to these stories then you see on the surface.

 

[Briancuse]

Prove to us exactly what that would have been, with certainty, and not conjecture. Now, compare that to $5-7 million, in hand, plus any endorsement deals.

What endorsement deals is the 28th pick getting?

 

[bcuse19]

ITT: People who think you only develop as a basketball player by playing more years in college, not while being paid and trained by NBA coaches.

 

[moqui]

That's pretty shabby. Lets say he wants a mortgage, family, etc...that's not a lot of money for a guy who handled himself as a professional athlete.

he's not done earning yet . . . Barring injury, Donte will be making $75K or more per year for the next decade. He can travel the world playing ball, or he can stay in China where he averaged nearly 20 and 8 in China's high scoring CBA this year (19.6 and 7.8). There are over 250 players in the CBA, including a lot of former NBA players (Stephon Marbury and Hakim Warrick, for example). Hak put up 21 and 9 in a half season, and he & Donte were two of just 18 players to be in the top 40 of both rebounding and scoring.

 

[RF2044]

What endorsement deals is the 28th pick getting?

You do understand that endorsements come in all shapes and sizes, right? Not everything has to be a global, national brand. Local businesses are perfectly capable of doing endorsement arrangements, as well.

 

[Briancuse]

You do understand that endorsements come in all shapes and sizes, right? Not everything has to be a global, national brand. Local businesses are perfectly capable of doing endorsement arrangements, as well.

I realize that but I don't think business owners in the sacramento area would be blowing him away with offers.

if if if. is it a guarantee that will happen?

do you know his Mother died when he was younger? what if he needed the money for his family?

and you knock him for playing in China, do you know he went to school in Japan?

There is always a lot more to these stories then you see on the surface.

I know that his mother died when he was younger, but what is one more year?

You make it sound like there was no chance that the kid was going to improve his game. Maybe he likes being in China, I would be miserable there, but no kid with Donte's ability dreams of playing there. When he was playing here, do you think he was thinking about playing in China?

 

[RF2044]

I realize that but I don't think business owners in the sacramento area would be blowing him away with offers.

Not sure why you identified Sacramento, but whatever--the idea is to leverage his pseudo-celebrity status as a professional athlete to make money. It doesn't matter whether said money comes from a shoe company, the local car dealership, or some local restaurant. Stringing together a couple of those smaller endorsements could still net him six figures--which isn't bad for the amount of "work" involved, considering that most college graduates don't come class to making six figures right out of school.

Yes, I think everyone grasps that it would be more ideal to earn a multi-million dollar endorsement deal with Nike, Under Armour, etc. but that will eventually be determined by how well Grant performs. If he plays well as a professional, then the sky is the limit. Otherwise, he'll experience what most fairly nondescript pro athletes do--small scale, local endorsements like the ones described above. And there's nothing wrong with that.

I know that his mother died when he was younger, but what is one more year?

You make it sound like there was no chance that the kid was going to improve his game. Maybe he likes being in China, I would be miserable there, but no kid with Donte's ability dreams of playing there. When he was playing here, do you think he was thinking about playing in China?

Just stop. Donte's mother died unexpectedly while he was in junior high school. He felt responsible for providing for his younger sibling, and had a new baby that had just been born by the end of his freshman year. Ergo, he felt pressure to start earning money.

"What's one more year?" Real easy for someone to say with no skin in the game.

 

[OrangePA]

I just don't think he's that good.

He does have an NBA body or will have an NBA body soon, but that's about it as far as I can see.

At least Tyler knows how to play the game and had moments of dominance at the college level.

I never saw that kind of play from Jeremy.

But I guess the Grants know better.

 

[djcon57]

What percentage of pro bball players go broke? Why do you think it is?

Not sure. Ask SU Graduate Derrick Coleman why he went bankrupt.

Maybe if he stayed 8 years, he would've done better with his money.

 

[Orangeyes]

A college degree in general studies? What do you think Donte Green was going to major in that would make him 5 million dollars?

Can the board drop the naive act here about the majority of these athlete's degrees. Especially with the latest APR requirements.Watch the latest Real Sports.

Donte's story
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/20...089_1_donte-greene-towson-catholic-basketball

 

[JoeSU]

Good for Jerami. Having two 1st round picks this year won't hurt when Autry and Hop are out recruiting. Not saying you have to like it, but having lottery picks every year helps recruiting more than getting to an Elite 8.

Grant and Ennis would be better players than any recruits we might bring in to replace them.

 

[kuethstheman]

Where did you get two years from, I said he comes back for one year, and how is he out 2 million. If he improves and becomes a lottery pick, he gets more than 2 mil.

If he blows out his knee, he'll be stuck in college for a couple additional years (without pay).

 

[AZOrange]

Not sure. Ask SU Graduate Derrick Coleman why he went bankrupt. Maybe if he stayed 8 years, he would've done better with his money.

Coleman's situation is quite different than others but the point is the same...the money has got to last a long time...by comparison Coleman earned over 90mil in his career. Thinking a mil is going to last for 40 years just isn't reasonable. Their earning power is going down not up. Again I don't care what they do with their time and money but I'd like more value on the education. It isn't worthless.

 

[Bayside44]

That was his Uncle Horace, who played for the Bulls. Though he was a very solid player on his own, regardless of who his teammates were.

Eh, twins...same point. Not everyone can ride the coattails of Jeff Ruland...

 

[cuseguy]

how dare he leave. he needs to stay at syracuse so we can win games while he gets paid absolutely nothing. it's absolutely amazing how some people judge these kids decisions with absolutely no knowledge of the backstory just because they are worried about our team next year.

He's selfishly thinking about himself. He has the right, no doubt.

We're selfishly thinking about the team. We have the right.

 

[Bayside44]

he's not done earning yet . . . Barring injury, Donte will be making $75K or more per year for the next decade. He can travel the world playing ball, or he can stay in China where he averaged nearly 20 and 8 in China's high scoring CBA this year (19.6 and 7.8). There are over 250 players in the CBA, including a lot of former NBA players (Stephon Marbury and Hakim Warrick, for example). Hak put up 21 and 9 in a half season, and he & Donte were two of just 18 players to be in the top 40 of both rebounding and scoring.

Hak stayed 4 years, got a lot more developed as a player (as a person maybe, seems like a nice guy) and carved out 10 years in the NBA. If he ran out the door with Melo in 2003 does that happen, or is his lasting memory a fleeting guy who teabagged Royal Ivy?

 

[Bayside44]

If he blows out his knee, he'll be stuck in college for a couple additional years (without pay).

With a degree.