Excellent piece Stephen, thankyou for ordering my thoughts. This draft is going to be like the 2023 draft. Very good players like the 7 you named , but after Cason Wallace there is just a dearth of decent players. Gradey Dick at 13 is a failure; the players picked just before and after him are equally on their way out of the league. Only Podz at 18 has proven to be a viable role player. The Raptors picking at 20 are not going to have many good prospects to choose from.
But the reason this class will be like 2023 is the NIL. If I’m Koa Peat or Hans Steinbach, why would I ever turn down NIL money for one year when I know that jumping from 15th pick this year to say 6th or 7th pick ensures a gain of $3-4 million per year for 4 years?
I love that NIL has made young good players masters of their own destiny and I believe it is going to make the NBA dramatically change the way they think of rookie salaries. Kawhi Leonard left Toronto in 2019 not because he wanted a better team but because he could finally be a master of his own destiny. Wouldn’t it be cool if there was no NBA Draft and no rookie salary scale? Then a team could have offered Cooper Flagg $120 mm for a 4 or 6 year contract. Of course that team would have to manage its cap differently but Vive La Difference!!
What yound college players now need to do is flock to those schools that have real NBA level coaches. If I’m a budding big man, I would beg Mike Malone to take me on for two years. Make some money now but really increase your earning potential by learning the NBA craft.
Excellent piece Stephen, thankyou for ordering my thoughts. This draft is going to be like the 2023 draft. Very good players like the 7 you named , but after Cason Wallace there is just a dearth of decent players. Gradey Dick at 13 is a failure; the players picked just before and after him are equally on their way out of the league. Only Podz at 18 has proven to be a viable role player. The Raptors picking at 20 are not going to have many good prospects to choose from.
But the reason this class will be like 2023 is the NIL. If I’m Koa Peat or Hans Steinbach, why would I ever turn down NIL money for one year when I know that jumping from 15th pick this year to say 6th or 7th pick ensures a gain of $3-4 million per year for 4 years?
I love that NIL has made young good players masters of their own destiny and I believe it is going to make the NBA dramatically change the way they think of rookie salaries. Kawhi Leonard left Toronto in 2019 not because he wanted a better team but because he could finally be a master of his own destiny. Wouldn’t it be cool if there was no NBA Draft and no rookie salary scale? Then a team could have offered Cooper Flagg $120 mm for a 4 or 6 year contract. Of course that team would have to manage its cap differently but Vive La Difference!!
What yound college players now need to do is flock to those schools that have real NBA level coaches. If I’m a budding big man, I would beg Mike Malone to take me on for two years. Make some money now but really increase your earning potential by learning the NBA craft.
All great points, Gerry! Really appreciate your support and feedback!