If you’ve been paying attention to the basketball news cycle you may have noticed a pair of stories, that in isolation might not seem all that significant, but in concert with some other recent developments could serve as harbinger of much bigger headlines to come.
One story in question was Darius Bazley’s recent decision to forgo his freshman year at Syracuse in order to accept a $1 million ‘internship’ with New Balance. ESPN has Bazley ranked as the the 13th best prospect in his class. Then there was the news that the NBA’s G League planned to start offering elite NCAA recruits $125,000 salaries to skip college and immediately turn pro.
The two stories aren’t going to change basketball overnight, but make no mistake: they’re both bad news for the NCAA.
Here’s why.
The $125,000 “professional path contract” the G Leagueis offering will target elite NBA prospects i.e. “one-and-done” players who are at least 18 years of age, but not yet eligible for the NBA draft. Unlike the NCAA, this route provides prospects with the chance to play and train with and against professionals, while also earning some decent cash.
The announcement comes at a time when the NCAA continues to face heavy scrutiny for its inability to compensate players, at least above board.
On Oct. 24, a jury delivered guilty verdicts in college basketball’s “pay-for-play” case against Christian Dawkins (ex-runner for NBA agent Andy Miller), James Gatto (adidas employee) and Merl Code (ex-adidas consultant). The men were found guilty of felony wire fraud charges and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
The case revealed that the men conspired to pay $100,000 to the father of recruit Brian Bowen to convince his son to play at Louisville. They also conspired to pay $90,000 to former Kansas prospect Billy Preston. The case is the first of three brought forward by the government on allegations of recruits (or their parents) being paid to attend certain schools.
But now, recruits will have a domestic alternative to the NCAA that will allow them to be paid without damaging their NBA draft eligibility.
Back to Bazley, who had originally committed to play at Syracuse, but withdrew this past March. He then signed with Rich Paul of Klutch Sports in May. Paul represents current NBA stars such as Klutch co-founder LeBron James, Anthony Davis, John Wall and Ben Simmons.
All four were first overall draft picks and either one and done NCAA players, or in the case of James, didn’t attend college at all. It’s also noteworthy that SpringHill Entertainment (owned by James) recently co-produced the documentary “Student Athlete,” a film that in the eyes of CNN is a “stinging rebuke of collegiate athletics and the organizing NCAA.”
Bazley, who is projected to be a late lottery to mid first round pick, is betting on himself as he told the New York Times “this is my risk, I’m going to go ahead and do it this way and succeed, even when others say I won’t.”
Paul negotiated Bazley’s $1 million-dollar deal with New Balance, a deal that could pay up to $14 million if he meets all of his performance bonuses. During his “internship,” Bazley will live in Boston and train with New Balance trainers. As an intern, he’ll learn the business of designing shoes, signing athletes, marketing and social media strategy. He’ll enter the NBA Draft with more knowledge about the business of the game and being a professional than anyone else in his draft class.
Down the road, imagine a near future when the next R.J. Barrett comes along. Instead of choosing a NCAA school for a one and done year, he instead opts to sign with the G League’s Raptors 905. In this scenario, the player gets paid to play professionally close to home, can pursue local endorsement deals and fans can watch him play for a fraction of NBA prices.
If it seems far fetched, it’s only because it’s a such a radical departure from current basketball norms.
But consider the following.
• Vlad Guerrero Jr was 16 when he signed a $3.9 million professional contract with the Toronto Blue Jays.
• Alphonso Davies was just 14 when he joined the Whitecaps FC Residency in 2015. When Davies signed with Whitecaps FC 2 in 2016, he became the youngest player signed to a USL contract at 15 years, and three months. Davies, who is still just 17, has since signed a deal with Nike and been a fixture in the “Dream Crazy” commercial Colin Kaepernick made famous. In July, Davies was sold to Bayern Munich for a MLS record $13.5 million and could end up close to $22 million based on performance incentives in his contract that runs until 2023. Davies will join the club early in 2019 after making $72,500 to play for Vancouver this season.
So why should we continue to expect basketball players to suppress their earning potential during their teens and early 20s if the market is interested in compensating them?
Barrett’s Duke teammate Zion Williamson has 1.8 million Instagram followers. To put that into context, the Toronto Raptors have 1.5 million. Duke has 760,000. These players are massive brands before they receive their high school diplomas.
The recent G League announcement suggests Adam Silver is no longer willing to sit around and wait for the NCAA to sort itself out.
In September of 2017 when Condoleezza Rice and several members of the Rice Commission were instructed to study the NCAA’s many issues, their report delivered in April this year determined college players deserve ownership of their name and likeness. Six months later the NCAA is still mulling over the assessment. But they better not deliberate too much longer because the industry they’ve propagated as amateurism is evolving quickly.
Darius Bazley may be an anomaly today, but in a few years time, history may view him as an early adopter of trend that could be a major disruptor to the traditional road to the NBA for North America’s top high school athletes.
