High Schooler Starting a Trend?

[etothep]

First highly-touted prep star Brandon Jennings opts to play in Europe (instead of Arizona) and now already established NBA player Josh Childress to follow suit?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-childressgreece072108&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

[Arctic Blast]

Wow, can't say I blame him...nobody in the NBA is going to throw almost $7 mil a year at him!

[etothep]

Childress officially signed the contract today

[gRYFYN1]

Yea no team had more than the mid lvl exception (5.5m) to offer anyways, and it not like a lot of team are itching for an 11-5 6th man who plays average defense that wants 8 mil a year.

[jcbarr]

8 mil a year is a steal in the NBA for a guy that is of any quality at all. Take a look around the league at the salaries that those guys are making. It is absolutely crazy how much they get paid to sit on the bench. I don't blame the guy either. He is young enough that he can still come back to the NBA one day if he wants to, and he now gets the chance to go to Europe and make big bucks and be a big superstar.

[Arctic Blast]

Yep, smart move by Childress, and smart move by NBA teams not paying out that kind of money.

[gRYFYN1]

8 mil a year is a steal in the NBA for a guy that is of any quality at all.

Really James Posey just inked a 4 year 25 mil deal, and he a good scorer and a plus defender, he also has alot of big game expierence, side-by-side teams would take Posey over Childress.

[Arctic Blast]

I dunno...Posey has been known for a very inconsistent work ethic in the past. He's cashing in on his title ring, and this turn out to be a bad signing, overall.

[jcbarr]

Posey is just a money grubber anyhow. The NBA blows my mind though. Seriously though go take a look at what some guys out there are making right now and compare that to some of the guys that are actually quality players. I think you will be suprised at how many guys are sitting on the bench making a ton of money.

Seems like it certain years a lot of teams will clear cap space and then they just go crazy and overpay players. Then for a few years most teams will be strained so they actually start signing guys for what they should be. Then it all starts over again in a few years after that.

[howardryan6]

I guess: Moar Dough>Bettah Legue to him. I can't say I would have done that.

[Arctic Blast]

I guess: Moar Dough>Bettah Legue to him. I can't say I would have done that.

A LOT more dough. See, in the Greek league, that 6 or 7 mil a year is AFTER taxes...that's what he'll actually bank. As opposed to the 5 mil he would have made in the NBA...40% or so of which the government would have taken. On top of that, the Greek leagues rent apartments/condos for their players, so no rent or house payments, and he can easily get himself a free car every year for simply endorsing the dealer, so no car payments.

And, instead of playing 12 minutes a game, he's one of the better players...and he gets to play for Olympiakos, who are a powerhouse in that league most years, instead of the Hawks (yeah, they made the playoffs last year, but does anyone think they WON'T somehow screw it all up and be awful in 2 years?).

VERY nice deal.

[howardryan6]

But, he has to live in a sh*tty country.

[Frijolito]

I wish some foreign league would sign Dan Gadzuric.

[asianinvasion]

But, he has to live in a sh*tty country.

What's wrong with Greece?

[gRYFYN1]

Posey is just a money grubber anyhow.

Seems like it certain years a lot of teams will clear cap space and then they just go crazy and overpay players. Then for a few years most teams will be strained so they actually start signing guys for what they should be. Then it all starts over again in a few years after that.

I don't really see how posey is. He signed with one of the top team in the NBA, a team that is a contenter.

And as far as over paying players .... um that isn't an NBA thing they do that in EVERY sport.

[jcbarr]

So staying with the Celtics who have the inside track to win it all again was not a good idea? I guess I am just old school. I hate watching these guys just flip through teams like pages in a book.

[ohms_law]

Greece is a gorgeous country. I don't much care for the politics there, but I'd still live there.

[Passed Ball]

I don't blame him. Its in his best interest to accept money to play basketball instead of playing for a college for no money. Besides, it is unfair to the college student who wants to attend that college to learn but loses his or her spot to an athlete who is only there because certain sports leagues are too cheap to develop their own players.

I welcome the trend of American basketball players going to Europe. Maybe the NBA will see reason and abolish the stupid age minimum and salary cap (obviously, those billionaire owners have plenty of money to be able to more than afford developing their own players and paying them their market wage).

[Arctic Blast]

First off, Childress is NOT a guy leaving the college system to go pro...he's been in the NBA for several years already. Secondly, there were so many colossal straight out of high school draft busts that the NBA wanted to put in an age minimum. Thirdly, it's not the fault of the NBA that the NCAA hands scholarships to players...blame the NCAA, who get to rake in BILLIONS on the players backs while not giving anyone anything, and, oh yeah, they don't pay taxes on it! Fourthly, abolishing a salary cap will result in the following...6 teams spending about a zillion bucks on players, while everyone else has nothing.

Edit : I just remembered that initially, the conversation was also discussing the high school kid going to play in Europe. The kid who, by the way, it appears cheated on his SATs to try and pass the college pre-requisites. Yes, what a shame that this 'angel' is being prevented from going to play hoops at the U level.

And finally, Greece is a great country! Can't remember who was hammering on it earlier, but, really...it's a nice place to visit.

[etothep]

So staying with the Celtics who have the inside track to win it all again was not a good idea? I guess I am just old school. I hate watching these guys just flip through teams like pages in a book.

Haha, I'm sure if another company came and offered you a major raise in salary, that you would say no so that you could stay loyal to the current company you work for :rolleyes:

[etothep]

Next to go [back] overseas?

http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/59535

[filihok]

Haha, I'm sure if another company came and offered you a major raise in salary, that you would say no so that you could stay loyal to the current company you work for :rolleyes:

Exactly!

And per a couple of other posts: The college athletic system could use a major overhaul. They are profiting like mad of these kids and giving them a minimal return. I don't know if there is, but there should be, some regulation to make sure the money made on college athletics goes to back into the school in the form of scholorships or something.

I agree that the NBA minimum age requirement should be scrapped. If IBM or McDonalds wants to hire some kid straight out of high school, they are completely free to.

[etothep]

I agree that the NBA minimum age requirement should be scrapped. If IBM or McDonalds wants to hire some kid straight out of high school, they are completely free to.

Then I assume you have no issues with the NBA drafting kids who have yet to graduate from high school? I mean the legal working age here in the US ranges by state from 14-16, so is there a problem with a 16 year old leaving school for the NBA draft?

[filihok]

Then I assume you have no issues with the NBA drafting kids who have yet to graduate from high school? I mean the legal working age here in the US ranges by state from 14-16, so is there a problem with a 16 year old leaving school for the NBA draft?

I don't think a 16 year old has legal right to sign a contract. I think you have to be 18. But, your point is taken

[gRYFYN1]

So staying with the Celtics who have the inside track to win it all again was not a good idea? I guess I am just old school. I hate watching these guys just flip through teams like pages in a book.

Look Im a celts fan, but they weren't giving Posey a long term contract, if anything they'd try to get him for a Mid-level exception (about 5.5 mil). An actually Posey didn't get a lot more than that from NO ( 6.25 per year) but he wanted a longer.

And just because Olympkanos wants to overpay Childress isn't the end of the World. He's really barely worth 7 mil a year let alone the 10-11 mil it would take to match the value of the deal.

Just because there are over payed players in the league dosen't mean they should all be. I mean just cuz Gagne is making 10 mill for the brewers to be a bad middle reliever does that mean all middle relievers should make 10 mil?

[etothep]

Ex-high school star Tyler, 18, quits Israeli team (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5008825)


Former U.S. high school basketball star Jeremy Tyler quit Israeli team Maccabi Haifa and returned home Friday, cutting short a disappointing first pro season.

The 18-year-old Tyler arrived in Israel on a wave of publicity in August after deciding to skip his senior year at San Diego High School to gain professional experience.

However, his time in Israel was fraught with problems, and he left five weeks before the end of the season.

"Due to personal matters, Jeremy chose to leave the team on his own will on March 18 and return home to San Diego," Maccabi Haifa owner Jeffery Rosen said in a statement. "We wish Jeremy all the best."

In the 10 games Tyler played for Haifa, the 6-foot-11 power forward averaged only 2.1 points and 1.9 rebounds in 7.6 minutes. Tyler, who reportedly earned a $140,000 salary, found it hard to adapt to the pro game and couldn't find a place in Maccabi Haifa's starting lineup.

Tyler's agent said he wasn't aware of his client's plans to leave the team.

"I'm as surprised as you are. We had no idea he was coming home," Makhtar Ndiaye of the Wasserman Media Group told ESPN's Willie Weinbaum. "I'm speechless at this point and look forward to speaking with Jeremy. A contract, a learning process -- things weren't great -- but it was part of growing up. I'm disappointed and frustrated."

Tyler's frustration was evident. Last month, he walked out on the team at halftime to protest not getting more minutes. For the last three games, he sat on the bench not wearing a uniform after being left off the Haifa squad.

Ndiaye said he spoke to Tyler earlier this week and "everything was cool."

"The kid decided on his own," Ndiaye said. "We did everything humanly possible to make it a success story for him and his family."

Evidently Brandon Jennings made it easier than it looks. Though, in his defense, I do think that playing in Europe would be far simpler than playing in a place like Israel.

[free2131]

So, an 18 year old that is arrogant, moody, and quits when faced with hardship?

He'll go FAR in life.

[gRYFYN1]

it looks alot worse for him cuz he quit, teams will hold that much more against him than any performance level --

--Jennings didn't exactly shoot the lights out, in fact, his 5.5 PPG/ 1.6 Reb / 2.2 Ass on 31% - all looked pretty bad

-- But once in the NBA his skills came thorugh and he looks like a top notch players