Well said AC, I also think the 2-way contracts have an impact. The contracts are over $200K now and most teams have 2 spots. This seems to stretch the open roster positions and allow for a transition into the league. $200K is a nice starting salary to chace your dreams.
1 Like
17 Likes
Legit question, for sure. Or, does he get to play a full, healthy season on a good team and show that he can continue to hit 40% from three and 90% from the FT line while teams are learning to defend three other NBA talents (Christopher, Wagner, Todd) in the rotation? None of us knowā¦and neither does he really.
I am guessing he will he will get mostly undrafted grades. So I assume that means he returns.
Baseless speculation, but Iāll bet he comes back
6 Likes
I would love to read a piece that details this whole process somewhere. What was it like for Iggy and Poole last year? Ever public grade or draft profile said Poole was barely a second rounder and Iggy was a solid second rounder. We expected them to stay based on that. And yet Poole gets into the first round, Iggy is a early second round. They both had to spend time in the G-league this year and arenāt sure of their futures beyond this season. How did that work? How did they make their decision? Who did they consult with? Fascinating to me.
(I also canāt believe no one has written a total expose on the process of being recruited as a 5-star and details all of the sordid things offered, given, said, etc.)
2 Likes
The thing to remember about the process is that it is much more about conversations between agents, front offices and prospects than about what is written about the process or speculated.
Scouting reports and things like that are great content and some people do really great work but donāt really have anything to do with the process.
2 Likes
Another quote here. If a team tells him they will draft him, heās gone. I just wonder how commonplace those guarantees are for a guy thatās not on big boards anywhere with no in-person workouts coming to change that.
They both have multi-year guaranteed contracts. Iām not sure how they are unsure of their futures beyond this season.
4 Likes
Hey, I agree with you and Iām not saying they made the wrong decisions. But Iggyās deal was for two years at the league minimum (3rd is a team option) and he played just 9 games for the woeful Knicks this year.
Poole got tons of playing time (57 games) for a good franchise having a down year. Heās making more money than Iggy but also only has two years guaranteed with team options beyond that.
Both will make more money than us mortals, but both enter next season on the last for-sure year of their deal with roles that arenāt clear for their respective franchises.
He seems to have said more about this process than any of our other guys combined.
3 Likes
Jordan Pooleās deal has $4 million in guaranteed money. Ignas Brazdeikisā deal has $2 million in guaranteed money.
The fact that they might not have an obvious path forward to being a 10-year pro just means to me that they probably arenāt 10-year pros.
Most guys weighing a stay-or-go decision would go immediately if they had a guarantee to get a two-year guaranteed deal. Just my opinion.
5 Likes
Youāre absolutely right that Livers would fit perfectly onto next yearās team because he is the perfect player to be efficient in a low usage role.
I think from his perspective though, thatās also going to be the main drawback in him staying. If he remains in the same role, what can he really show off that he hasnāt already, other than being healthier and perhaps more athletic.
1 Like
Some more from Isaiah
3 Likes
Iām curious why you think he canāt guard at an NBA level.
Not quick enough to guard wings, not big enough to guard 4s
There are a fair amount of undersized 4ās in the NBA these days, especially off the bench.
2 Likes
I think heās a small ball four all the way. Heāll stick.
4 Likes
He. has not been a better defender than Morris or Wilson. Comparable but not better than their last years
Heās made for the Rockets new style. But letās see if theyāre still running that in a couple of years and go again in A2 next year.