How much do you think Emoni Bates endorsement deal will be?
He was the No. 5 prospect and a sensation. The counterargument to the point your making is that his value skyrocketed while he was playing for free.
I think he absolutely would have been in line for a huge endorsement deal if his year at Duke was instead a Rookie of the Year campaign in the NBA.
Compared to the G League or overseas, thereās definitely a notable difference, though.
To me, the ādreamā solution is some sort of combination of NIL and draft-and-follow like hockey. Iām picturing something like this:
- Iggy is drafted (either based on age eligibility or years from HS or whatever) by the Knicks
- They now own his rights for a specified period of time (hockey is 4 years, baseball is 3) so that if he wants to go pro at any point in that time frame it would be with them
- He can now talk to their staff on a regular basis about his progress, his development, their roster situation, etc.
- I think he should be able to join their summer league team and still maintain NCAA eligibility
- During this time, the Knicks could provide him with some basic compensation for summer travel, workouts, etc.
- Because of NIL, he can earn some form of compensation while maintaining NCAA eligibility as long as he stays at Michigan. This is complicated and I donāt know how it would work. Maybe it has to be an NCAA approved sponsorship/job, maybe thereās a cap on how much a player can earn, maybe a portion of any NIL earnings goes back to the AD and supports other athletes (title 9, etc.).
- I think the NBA team should be responsible for some level of financial liability by drafting a player. If Iggy leaves after his freshmen year and the Knicks say ā¦ sorry, no spot for you and youāre cutā¦ then they owe him some amount of money based on where they picked him and in relation to the cost of his college education.
Some NBA teams will want players to stay in school longer to develop, some will rush them to the G-league to have more control. You see it in hockey all the timeā¦and it seems to work fine.
I think the secondary benefits, beyond the obvious stability benefits to the players and teams, would beā¦
- NBA fans will start following the NCAA more to see how their draft picks are developing ($$$ for the NCAA)
- NCAA fans may start following NBA teams more to see how their roster is playing out for the future of their favorite players ($$ for the NBA)
- The āriskā to the teams are less because they donāt have to use a roster spot for someone who isnāt ready.
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I agree he would have blown up in the NBA too, but he would have already signed an endorsement deal before that point. If heās the 5th pick out of HS, he probably doesnāt get an endorsement deal worth more $30-40 mill. He would have been way undervalued on his first endorsement deal compared to what he ended up signing for after his year at Duke.
I would just note that the NBA is in the middle of a pretty serious effort to present an alternative to college participation.
I also donāt think youād see a single top 100 kid commit to three years out of HS.
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He would also be a year closer to his second contract and would potentially lengthened his earning potential by a whole year. Both probably worth more than the year playing for free and increasing endorsements by $10-20 million.
Also, everyone knew Zion was going to be a megastar. He might have been ranked 5th but he was the big storyline going into that season.
Trae Young becoming the story of the season is probably a better example, although Iām not sure what his endorsements are like really. I assume a different stratosphere than Zion.
But itās not like he couldnāt sign another endorsement deal after his rookie season
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Would the NBA care more about Dickinson proving mastery in the post, or proving he can can 15-footers and defend the rim? Iām not clear on that, but it seems to me that of the areas in which he could demonstrate productivity as well as potential, post scoring wouldnāt be highest on the NBAās list.
I havenāt made an argument that Zion will earn more money over the entire course of his career by spending one year at Duke.
Also, Zion probably made $30+ mill more from his first shoe deal than he would have otherwise, not $10-20 mill.
I suppose Jumpman could just agree to pay him twice as much as he signed for, but Iām not sure how likely that is. Maybe there is precedent for that, I donāt follow this stuff all too closely.
Not Hunter specific, but I think that NBA teams will first and foremost want centers who are good defensively. NBA teams generally want point guards who are dynamic offensively players and are willing to accept sub-par defenders - center is the opposite. I think there are many ways they would be fine with Hunter skinning the proverbial cat offensively, but I think that theyād want, at the very least, to see him do more than short hooks with his dominant hand.
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No, but itās still directly related to the argument of whether the boost he got from playing in college was more or less beneficial than being able to go pro right away or not.
I donāt know how much we could say his endorsement deals would be without college. Personally, I feel his endorsements have more to do with him than whatever league he would be playing in. He would still have been a unique player in the NBA as a rookie a year earlier. Which would have contributed to more and bigger endorsement deals. More than he got his rookie year with playing in college? Itās hard to say since itās a hypothetical with not much data to back up either argument
Hunter is in an interesting position. I think weāve established his floor - good offensive player, better defender than most thought. Definitely some weaknesses (rebounding out of space, hasnāt shown the range yet, continue to develop countermoves down low). Currently Draftable at the end of the 2nd round with a good possibility of a guaranteed contract (most 2nd round picks end up with several year guarantee).
Not sure the extra year can hurt him, but it could bump him up to the beginning of the 2nd round, maybe sneak into the 1st if he can showcase range. I think even if his numbers slide a bit, heād be pretty much in the same position next year.
So, bottom line is: I honestly wouldnāt fault him if he left to a guaranteed contract, but I feel that most feedback would be to go back for one more year.
Honestly, I donāt even know that ārangeā would help for the NBA unless heās pushing it to the arc. I think theyād want to see him be able to score close in, multiple ways, against NBA-sized centers.
Both? Heās already been really good defensively.
I just look at it like this: most of the points heās scoring right now wonāt really translate to the NBA. More advanced moves on the block and a 3pt shot will give him a translatable way to score.
Alsoā¦ itās a 3pt shot he needs IMO. Not a 15 footer.
did HD shoot 3s in HS?
Yes.
#7 here.
Itās 3 pt shooting and defense that NBA cares a lot at C position. Dickinsonās lack of athleticism will be limiting at what he can do on defense which is why Juwan has him doing drop coverage. Dickinson showed that he can shoot 3s in HS but college level is a different beast. If he can extend that range to 3 pt shot in addition to advanced post moves, he can improve his stock.
To me, heās good defensively in college level but he wonāt be nearly as good in the NBA because of spacing and his lack of athleticism. Heās not Garza bad because he at least put forth an effort into it and can defend reasonably well.
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