When NBA general managers act more as though they are a fan instead of a person in charge of making decisions for a franchise they can set back an NBA team for years with one decision. Drafting a player in the NBA or any sports league has to be dealt with as if you were going to the poker table. As “Rusty” taught us from Ocean 11 that to be a good player you must leave emotion at the door. The NBA draft has no guarantees as we have seen great players passed over for players that were not successful at the next level. This is the same in college as many players who are highly recruited do not live up to the expectations that the media and fans set for them. NBA general managers who draft based a combination of potential and success are the ones who maintain those positions for years to come. The NCAA tournament has become a springboard for players to capitalize on their 15 minutes of fame and declare for the draft regardless of how they did all year long. North Carolina’s James Michael McAdoo is the perfect example. During the regular season he averaged a little over six points per game, and looked uncomfortable until about mid-February. In the NCAA tournament he had a a couple good games and led the team in scoring against Kansas with 15 points and all of a sudden he is thinking about the draft. I am not begrudging him for considering it, but as George Lynch put it so eloquently are these players fundamentally ready to go to the league?
With the rookie wage scale teams are not as heavily invested in a pick as they once were. Many of the players who declaring for the NBA are saying if I leave at 20 years old my second contract can come at 23 which will set me up for life. What they are missing is the piece where if they are not fundamentally ready for the league that second contract may never come. As good as some of these players think they are the fact remains that the NBA and all professional teams will replace you if they think the next crop is any better. They are going to the NBA without thinking think failure is an option, and many would say that is just confidence. I say it is just plain stupid. If someone close to them is not willing to say to them your not ready then the friends and family around these players are just trying to get a piece of the pie. If they wont say it I will. JMM you are not ready for the NBA.
My question to JMM or any other player leaving early is do you want to get paid or do you want to be the best in the NBA? If you want to get paid sure take the money now, but if you want to be remembered make sure you are truly ready fundamentally be a success from day one. Tim Duncan could have left with Joe Smith, Rasheed Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse, but he stayed improving his craft until he was ready for the NBA. Kobe and Lebron were ready after high school, but they are exceptions to the rule not the norm.
NBA general managers come out and roll the dice on potential in a few months, a few of them will roll a seven, but more likely they will “crap out.”
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