Ingram just signed his max extension with Nawlins. It averages out to just under $32 mil per season (starts at $27.2 mil and escalates to $36.0 mil in year five). Not a bad payday...
Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?
A couple of thoughts about the massive salaries these days...
-All the end of this new contract, Gordon Hayward will have earned close to $300MM in salary over his career.
-Miles Plumlee earned $55MM in his brief NBA career and Mason's new contract will put him near $70MM when it ends. You think they'll set up a little trust fund for their soldier brother who only managed to scrape together $650K over a few years in the L?
-At the end of this contract, Lebron will be close to $400MM in salary. Can he hang on to be the first $500MM career salary player, which would probably mean 4 more years still being paid top dollar?
-Will these numbers keep getting bigger? How soon will we get to the point where a player earns $1B in salary over the course of their career? Is that player named Jayson Tatum? Brandon Ingram? Zion? Will his body last?
Won't last if TV doesn't pick up.
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
The China factor looms large as the league was very popular and the loss of that TV deal was big, but it looks like that relationship may be on the mend. I think the global growth of broadcast/streaming rights is really big because it is a polarizing league here in the US. Obviously, we've also got to get past the global pandemic era and get people back into stadiums.
Very fair, I shortchanged him. I am glad the league owners did not!
The money is crazy!!! As a (mostly) free market capitalist, it shouldn't bother me. I have to confess to some jealousy, at worst, or doubts, at best, about a system that awards players to this degree.
I made up my mind 20 years ago that I would never again pay to watch an NBA game. I decided that I didn't want to reward owners or players with my hard earned dollars to support their crazy lifestyles. I go to a game when someone takes me but won't pay for a ticket.
There probably is a "foolish consistency" in my position because I like the NBA game, although not nearly as much as the college game, and generally enjoy watching Duke players succeed in the NBA.
Feel free to disagree with me but, from my perspective, the NBA has gotten a bit "preachy" on social issues in the past year. I don't mean to disrespect any person and I'm not telling them to "shut up and dribble" but I'm not particularly interested in the political or social perspective of most of these young men. They may or may not be right but I can think of much better sources of information than the typical 21 year old NBA player. I think there is a minor, temporary backlash against this NBA political advocacy that will probably disappear when we get back to regular basketball with fans in attendance.
So, good for Brandon Ingram, by all accounts a good kid and certainly a good player.
I don't have a problem with these young guys calling out issues of systemic racism, police violence, etc. Even if it doesn't add depth to my understanding of the issues, it does still call my attention to them - which is a good thing in my book! In my profession, information and empathy are two sides of the same coin. To optimally meet people's needs or solve people's problems, you need both information and empathy/compassion. And I don't think there's an question that some of these athletes are raising more opportunities to encourage empathy for those who have experienced some of these issues. An added bonus is that it makes you extra happy for some of these guys who are coming out of rough situations and signing these mega contracts. Good for them!
That said, I'll draw a distinction between the individual players, and the league as a whole. It's hard to listen to a collective league preach about social justice when the message is inconsistent. And that's where I push back a little bit. They're definitely ahead of other leagues on domestic issues but their hands ain't completely clean, especially when you leave the borders of the US.
Thinking of Daryl Morey and China here, FWIW.
The deadline for Sacramento to match the Hawks' offer sheet for Bogdan Bogdanovic must have passed by now (the sheet agreement was announced on Sunday, and the original team has 48 hrs to match).
I'm really hoping the deal holds, as I think that could be a really nice get for the Hawks. I think they overpaid for Rondo and he's a bit of a weird fit other than for veteran leadership (which, to be fair, is a nice thing for this team to be adding), but other than that, I think they've had a really intriguing offseason and I'm excited to watch this team. They should compete for a playoff spot in the East.
I love Duke Basketball and am thrilled every time I attend a game at CIS (about 6-8 times per season), but the college game has become increasingly unwatchable over the past 10-15 years or so.
The refereeing is consistently awful and there are so many ticky-tack fouls — with the resultant incredibly boring free throws, which absolutely kills momentum and flow — that it is mind-numbing.
The main thing that keeps me going are the games I am fortunate to be able to attend at CIS. If not for that I probably wouldn’t watch any games at all — other than Duke games in the ACC tournament, and quite a few of the NCAA tournament games. Beyond that, though? Nope.
And don’t even get me started on the OAD travesty (at least from a selfish fan perspective). The fact that we barely get to know most of the better players at Duke before they leave for the NBA has fundamentally changed the experience for the fan. There is no comparison between what it was like to be a Blue Devils fan from Coach K’s first few seasons up until when Kyrie Irving opened the OAD floodgates (no, I’m not forgetting about Maggette and Deng).
And now that I’m not even going to be able to attend games at CIS this year I’m afraid this entire season might just kind of disappear for me. I guess we’ll see how it goes. But Marty, more power to you. The college game needs more fans like you.
Frank reportedly signed with Oklahoma City. Their roster is in flux with all their moves so it is a little early to tell how good of an opportunity this is.
The NBA salary cap is a little more complicated than that. The contracts do not exactly match the amount of money that the players get. The actual money that goes to players has to match the percentage negotiated in the CBA. In this case where the salary cap is rising, but revenue is not matching that, teams actually claw back some of that money. Had the players not made the agreement on the handling of the salary cap in the pandemic era, players not under contract would have been doubly hurt, having less available money to sign and then probably also getting less money than that once all the calculations took place.
I really see him as a guy who can be a rotation player on the right team. As you say, OKC is a bit chaotic right now, but their shrewd front office usually only acquires players that they think are solid assets (not to be crude about it), so I am sure they think he's developable or has value on the trade market. They have so many decent guards on the roster right now.
In looking up the roster, I saw that they are still paying Kyle Singler $1M per year for the next few years via the stretch provision.
That's great news for Frank! The Thunder have a ton of guards and even more draft picks stocked up. It makes you wonder who is going to play this season and who gets moved or sent to the G-League.
Of the Duke guys that played in the NBA last season, here is who I think is still unsigned:
Marques Bolden
Quinn Cook
Trevon Duval
Amile Jefferson
Lance Thomas
Of that group, I think Bolden might have an outside shot at signing a contract with Cleveland to be a backup behind Andre Drummond. Most likely, he'll be in the G-league for some or most of the year again.
Cook is tough to tell. He's a very good shooter at a position for which you want shooting. I could see him landing on a contender, like he has the past couple of years, or signing with a team that has young guards like the Cavs.
Duval, unless he shows a ton of improvement in his shot and commitment to defense, it's hard to see him getting onto an NBA roster. The overseas route looks to be in his future.
Jefferson is a guy that has absolutely killed it in the G-League but has yet to stick on an NBA roster. Is this the year?
Thomas was a surprise addition to the Brooklyn Nets in the bubble and even started a few games. He's made nearly $25 million in his NBA career but may be just about finished. Still, he might end up signing as a vet. Who would have guessed he was going to be a career 38% 3-point shooter coming out of Duke?
Javin DeLaurier also signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Charlotte. We might see him make an appearance in an NBA game this year. Like Lance Thomas, he could be an interesting player if he ever figures out how to shoot the ball.
Who would’ve thought Coach K had an offensive weapon like Lance with his gun holstered? Geez, if K had unleashed him properly (by encouraging Lance to take a lot more 3-point shots) he would have probably shot 43-44% from three, right? If he can shoot 38% in the NBA that would likely translate to 43-44% in college, don’t you think?
Anyway, I’m mostly joking 🙃
Frank got some good run with the Pelicans in the bubble and looked good. Remember he missed his entire first year in the league due to surgery. His shot has really improved. I'm surprised he lasted thia long. If hes given a chance this year i think he can earn good minutes off the bench.