Sunday, June 28, 2015

NBA Draft A Gamble For Most

The NBA has a two round draft where 60 players names are called out.  If you are one of the first 30 names you are guaranteed at least a three year million a year contract.  The top picks get much more. Thursday night Montrezl Harrell missed the big big money by two names.

Houston called his name as the 32nd pick.  A trip to Houston on Friday to be introduced to the Houston media what Harrell gets for all this is a 13,000 dollar contract to play in the summer league. When preseason practices starts if he plays well he will be invited to training camp to try to make the Rockets.

Since April 60 players declared for the draft.  If there are only 60 spots that declared got drafted right?  Sorry but no foreign player had to declare.  10 that declared never heard their name including Trevor Lacy from NC State.  Saturday Lacy signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Cavaliers  which will send him to that 13,000 dollar contract just like Montrezl Harrell in the summer league.  

Every  player  that is a second rounder or free agent basically will be interviewing for every team just in case for Harrell the Rockets say no thanks don't come to preseason camp or Lacy Cleveland says no we don't think you fit our system.  Other teams that have watched them play could call or basketball in a foreign country  is next.

So picked 32nd Harrell will start with  $13,000 for the summer with $40 meal money.  A far cry of Almost all NBA players.  There are 55 NBA players who make at least ten million a year led by Kobe Bryant who had to have extra pockets to haul around his 23.5 million for less than ten games played.  A total of 335 players make a million and the lowest paid player who sat on the bench for at least 80 per cent of the games made $379 thousand.

Having watched Montrezl play games at North Edgecombe I think the reason he didn't go in the top 30 was his height.  He is listed at 6 feet 8 inches.  If he is a power forward in the NBA he will need more weight to push some of those 275 pounds big men around.  If he going to make it as a swing forward he needs to improve his jump shot from at least 15-20 feet.  It is almost as if he is a tweener not big enough to be a power player and not a jump shooter enough to play outside.
There was only one players named called out during the draft and that was the number one pick.  Everyone says there is no doubt he will be a great pro.  Everybody else had a part of their game that they had to do better.  So there is not much difference in ability from number  2 player to 32.

The difference is the money.  If Montrezl wants some of it then his road is Much  harder to make  it.  He is not costing Houston any money so if they drop him they lose only  pocket change.  Between now and the opening of the NBA season he has to play better than he ever has in his life just to Make it to Houston's preseason camp.  If he survives the camp and signs a NBA contact he could sit  the bench all year and make 507 thousand a year.  

No comments: