First round pick may not receive a contract

Old Man Game · Post #1 » by **Old Man Game** » Wed Jul 23, 2014 5:25 pm

I was curious what thoughts were on this story amongst the broader draft watching nba fanbase here.

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/ ... -d-league/

Basically the belief is the Thunder may not even sign Huestis this year, who should have a guaranteed deal coming his way as a first round pick. Instead he'll be offered a deal with the D League affiliate. To be clear, not a D League assignment, a D League contract paying D League money (25 grand/season). Effectively a draft and stash.

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Post #2 » by **Marcus** » Wed Jul 23, 2014 6:36 pm

he was reach of a pick anyway.

DK-All Day · Post #3 » by **DK-All Day** » Wed Jul 23, 2014 8:56 pm

Sucks for him.

ManualRam · Post #4 » by **ManualRam** » Wed Jul 23, 2014 9:21 pm

i see no incentive for huestis to defer his nba rookie contract. too much risk.
i hope he doesn't do that.

Post #5 » by **bondom34** » Wed Jul 23, 2014 10:43 pm

According to Lowe, he agreed to this before the draft, only would do it for OKC or the Spurs. He didn't know if he'd be drafted at all, so I guess he wanted some guarantee of a future in the league instead of not knowing if he'd be drafted. Really weird.

Post #6 » by **Marcus** » Wed Jul 23, 2014 10:46 pm

bondom34 wrote:According to Lowe, he agreed to this before the draft, only would do it for OKC or the Spurs. He didn't know if he'd be drafted at all, so I guess he wanted some guarantee of a future in the league instead of not knowing if he'd be drafted. Really weird.

guess that would explain OKC taking him in the first place.

Post #7 » by **bondom34** » Wed Jul 23, 2014 10:47 pm

Marcus wrote:
bondom34 wrote:According to Lowe, he agreed to this before the draft, only would do it for OKC or the Spurs. He didn't know if he'd be drafted at all, so I guess he wanted some guarantee of a future in the league instead of not knowing if he'd be drafted. Really weird.

guess that would explain OKC taking him in the first place.

Yeah, pretty much. Seemed like a reach pick at the time, this explains it.

Post #8 » by **Marcus** » Wed Jul 23, 2014 10:50 pm

bondom34 wrote:
Marcus wrote:
bondom34 wrote:According to Lowe, he agreed to this before the draft, only would do it for OKC or the Spurs. He didn't know if he'd be drafted at all, so I guess he wanted some guarantee of a future in the league instead of not knowing if he'd be drafted. Really weird.

guess that would explain OKC taking him in the first place.

Yeah, pretty much. Seemed like a reach pick at the time, this explains it.

especially since they got MitchMac earlier in the draft they could take a chance with a throwaway

ManualRam · Post #9 » by **ManualRam** » Wed Jul 23, 2014 10:53 pm

bondom34 wrote:According to Lowe, he agreed to this before the draft, only would do it for OKC or the Spurs. He didn't know if he'd be drafted at all, so I guess he wanted some guarantee of a future in the league instead of not knowing if he'd be drafted. Really weird.

that would be illegal, no?

Old Man Game · Post #10 » by **Old Man Game** » Wed Jul 23, 2014 11:10 pm

ManualRam wrote:
bondom34 wrote:According to Lowe, he agreed to this before the draft, only would do it for OKC or the Spurs. He didn't know if he'd be drafted at all, so I guess he wanted some guarantee of a future in the league instead of not knowing if he'd be drafted. Really weird.

that would be illegal, no?

It seems like it would be. But I've yet to find anything saying it definitively is.

Grits n Gravy · Post #11 » by **Grits n Gravy** » Wed Jul 23, 2014 11:51 pm

ManualRam wrote:
bondom34 wrote:According to Lowe, he agreed to this before the draft, only would do it for OKC or the Spurs. He didn't know if he'd be drafted at all, so I guess he wanted some guarantee of a future in the league instead of not knowing if he'd be drafted. Really weird.

that would be illegal, no?

Isn't it no different than international guys agreeing to go back overseas?

Post #12 » by **bondom34** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 12:08 am

Yeah, not sure if it's illegal or not. And if so, I'd think they'd need more proof than the agent, but don't know.

ManualRam · Post #13 » by **ManualRam** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 12:15 am

Grits n Gravy wrote:
ManualRam wrote:
bondom34 wrote:According to Lowe, he agreed to this before the draft, only would do it for OKC or the Spurs. He didn't know if he'd be drafted at all, so I guess he wanted some guarantee of a future in the league instead of not knowing if he'd be drafted. Really weird.

that would be illegal, no?

Isn't it no different than international guys agreeing to go back overseas?

no. with int'l players they're often times still under contract with another pro team, so buyout and timetable discussions are a given. with college draftees there is no buying out. with slotted salaries for 1st rounders, the only negotiations that take place are the % of the slotted salary taken, and that comes after the player is drafted, not before.

ark_23 · Post #14 » by **ark_23** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 8:12 am

This likely needs to be explored further with regards to its legality. Rule 7.04(a) of the NBA's bylaws reads: "Prior to the annual NBA Draft, Members may have preliminary discussions with players eligible for the Draft, but may not discuss the matter of compensation."

It would appear that this agreement between Huestis and the Thunder would violate that agreement, though that isn't something I can state with 100% certainty.

Have to wonder if the long-term ramifications are more important than this mere case. If this is allowed, it may set a dangerous precedent of contenders who don't want to pay for a rookie contract stashing players in the D-League and signing them to a d-league contract.

Don't think that this is beneficial to Huestis in any way honestly. Would've been better off getting paid more in Europe somewhere - and he's still auditioning for OKC either way. No guarantee of a rookie deal/contract unless he performs well in the d-league where he'll be making next to nothing (25k) compared to a minimum deal for his draft slot (734k)

Old Man Game · Post #15 » by **Old Man Game** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 11:47 am

ark_23 wrote:
Don't think that this is beneficial to Huestis in any way honestly. Would've been better off getting paid more in Europe somewhere - and he's still auditioning for OKC either way. No guarantee of a rookie deal/contract unless he performs well in the d-league where he'll be making next to nothing (25k) compared to a minimum deal for his draft slot (734k)

Yeah, everyone just seems sure the Thunder honor their end if the agreement. But if he pulls a Pierre Jackson and had a massive injury like an Achilles, are they really signing him? Is the agreement enforceable given negotiations are forbidden prior to the draft?

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Post #16 » by **bondom34** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 2:04 pm

I agree the longterm ramifications are greater, but the fact that he only would do this for 2 teams tells me that he trusts them. The fact that he agreed to this in the first place tells me he really didn't feel like it was a sure thing he was drafted. I'm thinking the comfort of knowing that there's a much better chance of making the NBA doing this than possibly going the UDFA route may have been worth it to him.

Post #17 » by **bondom34** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 6:55 pm

According to Lowe's article, seems like it may have been the idea of Huestis's side:
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/oklah ... raft-pick/

Old Man Game · Post #18 » by **Old Man Game** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 2:58 am

bondom34 wrote:According to Lowe's article, seems like it may have been the idea of Huestis's side:
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/oklah ... raft-pick/

Great article.

Orlwillbeback · Post #19 » by **Orlwillbeback** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 1:23 am

lawsuit