buriat wrote:Thanks for the information. I am trying to understand how a team manages second rounders and options an agent of a second rounder would have. Why wouldn't a second rounder sign a non guaranteed contact and if he doesn't make it then go to Europe. Wouldn't that in effect make him a free agent the following year?
For example isn't Jordan Mc Rae going to be in exactly the same spot this year as all the other second rounders picked in this draft? He gained nothing by spending time in New Zealand and lost opportunity to make money in a better league? Won't that be the case for many second rounders particularly when a team has multiple draft choices with limite roster spots? I am not understanding what a player gains by not signing a non guaranteed contact? Is it because if he signs it , there are restrictions about where he can play even if the player doesn't make the Team.
It seems to me that a player would be better off not being drafted in the second round if the team has all the cards . Then he could go to wherever he has the best chance to make the team? I must be missing something.
Excellent questions.
Most European leagues have a limited number of slots for 'foreigners'. What this means is it is a competive market, and even if the guaranteed pay is less than the 500k unguaranteed required tender, it still usually is guaranteed and thus for a guy that has a good chance of being cut attractive. After all, by contrast the Dleague is roughly 50k a year.
But, with the limited number of spots in Europe, and the European season starting earlier than the NBA, if you try for the NBA and are cut in October, you are almost surely out of luck for Europe.
So, for a player like McRae, the options might be:
1) Sign in Australia, make 250k (I'm not sure what he made, just throwing out a number), have the Sixers organization happy with you and feeling positive towards bringing you in next year if it goes well.
2) Sign in the US, make 500k if not cut, 50k if cut, with no organization invested in your future.
Maybe at 250k only for Europe it looks a coin toss (while at 450 it ooks like a great idea), but if the organization is one where you feel like you will get forward further in general that has a lot of monetary value -- see Thannis going to the dleague instead of forcing the issue for the Knicks for instance. Especially for guys drafted 50-60 that were really close to having no team willing to invest in them. And they can force the issue and sign the q/o next year if they don't get a better offer from the team.