Why would any prospect play in the G League now?

[toooskies]

I still don't know why the NBA is propping up the G League Ignite team.

I can't imagine it adds any real eyeballs to G League games, most of the guys who might have considered going to the NBL for the cash can just sign NIL deals in college now saving execs the trip to Australia which seemed to have been one of the reasons that the Ignite were set up . Seems like a pointless waste of money for the NBA really.

It's step two of doing away with the draft and forming a club-based model.

1) Create developmental league for sub-NBA quality players to play in the US. Associate this league's teams with the NBA franchises.
2) Provide viability for college-level players to play in the developmental league.
3) Provide viability for high school-level players to play in the developmental league.
4) Expand "down" or absorb the AAU to take over lower levels of basketball, increasing the age association with the NBA brand.
5) Once these pipelines to the pro clubs exist, there's no need for a draft, it's all player development.

It's a reasonable long-term play to expand the presence of the league to all the basketball played in the US.

[cms11]

JJ Redick vs Lebron James. JJ Reddick was a huge college star, how did that turn out for him? Lebron had his high school games televised on ESPN while Redick was a freshman at Duke. College is dead for top pro prospects. College is for Redicks...

What? I feel like it just made the case for college. If JJ went straight to the pros he would be viewed and forgotten like many guys who have a career 12ppg. The fact that JJ went to Duke and built up a huge name for himself is one of the reasons why his name is so recognizable and why he immediately had multiple jobs lined up for him after he retired.

Also using LeBron as the other comparison is dumb. We don’t see guys with LeBron hype come around often. Even Zion who was a YouTube sensation wasn’t getting his high school games on ESPN regularly.

Yes if you’re on the level of hype and prospect as LeBron, you can go any route you’d like and it won’t make a difference.

I'm with you. College is the best when it comes to exposure and elevating your draft stock by playing well on a winning team. Jaden Hardy is a guy who would have benefited from it.

[SelfishPlayer]

JJ Redick vs Lebron James. JJ Reddick was a huge college star, how did that turn out for him? Lebron had his high school games televised on ESPN while Redick was a freshman at Duke. College is dead for top pro prospects. College is for Redicks...

What? I feel like it just made the case for college. If JJ went straight to the pros he would be viewed and forgotten like many guys who have a career 12ppg. The fact that JJ went to Duke and built up a huge name for himself is one of the reasons why his name is so recognizable and why he immediately had multiple jobs lined up for him after he retired.

Also using LeBron as the other comparison is dumb. We don’t see guys with LeBron hype come around often. Even Zion who was a YouTube sensation wasn’t getting his high school games on ESPN regularly.

Yes if you’re on the level of hype and prospect as LeBron, you can go any route you’d like and it won’t make a difference.

I'm with you. College is the best when it comes to exposure and elevating your draft stock by playing well on a winning team. Jaden Hardy is a guy who would have benefited from it.

Josh Selby attended college, how did that work out for his pro prospects?
https://syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/548732-selby-hypes-a-hollywood-start.amp.html

Trevor Keels attended Duke how did that work out for him?

I believe that a prospect's NBA draft selection has nothing to do with high school hype. So these guys benefit from playing against the best competition. The G league has a higher concentration of talented and experienced basketball players than college.