Toronto Star: NBA players' financial security no slam dunk

[polo007]

http://www.thestar.com/article/299119

Kapono, then, wasn't the least bit surprised when a representative of the NBA Players' Association addressed the Raptors recently on matters of financial prudence. A statistic was cited during the meeting that startled some of the hoopsters. It was said that 60 per cent of retired NBA players go broke five years after their NBA paycheques stop arriving.

"How could that be?" said Jamario Moon, the Raptors rookie. "I don't want to believe that stat."

But that stat, used by the players' association to get the attention of young millionaires, is thought to be an educated estimate.

"Sixty per cent is a ballpark. But we've seen a lot of guys who've really come into hard times five years after they leave the league," said Roy Hinson, the former NBA forward who's a representative for the players' association. "The problems are, for a lot of guys, they have a lot of cars, they have multiple houses, they're taking care of their parents. They're taking care of a whole host of issues. And the cheques aren't coming in anymore."

Experienced players like Kapono, who has played on four different teams in his five-year tenure, were not surprised by the number.

"You see how guys live," said Kapono. "A lot of players get in trouble because they want everyone around them to lead the same lifestyle. So you fall into a hole. You buy this big house now for those people, and they no longer want to drive the low-end car to go with the big house. So the big house leads to the big car, to the better clothes, to the better restaurants and stuff. It's a snowball effect. That's why the stat isn't as shocking, because I've witnessed it."

It's not just the spending, it's the scamming. Hinson

[supersub15]

Posted in the daily thread yesterday.