Audi wrote:Is GLeague better developmentally than college?
I’d say they are two different beasts entirely based on what they are meant to do.
College is very much a farm system for NBA talent. It’s where teams get all of their pre draft information on players, but (regardless of an NBA team’s supposed relationship with college coaches) there is NO team control. Drafting a player is an inexact science at best, and the opportunity for a team to have egg on their face is high.
The G league is a spot where teams have much more control. They can tinker with development, see whether a rookie could have that alpha in them to be a star or just a role player, and have coaches actively feeding them factual information as opposed to the glass-half-full college speak where they are just trying to get their kid drafted. Despite all of the assistant coaches, development in-season on an NBA team is very difficult without playing time and winning is the ultimate priority.
Ultimately the whole decision about whether a player is the last guy on the bench or in the G League is less about their readiness to play and more about whether that player can help that team win games within their current roster setup.
Let’s not mince words though - the Magic drafted TWO mega projects in Black and Howard that were both nowhere near ready. The Magic played Black because the cupboard was so bare at PG that he was the best they could do while preserving roster flexibility. They had more options at SG, so down to the G league Howard went. It’s anyone’s guess who will actually be better between the two this year, and I’m sure Weltman is smiling as it’s an interesting experiment to send two rookies in separate directions to develop. As for this “wildly successful” quote, I’d take a step back as he could also be referring to the lessons of NBA vs G League development specific to the Magic organization.
I do think at the end of the day the Magic got really good intel on the best lineup fit for Howard based on his G League play.