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SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake City Stars can be part of something that has never been done before: draft McDonald’s All-American Darius Bazley with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NBA G League draft.
Why is this significant?
This is the first time that a high-profile American basketball player has ever decided to play in the G League rather than play in college or professionally overseas.
Bazley is a McDonald’s All-American, a five-star recruit and is ranked as the eighth best high school prospect by 247sports.
The Stars have the first overall pick due to their record of 16-34. They tied with Greensboro and Delaware for the worst record in the league. On April 4, the G League announced the draft order, revealing that the Stars would have the No. 1 overall pick and the opportunity to select Bazley.
Why is Bazley going to the G League rather than playing in college or overseas?
Bazley made the announcement that he had decommitted from Syracuse on March 29.
On April 5, Bazley posted an article in the Players’ Tribune expounding on why he decided to take the G League route rather than playing in college.
In the article, Bazley explains that while playing in the G League will not be nearly as glamorous as playing in Syracuse’s 33,000-seat stadium, he believes the G League will better prepare him for the NBA.
Bazley says that he will be competing against NBA talent, learning NBA schemes and adopting an NBA practice schedule.
He also explains that 38 percent of NBA players have had some sort of experience playing in the G League and that that number is continuing to rise.
Bazley will make $26,000 next season. Many people have criticized the amount of money that he will be making, but Bazley points out that he is 17 and that for him $26,000 is a lot of money.
What could this mean moving forward?
College basketball has been all over the news due to the FBI’s investigation of corruption. This has sparked a large debate over the compensation of college basketball players.
LeBron James has called the NCAA “corrupt” and wants to expand the G League, calling it “our farm league.” He wants every team to have their own farm system.
If Bazley is successful in his pursuit of becoming an NBA player, and if the NBA starts putting in more incentives for players to go to the G League, college basketball could become less and less powerful.
Will drafting Bazley benefit the Utah Jazz?
While the Stars are the G League affiliate of the Utah Jazz, drafting Bazley would not give the Jazz any special rights to him. He will not be eligible to play for the Jazz or any other NBA team during the 2018-19 season.
At the conclusion of the 2018-19 season, Bazley can enter the 2019 NBA draft like any other prospect. In the draft, he can be drafted by any team and the Jazz will not be given any special preference to select him.
That being said, the Stars could definitely use the publicity of having a high-profile name such as Bazley. The G League does not harbor a huge amount of attention and does not have a large amount of active fans. With Bazley, the Stars should have a lot more excitement, and the popularity of the team would likely rise significantly.
Why doesn’t Bazley go straight to the NBA?
In 2006, the NBA implemented the one-and-done rule. This rule requires American-based players to be at least one year removed from high school in order to be eligible for the NBA draft.
Since then, the number of freshmen drafted has gone up substantially. In 2006, two freshmen were selected in the draft. In 2017, 16 freshman were taken in the first round alone.
The one-and-done rule has caused most high-profile high school basketball players to use college basketball as a one-year stepping stone to get into the NBA.
While this stepping stone has worked for many players, other players have had a hard time transitioning to the NBA with only one year of college experience prior to coming to the NBA.
NBA teams draft these young players and have to wait for them to develop. Some teams have a plethora of young raw developing athletes taking up roster spots rather than contributing players who can help teams win now.
At this point, we are still months away from the draft; we still don’t know if the Stars will draft Bazley, and we don’t have any idea of what will happen with college basketball or the G League in the future.
If Bazley’s path is successful and if new G League rules are implemented, we could see the G League become much more popular and competitive in years to come.
