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NCAA Basketball: Darius Bazley taking unnecessary risk with G-League

By Brad Cavallaro

PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 15: A general view of the court with March Madness signage is seen prior to the start of the game between the OklahomaSooners and the Rhode Island Rams in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 15: A general view of the court with March Madness signage is seen prior to the start of the game between the OklahomaSooners and the Rhode Island Rams in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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Syracuse signee Darius Bazley made national headlines for spurning Syracuse for the G-League. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each party involved?

Syracuse had a potential top-15 team assembled for next season until Darius Bazley decided to go to the G-League. Bazley is a top ten recruit in the country who would have added even more length and athleticism to the Syracuse zone.

Listed at 6’8”, Bazley can create offense and is an impressive ball handler for his size.  He was a potential one and done recruit who Syracuse will obviously miss and cannot truly replace. But from his perspective, is this move worth the risk?

The maximum salary in the G-League is $30,000 so this move isn’t about maximizing his wealth. If Bazley was looking to make the most money he could, he would have taken the Terrance Ferguson or Emmanuel Mudiay path. Both players opted to go overseas for the year before they were draft eligible. This quote from a New York Times article, by Scott Cacciola, depicts Ferguson’s compensation from his time in Australia:

"“By playing for the 36ers, Ferguson, a 6-foot-7 guard, receives housing, a car and compensation in the mid-six figures (because of various marketing arrangements) as he prepares for the N.B.A. draft next June, when he will meet the league’s age requirements.”"

Mudiay played in China and made 1.2 million dollars during his brief stay overseas. He was seen as a top-five player while Bazley and Ferguson were seen as top ten players, but this proves that there were more lucrative alternatives.

So Bazley’s decision seems to be a mix of staying in the United States, making money (although many would joke that he would make more in college than he would in the G-League), and accelerating his development against stronger competition.

However, one looming question remains, why would a G-League team be motivated to develop Bazley?

If a G-League adds Bazley to their roster and plays him significant minutes, the chances are that they are developing him for another team. For example, the Maine Red Claws could add Bazley and play him 30 minutes per game. He could be awesome and clearly show that he is a future NBA star, but the Celtics (Maine’s parent team) probably cannot draft him.

Bazley will be in the 2019 NBA Draft so any team is free to select him, meaning all the time and resources that a G-League franchise invests will likely go to waste. If Bazley plays at a high level then there is no issue, but why would a team stick with him if he struggles?

The team has made little financial investment and has not invested a draft pick in him. He will only be on their G-League affiliate for one season. If he struggles, they have no reason to play him or even keep him on the roster.

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One might say that G-League teams develop players for other franchises all the time. If an NBA team does not have a G-League affiliate they can send their players to another team’s affiliate. NBA teams can also call-up players from any G-League team (as long as they are not a two-way player).

G-League teams are filled with guys who are seen as potential call-ups for the parent team. Even if it is extremely unlikely that a player will reach the NBA, he has some quality or attribute that catches the eye of the NBA team. But Bazley CANNOT be called up.

This is a crucial point which illustrates why an NBA team (and G-League team) has less of a vested interest in developing Bazley than they do of the 9th best player on the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

This is why Bazley’s decision is such an unnecessary risk. He would have gone to Syracuse for one year, developed his game, played on national TV and in full arenas, taken charter planes, and overall had a much more glamorous quality of life. He is giving that up for $30,000 and the difficult G-League lifestyle.

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The only reason why the NBA has a vested interest in Bazley’s success is that they want the G-League to be a more viable option. They want to steer guys away from college and to their minor league system. This will never happen until the NBA eliminates the one and done rule and significantly raises the G-League salaries. College Basketball fans can rest easy until those two rule changes occur.

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