Absolutely agree but i still think it ends badly for most.
Altho, if you simply make the team you are guaranteed a minimum salary of what $_____?
Enough to pay for college 20 times over if these Nimrods would manage their money.
Shouldn't say "badly" for making hundreds of thousands of dollars a season. If one only played one season it should be enough of a financial building basis to last a lifetime.
I think it ends badly for certain players because the team made the mistake of picking them up in the first place and placing huge expectations on them right away. Kobe Bryant wasn't asked to be the main man right out of high school. Same goes for Andrew Bynum. Ditto for Tony Parker. It also applies to a Kendrick Perkins as well. If you look at say the Washington Wizards, who took Kwame Brown and immediately made him the horse they hitched their 'championship buggy' to, you'll see why he failed. I do wonder if some of the busted high school players would have ended up being decent players had the franchises not rushed so quickly to get fans to care about their product again.
The money is a very interesting angle because it is part of the reason why a number of players, not just ones out of HS, get themselves into trouble. I still don't know why the NBA doesn't do a better job of providing education on finances, especially when it effects the image of their product (players) so much, but that is a whole different thread.
