King (Satnam) Singh

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

Mark Stein

So according to Stein, with zero experience, Singh is likely to make only $13,000 this year.

It's not much money, but it sure as hell beats working at Wendy's... Plus, no housing or medical expenses.

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by Underdog

It's not much money, but it sure as hell beats working at Wendy's... Plus, no housing or medical expenses.

Bennies aren't terrible, but seems awfully low for a group of guys who very well may be between the 450th and 1,000th best players in the whole world

[BigDog63]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

Bennies aren't terrible, but seems awfully low for a group of guys who very well may be between the 450th and 1,000th best players in the whole world

True, but shows how the world works. You would find a similar discrepancy in most entertainment businesses. The 1,000th best musicians in the world are probably playing at local pubs at maybe $500 ea a pop? The 1,000th best actors/actresses are probably working at odd jobs just to pay rent.

Also, while I'm sure the NBA teams certainly could pay these players more...do they need to? Clearly not, or they wouldn't have the players. As more of those players opt to play overseas instead, you might see that change. But, as stand alone businesses, D league teams don't make much. Venues are small, crowds are sparse, tickets are cheap, and little to no TV money. Owners need to take a minor league baseball approach...make the games more of an event. Some minor league teams are now major money makers.

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by BigDog63

True, but shows how the world works. You would find a similar discrepancy in most entertainment businesses. The 1,000th best musicians in the world are probably playing at local pubs at maybe $500 ea a pop? The 1,000th best actors/actresses are probably working at odd jobs just to pay rent.

Also, while I'm sure the NBA teams certainly could pay these players more...do they need to? Clearly not, or they wouldn't have the players. As more of those players opt to play overseas instead, you might see that change. But, as stand alone businesses, D league teams don't make much. Venues are small, crowds are sparse, tickets are cheap, and little to no TV money. Owners need to take a minor league baseball approach...make the games more of an event. Some minor league teams are now major money makers.

True.

There are just a lot of guys who slave in the D-League with the (potentially fictional) hope of making the NBA. Lots of guys turn down millions in Europe or Asia to earn $15,000 in the D-League, because they think they'll be scouted. Very few ever actually do make the transition.

But yeah, right now it's feeling very predatory. It's NBA teams wanting a bush league. I grew up watching a minor league baseball team and it was a blast. They'd have mascots running through the stands. They'd hand out cheap shwag and had fun events. It was a blast. NBDL is just kinda sad and desperate.