too young for the nba?

[jefhatfield]

there was yet another high school child to nba draft pick the other day

is it right for the nba to draft someone that young (under 18) and give him that type of money? kobe bryant, the top player in the nba, got chosen to the lakers at 17 years old

and also on a similar note, "should teens be allowed to play the lottery/scratchers?" and win big?

[eyelikeart]

I think it's a catch 22 on this issue...

On one hand it's great that these young kids are so gifted that they are sought after since they were in high school...

On the other hand it's a shame that so many of them skip college and jump right into sports. Lack of education is a mistake in my opinion, esp. since u have a shelf-life when u are an athlete...

Nothing is more important than a good education...in my opinion...;)

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by eyelikeart
I think it's a catch 22 on this issue...

On one hand it's great that these young kids are so gifted that they are sought after since they were in high school...

On the other hand it's a shame that so many of them skip college and jump right into sports. Lack of education is a mistake in my opinion, esp. since u have a shelf-life when u are an athlete...

Nothing is more important than a good education...in my opinion...;)

i agree with you

the funny thing is that the lowest possible salary of a bench warmer in the nba with bonus after taxes is more money than most of us will make in a lifetime

a retired 20 year old nba player can get the house, the car, the clothes, the retirement funds, and the tuition for college for them and their kids and their kids just for keeping a bench warm in one or two seasons of nba play

i heard this high school student might get a 20 million dollar salary plus bonus for his first year or two...not bad

[eyelikeart]

Originally posted by jefhatfield

i heard this high school student might get a 20 million dollar salary plus bonus for his first year or two...not bad

I still find it completely amazing how we are in a recession...but 18 year old kids are getting offered $20 million to play a game... :rolleyes:

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by eyelikeart


I still find it completely amazing how we are in a recession...but 18 year old kids are getting offered $20 million to play a game... :rolleyes:

that kid will fill more than his share of seats

the salaries are an operating expense for the sale of seats, programs, books, sports paraphanalia

in truth, if i had that type of talent, i would go for the money

i did a lot of things before i got my university degree at age 30 and if making 100 mil was in the cards being an nba player, i would have done it

millionaire football player emmett smith got his university degree after he got his millions and three super bowl rings

what if emmet had stayed in college and got hurt there forever?

i say take the money if you can while you can as an athlete and then get that degree

nobody asks me, now at age 38, if i got my ba when i was 22 or when i was 30...it's all the same on the resume since it is illegal for any employer to ask your age unless it is for a survey which the company will never see

i once applied for a job and had to fill out an eeoc report which asked age, race, hiv status, and other things which one will never have to reveal in a normal job

there are some exceptions like in the adult film industry where all "actors" have to get routine hiv and std tests to stay employed...same goes for legal prostitutes in the state of nevada

[LethalWolfe]

Why stick it to th NBA? Look at many Olympians, soccer/football players (more overseas than here in the states), tennis players, etc.,. Many sports grab "kids" before they hit college. IMO, if yer good enough at 17 or 18 to go pro it's dumb not to. Like someone else said athletes have a shelf life. So the longer you wait, the less attractive you are (and the greater the chance to get a career ending injury before going pro).

But I do think the salaries these people get are insane. It's all one-up-manship that's never gonna end. "I'm better than player X so I should make more money than player X does." Never mind the fact that both players probably make enough money to put their great grandkis thru college. On the other hand, a lengthy run in pro sports can ravage a body and leave one time athletes crippled and hobbling around for the last few decades of their life. On the other other hand, athletes do go into it w/their eyes open so should they really get that much sympathy for what they knew was coming?


Lethal

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by LethalWolfe
Why stick it to th NBA? Look at many Olympians, soccer/football players (more overseas than here in the states), tennis players, etc.,. Many sports grab "kids" before they hit college. IMO, if yer good enough at 17 or 18 to go pro it's dumb not to. Like someone else said athletes have a shelf life. So the longer you wait, the less attractive you are (and the greater the chance to get a career ending injury before going pro).

But I do think the salaries these people get are insane. It's all one-up-manship that's never gonna end. "I'm better than player X so I should make more money than player X does." Never mind the fact that both players probably make enough money to put their great grandkis thru college. On the other hand, a lengthy run in pro sports can ravage a body and leave one time athletes crippled and hobbling around for the last few decades of their life. On the other other hand, athletes do go into it w/their eyes open so should they really get that much sympathy for what they knew was coming?


Lethal

in the late 1980s, the life expectancy of an ex-nfl player was 59...at the time, the average man in the usa was expected to live to almost 70

i would rather have those ten years than have those millions

we can always generate extra money, but we can never even buy one extra second for our life with money

i hope i started enough threads for everyone this morning to jump start the day...gotta go to work...see you tonight again:p