In Europe, you can sign a professional contract at 16. That number seems to work okay

Foreign players were never beholden to these paternalistic rules. Neither are baseball players who can get stuck at A level baseball and never sniff the major leagues, and hockey. Freedom and capitalism aren’t fully accessible to blacks, this is just one more avenue where “the American way” doesn’t reach them .

I don’t disagree but I think it’s worth mentioning that the NHL also had a long tradition of sending the vast majority of their draft picks to either Junior, the AHL or the NCAA. The NBA hasn’t really had a functional minor league system. If this means better NBA/D-League integration, that’s probably for the best. 

I don’t like to pay any attention to college basketball, but after learning today that Zion (and other players) are CONTRACTUALLY FORCED to wear branded shoes and apparel and they are NOT paid for this forced endorsement, all I have to say is “what the actual fuck?”

For the website that shit on ESPN for feeding the “AD to LA” flames back in January—flames that had been burning since AD signed to Klutch, and not based on some offhand no-shit LBJ comment—this take that this “is what makes the league fun” is both somewhat accurate (otherwise, why else would ESPN do it, besides the…

I can’t think of any other possible conversations that two NBA all-stars could be having about “two at the same time”. 

The KD and Kyrie pairing would be an incredible case study on the extremes of overly sensitive passive aggressive behavior.

I was skeptical, but then Irving says, “This is the stuff that doesn’t make the league fun,” which is a blatant reference to the Knicks. This deal is done. 

I have hot takes, please @ me out of the grays I beg you:

52 kids under him? I thought he was a Steeler, not a Cardinal. 

Is that an argument for or against Zion hanging it up for the rest of the year?  

Pack it in. There’s no need to exacerbate a knee injury and shorten your NBA career because Coach K says something about teamwork and CBS wants higher ratings. 

“Move to another country if you don’t like being taken advantage of” is a pretty shitty argument when a much more rational and morally appropriate response would be “let’s stop letting a billion dollar organization take advantage of these kids.”

Everybody’s gonna look really stupid a few weeks from now when the investigators determine that Zion Smolleted the shoe on purpose.

Say what you want about the fun of playing the sport and winning...but a Duke national championship is never going to win “the adulation of the nation.” 

I worked for my college’s radio station and got paid. We fund raised much much less than what a TV contract is worth for the basketball team there, but the University paid me and other students for working gaining recognition for the school, and getting job experience. Tell me why the D1 basketball players shouldn’t…

Because the NBA and NFL implemented those rules to prop up their free minor league systems, the courts said they could do it because it was collectively bargained, and prospects like Zion aren’t in the union so they get fucked. It’s a real perfect circle of fuckery, to be honest.

The other problem is that Duke knows he’s leaving. It’s close to tourney time so what keeps them from pushing him to play when he’s not fully healed he’s only good to them for the last 6 - 8 games. There’s even incentive for them to downplay the injury so he feels pressure to get back on the court. 

That really seems more like an NFL GM thing to do. Any NBA GM not ranking this guy No. 1 either: (1) has no chance of drafting him anyway, or (2) shouldn’t have a job. Or both. 

Not only should he not play, he should: