Oumar Ballo's Fat Pay Day

[arxpert]

If the rumors are true and Ballo got 1.2 mil to play for Indiana, or even 800k as I've seen floating around (Don't really care about the actual number) - We should think about this as:

Why would anyone not "assured" of being drafted in the 1st round even go pro unless they ran out of service time in College?

2nd Round Picks do not have Guaranteed Contracts. I believe #30 overall is Guaranteed around 2 million Dollars. All 2nd round picks have to compete for roster spots and contracts overall. Many players like Azoulas Tubelis forced their way to NOT be drafted on purpose so they could "Pick Their Landing Spot" as an undrafted FA and get some sort of guaranteed money in some type of contract.

That seems to be the game Agents play with the Pro Clubs now.

I think Ballo dominated if he got 1.2mil. That's as good as going #30 in a lot of ways. He will get to play. He will be a focal point. He will have a chance to up his stock --- basically learn how to shoot FTs and he will go around Top 10-20 most likely if he can shoot 65% or better FTs because that would show a lot of growth.

So again, why even go pro? Be king dingaling on Campus as long as possible while banking in 1mil a year or so. Leave college with around 2 to 5 million depending on how great you are even if you aren't good enough to be 1 of the Top 450 Players on Earth AKA a NBA player...

Then put your name in to be drafted after making all your money and smashing all on campus for 4-5 years.

[KansasCityCats]

This will definitely be the norm in the future for all prospects that aren't a guaranteed first round pick (unless the kid hates college life). It's unfortunate but I'm still happy for guys like Ballo, whose hard work paid off.