02-16-2015, 08:55 AM
(02-14-2015, 03:18 PM)Boston Card link Wrote:[quote author=washingtonismoney link=topic=11747.msg113198#msg113198 date=1423951499]
[quote author=fullmetal link=topic=11747.msg113195#msg113195 date=1423949221]
The NBA would show mild consternation as the quality of its de facto minor league decreased a bit.
Why do they care where their players are spending time before playing in the league?
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It amounts to free marketing for the NBA. Think about how many people watch guys in college, and then want to continue following them in the pros. I know I would have absolutely zero reason for caring for the Brooklyn Nets or Portland Trailblazers were it not for the Lopez brothers. With the best players skipping college by going abroad or to the NBA-D-league, the NBA would lose the exposure that a lot of the best players get before joining the pros. Not that it has hurt the visibility of Kobe Bryant or LeBron James to have skipped college...
BC
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Totally true. I've been a Warriors fan, but I paid a lot more attention to the NBA when Awtrey, Rambis and Nash played in the league.
As the de facto minor league, the NCAA constitutes a way for college-educated people to connect with basketball. It's pretty remote for many of them.
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