NBA Draftees taking loans during the lockout – NBA Update
The NBA lockout has left the Draft class of 2011 in a very difficult situation. While players at the very top end of the spectrum, those like Kyrie Irving and Derrick Williams don’t have to worry too much about their finances thanks
to lucrative sponsorship contracts, the rest of the lot has had no such luck.
The foreign players are another exception. They can just decide to stay abroad and do what they are currently doing.
However the lockout and its consequences has left the American players fresh out of college, in quite a predicament. They were drafted back in June, but the NBA contracts have to wait until July.
Since the league entered a lockout on July 1st, all of the draftees are left without a contract. They would continue to be without a source of income until the lockout is over and contracts can be handed out. But what
are they supposed to do until then?
Some second round picks are looking to Europe. One or two have already signed contracts there. It makes sense for them, second round picks are not guaranteed an NBA contract and many of them do not ever set foot on an NBA court.
However the first round picks cannot take that option either. See, they actually are guaranteed NBA contracts, which are more often than not much more lucrative than what they will get in Europe. That means that they aren’t too
tempted by the prospect of heading abroad, and those that are have the threat of injury looming large on them.
If they get injured, they could be left out of the NBA permanent as the teams won’t be under an obligation to offer the contract to an injured player once the lockout is over. It really is a mess.
So what do they do? Well, if you ask one Reggie Jackson, he will say you take loans to keep afloat. Reggie was drafted out of Boston College by the Oklahoma City Thunder. He has a good chance of becoming an NBA player one day and
the young man doesn’t want to jeopardise his chances by playing elsewhere. So he is getting some financial help in the meantime.
“I’m trying to pay back as little as I can and just get through the times right now,” Jackson said. “I’ve grown up not being super wealthy. I went to college being broke and found a way to manage through that. So I’m just getting
by. Basketball’s never been about money and never will be. I’m living comfortably enough to where I’m satisfied. But I’m also not out there buying a big house and a big car. I’m not trying to do that. I’m OK with settling for less fancy things.”
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