Money Players

High school phenom goes straight to the NFL

The NFL requires players to be three years removed from high school before they are eligible to play in the League. NFL owners recognize that 18- to 21-year-old cheerleaders are in their athletic prime, and therefore, have no such prohibition. Deadspin has the least creepy coverage of the story of the high school cheerleader making the New England Patriot cheerleading squad.

Judging from the comments on Deadspin and WithLeather (a few funny, tasteful ones listed below), how is this nubile, young sex object any more prepared to handle the potential dangers that lurk in the NFL (on the Internet and other very real places) than a hulking football player that is, say, two years removed from high school? A NFL owners understand that young sex objects and older, more mature football players are both good for business.

A couple funny (and not all that offensive) comments from Deadspin:

I for one am appalled at high school kids jumping immediately to the professional ranks. They're not fully developed, and really need a year or two in an NCAA program to prepare them for such a life.
/NCAA spokesman

I'm appalled!
/Allison Stokke's dad

How's her mom?
/Belichik

The Love of Money

Great article in the Los Angeles Daily News on Kevin Love as he prepares for the NBA draft.and also life in the NBA.

Kevin, with the help of a strong family -- and also, I would like to think, a small assist to my book, Money Players, is thinking ahead. Way ahead.

Here's a great exchange between Kevin and Los Angeles Daily News writer Brian Dohn:

"Kevin Love was explaining how he isn't going to burn through the millions of dollars he is about to earn. He was discussing putting aside part of his paycheck in a long-term tax-deferred account he could use 'in like 40 years,' although he couldn't remember the name. 401k? 'That's it,' said UCLA's former All-American center."

Note to Kevin: Turn to page 91 of your copy of Money Players:

401(k)s: Believe this hype!

Your league provides a 401(k) retirement plan. Participation in the 401(k) is voluntary. You contribute to it (through a deduction from your paycheck) up to the maximum allowed by the federal government ($15,000 in 2007). Now comes the amazing part. Your professional league matches your contribution, dollar for dollar, up to a specified limit...In the NBA, teams match 140% of the players’ allowed contribution. If a player puts in $15,000, the NBA team contributes $21,000. You should love this game.

Note the 2008 maximum is $15,500.

Participation in the NBA's 401(k) program is a “negative election.” Translation: players have to opt out rather than opt in. Don’t opt out!

These are heady times for any 19-year old entering the NBA (or any 22-year old for that matter), but Kevin is doing the right things on and off the court to maximize his professional career and also secure his financial future.

Sanity returns to the Madhouse on Madison

Doug Collins will reportedly be hired as the next Chicago Bulls coach. I personally think this is a great hire. Admittedly, I am a Doug Collins and a Chicago Bulls fan. When he was unceremoniously fired after the 1989 season (the Bulls advanced to the Eastern Conference finals where they lost to eventual NBA Champion Detroit Pistons), the Bulls were on the brink of greatness. But GM Jerry Krause and owner Jerry Reinsdorf felt they needed to make a coaching change in order to help the Bulls win an NBA title.

Its great to see that everyone is ready to move on. Reinsdorf told the Chicago Tribune:

"When we fired Doug, I made a statement—that many people have thrown in my face—that he got us from Point A to Point B but couldn't get us to Point C. It's proved to be right because Doug was very young and very emotional. Twenty years later, people change. You have to keep an open mind. Firing Doug had nothing to do with his coaching ability or basketball knowledge. He's a brilliant basketball mind. I have tremendous respect and admiration for Doug."

I am so ready to go "back to the future." Chuck Swirsky, Bulls public address announcer from 1980 to 1983, was rehired a few weeks ago to do Bulls radio play-by-play. After Doug is back in the Bulls family, let's hope they bring back Nancy Faust and Ray Clay. MJ, the player, will never return, but the Bulls do get to select the likely-to-be-anointed "next Michael Jordan."

Time will tell whether this turns out to be a good hire, although let the debate begin. Personally, I like the move. Doug is a NBA-lifer. He has a great basketball mind and has the ability to teach and coach. And I think he's mellowed.

Henry Abbott brought up some past issues, which I think are mostly irrelevant, but worth addressing. Henry cited Phil Jackson's assessment of Collins in Jackson's book "Sacred Hoops." Wrote Jackson, "At the core of my vision was getting the players to think more for themselves. Collins had kept the younger players, especially Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant, on a tight rein, frequently yelling at them when they made mistakes. Throughout the game, they'd look over at the bench, nervously trying to read his mind."

Couple things:
1) Collins coached Pip and Grant in their first two seasons in the NBA. Not many NBA coaches want to stake their championship hopes on rookies and second-year players. Most rookies look over their shoulders.
2) Phil Jackson was a Jerry Krause-guy. He was hired by Krause without Doug's input. When Jackson replaced Collins, he came into a great situation. That doesn't diminish what he did to get the Bulls to point C, but I don't think anything Jackson wrote in a book 13 years ago about Doug is relevant. Doug and Phil were young rivals who, whether true or not, were pitted against each other -- in the media and by Jerry Krause.

Yes, Collins micro-coached when he coached the Bulls, but even that is overstated. One of my favorite Doug Collins quotes was after MJ hit "The Shot" at the end of Game 5 of the 1989 Eastern Conference playoff game between the Bulls and the Cavaliers. When asked what play he called, Doug said: "That play was, Give the ball to Michael and everyone else get the @##@#% out of the way." That's great non-coaching.

--Marc Isenberg

Building a better mouse-release

In an article on the "one and done" phenomena in the The Athens Banner-Herald, Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl is quoted:

"It's not working. Both the NBA and the NCAA coaches, we all want a good system that gives the players an opportunity and the colleges some sanity and let the NBA be able to have the best players that can play. We know that what we have now isn't working for us and we don't think it's working for the players."

Amen, my fellow lonsman. The current system that doesn't work. This issue is not that complicated, folks. Players who want to go to college and play basketball should. And players who don't should have viable options. This whole issue has been often framed in absolute terms by the stakeholders: Players believe they should have the right to earn a living whenever the market signals they are ready. The NBA wants mature, pre-marketed players entering the Association. The NCAA wants real student athletes. Boosters just want to win. And athletic departments have to find the proper balance: Keep well-heeled boosters happy without completely abandoning their academic mission.

It's like Baseketball, but better
The amateur baseball draft is the best system. Players are eligible to be drafted after their senior year of high school. They don't declare for the draft. They are simply drafted. Then if a Major League team offers them enough money, they sign. Otherwise, if they are not offered a sufficient contract they can go to an NCAA school...BUT THE PLAYERS MUST AGREE TO A 3-YEAR ENLISTMENT. Perhaps the NBA should consider this approach.

The marketplace decides who's ready. What a concept! And players don't have to rely on an agent or runner promises and hype. Everybody wins. Why not hold a supplemental NBA draft for high school players? NBA teams select players they think are worth signing. Drafted players either sign according to a rookie scale or they go to college. If a player signs, he goes to the NBDL for at least one season. If he opts to go to an NCAA school, he is not eligible for the NBA draft for three years. And to boot we can rid  "declaring for the draft," "testing the waters" and "agent/outside influence" from our sports vernacular.

Feasting on agents and runners
And finally...along with James Tanner, David Thorpe, and Jason Levien, I participated in TrueHoop's "Runners and Recruiting: A Roundtable." There's so much to chew on, it took two sittings. Second helping is expected on Thursday.

--Marc Isenberg

Re-enactment of my ACL injury

An * next to my name?

And this concludes my week as a full-time blogger. It's been fun. Like Dock Ellis who pitched a no-hitter in 1970 under the influence of drugs (LSD), my performance was made possible by liberal amounts of Vicodin, a mindblowing narcotic that was just what my LICENSED doctor ordered. Hopefully, this revelation does not taint my performance. On the other hand blogging doesn't take much talent, as Buzz likes to remind everyone. (Buzz when he wakes up on the right side of the bed.)

In all seriousness, I had ACL knee reconstruction surgery one week ago. The first couple days were not fun, but I am doing much, much better (No vicodin in the last 24 hours!). Tomorrow I return to my regular work schedule.

Thanks for the many well wishes.

Keep visiting Money Players -- the stats are my motivation to keep on blogin'.

Some highlights from the last week

SportsAgentBlog.com interviews B.J. Armstrong Great interview done by Darren Heitner. Mostly interested on what B.J. has to say about World Wide Wes, O.J. and David Falk.

Kirk Wright commits suicide Sad ending to a person I've covered for the last couple years.

Championship running with the Bulls On the Bulls winning the lottery, their 90s championship run, and not-so-pleasant image of GM Jerry Krause with his shirt off.

The Agent Riddler strikes again Agent David Falk dished dirt a second time with CNBC's Darren Rovell. This time Falk's riddle isn't that difficult to decode.

More OJ Mayo coverage Got more interesting when someone who posted comments alleged to be former BDA employee. And also my response to Henry Abbott over at TrueHoop.

NCAA Enforcement and the blame game A primer on NCAA enforcement issues. Did NCAA prez Myles Brand really say his organization had "new information" in the O.J. Mayo case?

Kudos to Sports on My Mind blog for its provocative coverage of the O.J. Mayo saga. One post invokes my book to make his point. Smart. Another explores our culture and the "one and done rule" Note: I've said this before, but "one and done" is not a rule. The NBA only requires US-born players to be 19-years old and one year removed from high school. Players don't have to spend their "gap year" at an NCAA institution. They can play in the NBDL or Europe.

Money Players Amazon.com Sales Rank  #252,035 -- up nearly 1 million slots since my Sporting News interview with Mike DeCourcy! Pick up your copy today!

--Marc Isenberg * with the aid of Vicodin

SportsAgentBlog.com interviews B.J. Armstrong

Darren Heitner, a UF law student and founder of SportsAgentBlog.com, scores a great interview with former NBA player and current agent B.J. Armstrong. I've known B.J. since he first came to the Chicago Buils in 1989 -- and I've got to know him a little better (he's not easy person to figure out) in the last year, as we usually run into each other on our frequent LA-Chicago trips. BJ is one of the smartest people I've met in all my basketball travels. He's very lowkey. His success, as he states in Darren's interview, is basically just dumb luck. DON'T BELIEVE THE (un) HYPE! B.J. has that rare combination of street smarts and book smarts. I quote Charles Barkley ("That's turrible.")...B.J. quotes Plato.

Read Darren's entire interview, but you know I would be all over any references to World Wide Wes, O.J. and David Falk.

On William Wesley
I have known Wesley for over 20 years. I knew him back when I was playing in the late 80s. I have a great relationship with Wes and I have no problems with him whatsoever. He was a part of our family when I was playing in Chicago, when I was traded…I have always known him. He has been nothing but a friend to me since I entered the NBA. He’s been with us forever. It’s just Wes…he’s there. I still see him; he is everywhere. You see him at sporting events, venues, games.

On O.J.. Mayo
I have not been in contact with O.J. I am a person who deals with the facts. I don’t know what has happened. I have only heard about the situation in the same way as the general public. I only deal with what I know. There were a lot of things that were said, and from what I understand from just talking with the kids, O.J. is a terrific kid and I wish him all the best. I hope it gets resolved for everyone involved. I hope that we move on and focus on the positives instead of the negatives.

On David Falk's allegations
I guess that is possible from his perspective. More importantly, he would have to answer it in more detail from his experiences. It is interesting that I have gone through the process of representing clients as an ex-athlete. I am certainly not naïve to think that the possibility of corruption isn’t there. I think David would really have to clarify his statement, though, because certainly you cannot say that it’s the only realm of possibility. It’s not the only way that things are done in this business.

Memorial Day and remembering Pat Tillman

I went to Deadspin for some critical sports news, but Leitch isn't posting today. It's Memorial Day, a time to reflect on weighty matters of life, death and the price of freedom. Apparently Balls Deep is not the go-to guy for that. Instead Leitch suggests Gary Smith's powerful article on Pat Tillman, "Remember His Name." And on that point, I am sure, Buzz Bissinger would agree.

Related post: Pat Tillman’s mom is pissed

Kirk Wright commits suicide

Associated Press is reporting that Kirk Wright, founder of International Management Associates, committed suicide today in jail. Wright was convicted Wednesday of operating an investment scheme that bilked millions of dollars from clients, including many NFL players.

Kirk Wright bilked investors, including many current and former NFL players out of at least at least $20 million. He fraudulently provided investors with reports claiming his firm, International Management Associates, had over $180 million in assets. But when he was finally busted, there was less than $500,000 accounted for. In February 2007, Wright was ordered to pay nearly $20 million as part of a default judgment by the U.S. District Court in Atlanta. In March 2007, six current and former players sued the NFL and its union, seeking to recoup $20 million they lost in this fraud scheme. The NFLPA, in response to significant financial losses experienced by several NFL players, began the Financial Advisor Program, a first-of-its-kind program aimed at protecting players against incompetent and fraudulent advisors.

I wrote an article on Kirk Wright in Sports Business Journal: "Pro athletes must use caution to avoid financial runaround" (August 28, 2006). I also used this as a case study in my book, Money Players.

Former Denver Broncos player Steve Atwater was hired by Wright to solicit investors for IMA and also invested $2.7 million of his own money. After learning of Wright's death Atwater told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, "It's a tragic deal all around."

Sad story. Hopefully there are some valuable lessons learned here.

--Marc Isenberg

Championship running with the Bulls

Last year I was fascinated with the possibility of the Phoenix Suns ending up with the Atlanta Hawks lottery pick.

In this year's NBA lottery the Chicago Bulls defied the odds and drew the No. 1 draft pick. They had just a 1.7% chance of winning, which means that if they repeated the lottery drawing 58 times, the Bulls, on average, could expect to win just one time. Pretty amazing. This is great news for Bulls fans, including me. It brings back some conflicted memories. Winning six NBA championships was incredible, especially the first three titles, which happened when I was living in Chicago. But I still have strong feelings about Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf and GM Jerry Krause's decision to prematurely dismantle the Bulls team after the 1998 season, rather than pursuing one more title. Yes, I have the benefit of hindsight to judge that the Bulls have been a complete failure in their attempts to rebuild, but the numbers back me up.

Despite the fact that the Chicago Bulls won six NBA championships in 8 seasons, the Bulls were a dysfunctional group for most of those years, mostly divided between management and players. I went to a lot of Bulls games, and I also belonged to Multiplex, where the Bulls practiced until after the 1992-93 season. It was a great opportunity to observe the Bulls' innerworkings firsthand (an image I wish wasn't seared into my mind: Jerry Krause with his shirt off, getting electric stim). Right or wrong, I have taken a Michael Jordan-centric view of Bulls history, particularly his view of Krause.

I could deal with the all the pettiness and bickering on both sides. But I always felt that Krause and Reinsdorf never fully grasped just how difficult it is to win NBA championships. Prior to the dismantling of the Bulls, both looked forward to testing Krause's theory that, ''Players and coaches don't win championships; organizations win championships.''

Of course, Krause insists he was misquoted:

''What I said was, 'Players and coaches alone don't win championships, organizations win championships.' I was terribly misquoted. I am an organization man, but a wire-service reporter used the quote without the 'alone' and then everybody picked up on it. Including the team.''

However, in 1997, with *only* four NBA championship rings, Reinsdorf and Krause began to plot the post-MJ rebuilding plan. In a May, 5, 1997 article then Sports Illustrated writer Jackie MacMullan plots out what became the Bulls' disastrous plan:

Chicago owner Jerry Reinsdorf says he's prepared to risk altering that chemistry. He and Bulls vice president of basketball operations Jerry Krause have already scouted replacements for coach Phil Jackson, compiled a list of free agents to pursue if Michael Jordan retires, decided which players they would want in return if they traded Scottie Pippen, and mulled over replacing power forward Dennis Rodman with backup Jason Caffey... "I have to think long-term, not just next year," he says. "I don't want to become the Boston Celtics of the next decade." Boston's dynasty crumbled in the wake of management's decision to allow Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish to grow old in Celtics uniforms rather than trade them for younger players or draft picks...While acknowledging that there will be tremendous public pressure to keep the Bulls intact if they win, Reinsdorf says. "I don't care." In fact, several sources in the Bulls' organization say the prevailing feeling in Chicago is that Reinsdorf and Krause are itching to begin rebuilding and are confident they can win another championship without Jackson and, if it comes down to it, without Jordan.

It hasn't turned out so well. In the 10 seasons post-MJ, the Bulls have finished above .500 only twice, and  have made the playoffs three times (advancing to the second round only once).

Here's why you don't break up a franchise in the midst of a championship run:

In the last 28 seasons, only 8 out of 30 NBA teams have won one or more NBA championships.

On average, an NBA franchise should win one championship every 30 years. Of course, when an NBA team wins a championship, odds are they will repeat.

Look at the last 28 NBA Champions and the number of rings each have won (title year in parenthesis)

Los Angeles Lakers 8 (80, 82, 85, 86, 87 00-02)
Chicago Bulls 6 (91-94, 96-98)
San Antonio Spurs 4 (99, 03, 05, 07)
Boston Celtics 3 (81, 84, 86)
Detroit Pistons 3 (88, 89, 04)
Houston Rockets 2 (94, 95)
Miami Heat 1 (05)
Philadelphia 76ers 1 (83)

Conclusion: It is incredibly difficult to win an NBA championship, but once a team wins, odds are fairly decent they will repeat (Of the eight teams that have won titles, 75% have repeated).

Michael Jordan wanted to come back for the 1998-99 season and pursue a seventh NBA title. The deal: Michael wanted Bulls management to sign him, Pippin, Rodman, and Phil Jackson to one-year contracts. This was an expensive proposition. Michael was already making $30+ million per season. Plus Pippin was angling for a long-term deal. 1998-99 turned out to be a strike-shortened season, which would have undoubtedly favored Michael and the Bulls even more. In the final analysis, I still maintain that investing in the very real possibility of a seventh NBA title was a better use of limited financial resources than rebuilding.

And now I can jump back on the Bulls' bandwagon with a clear mind. I would even trust Jerry Krause to select between Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose.

--Marc Isenberg