By ADAM ZAGORIA
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski pointed out Wednesday that the Knicks — or any NBA team, really — could be hurt by the new G League plan to offer “select contracts” worth $125,000 next year.
A player could sign with a particular team, say the Knicks, for $125,000 in 2019, but then get drafted by a different team in 2020, meaning the Knicks in this case would lose out on a player they had helped develop for a season. The NBA club who initially has the player doesn’t retain his rights going forward.
“I’d like to wait and see what they’re going to do with the G League proposal because they threw that out but they didn’t talk about how you allocate,” Coach K told ESPN’s Maria Taylor from ACC Media Day. “If you’re the Knicks and you have a kid there at your affiliate and then he goes in the draft and you’ve developed him and then he goes to another place, I’m not sure that’s what they want.
“As far as researching it, looking at it as an alternative, I’m all for that. It may be an alternative to what they might not be able to do in 2022 in getting rid of one-and-done.”
The NBA may not be able to abandon the one-and-done rule until 2023 after it is collectively bargained.
Coach K also pointed out that “you’re never going to get rid of one-and-done because even if high school kids come in, someone’s still going to come for one year of college.”
Duke this year has the projected No. 1 overall pick in R.J. Barrett and two other projected Top 10 picks in Zion Williamson and Cam Reddish. Duke has had a top-three pick in the last five drafts, but Coach K insists his recruiting strategy hasn’t changed to focus on one-and-dones.
“We haven’t necessarily embraced one-and-done,” he said. “We just recruit the same kids we’ve recruited for 40 years. They just go after one year now. Grant Hill and [Shane] Battier and all those guys, [Christian] Laettner would’ve gone after one year, it’s just times have changed but we’ve recruited the same guys.”
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