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After tinkering with a professional pathway program, the NBA’s G League has finally landed two top prospects. Guard Jalen Green and forward Isaiah Todd have decided to spend their post-prep year in the G League in the lead up to the 2021 NBA Draft.
ESPN provided details on the decisions of both players. In regards to Green, who is the top recruit on ESPN’s 100 for 2020, G League president Shareef Abdur-Rahim explained that the league was focused out-dueling international leagues for top domestic prospects. This season, LaMelo Ball and RJ Hampton both decided to play in Australia’s NBL over the G League’s pathway.
“That’s a real program that the NBL has,” Abdur-Rahim told ESPN. “It’s appealing. We have kids leaving the United States — Texas and California and Georgia — to go around the world to play, and our NBA community has to travel there to scout them. That’s counterintuitive. The NBA is the best development system in the world, and those players shouldn’t have to go somewhere else to develop for a year. They should be in our development system.”
According to ESPN, Green’s salary for next season could exceed $500,000 if he meets certain incentive-based goals. Todd, who is the No. 13 prospect on ESPN’s 100, could earn around $250,000 with bonuses.
Outside of Green and Todd, top recruits Greg Brown and Makur Maker remain as top-level prospects that have yet to commit to a college program.
You can read the full report on Green’s decision and its potential impact at ESPN.