(02-28-2018 01:16 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(02-28-2018 11:44 AM)solohawks Wrote:  

(02-28-2018 10:04 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(02-28-2018 08:11 AM)solohawks Wrote:  Even if the G League paid a good enough wage, it would be hard to replicate the media attention a star college athlete currently receives. Intangibles like that are hard to quantify.

Unless fans figure out the next NBA superstar is playing in the G League instead of the next career journeyman. Won't be the same media level but it would do wonders for the G League tv deal.

Maybe. I think a successful minor league with the best talent would still pale in comparison to collegiate sports. G League teams aren't going to get the attendance and passionate fanbases that truly care like collegiate athletics have. You take the current UNC tarheel lineup and put them in Greensboro G League jerseys. They won't draw like the Tar heels do. The jersey matters

Take the UNC Miami game last night. Same rosters same exact game. G League Greensboro losing to G League Tampa doesn't mean squat and no one would care outside basketball diehards

Even if true, that's missing the point of a G League or AAA baseball. The point is to develop potential big-league talent, not to rival the popularity of NBA or MLB games.

Also, if the NBA was serious about a cost-effective minor league, it wouldn't mimic the one team per city approach that minor league baseball has. It should be structured like NBA summer league, with several teams playing against each other in the same city. Have three "G leagues" of 10 teams each, with each league based in a city that doesn't have an NBA team. Las Vegas is the obvious choice for a western league; other cities should be chosen on the basis of having a suitable arena available for the league to use on a regular basis for the entire basketball season. Kansas City could be one such place because it has a large arena that doesn't house an NBA or NHL team.

But how do You get star players to play in the G League over the NCAA without significant financial incentive. And how do you provide that financial incentive without the media money the NCAA schools currently have?