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Adidas ready to throw $180 million at Andrew Wiggins


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#1 Oriole85

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Posted 15 October 2013 - 10:33 PM

CBS Sports: Report: Adidas ready to throw $180 million at Andrew Wiggins

 

http://www.cbssports...-andrew-wiggins

 

Well it's Bleacher Report that CBS Sports is citing, but still when we're talking about this much money, I have to think eventually someone is just going to sit out a year.


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#2 BSLMikeLowe

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Posted 16 October 2013 - 04:44 PM

If more top players get offers like this coming out of high school, I wonder if more of them might choose to follow Brandon Jennings and play a year overseas instead of college. That way the shoe/apparel company can steer them towards a club that they already outfit and the kid will be wearing their stuff. It could be a boost to their overseas marketing too. I don't know who outfits KU, but it would seem rather weird for Adidas to have $180 million waiting for Wiggins (and I know none of this is "official" but it's not like the public isn't going to know) while he's playing a year in college wearing Nike or some other brand.



#3 Oriole85

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Posted 16 October 2013 - 05:11 PM

If more top players get offers like this coming out of high school, I wonder if more of them might choose to follow Brandon Jennings and play a year overseas instead of college. That way the shoe/apparel company can steer them towards a club that they already outfit and the kid will be wearing their stuff. It could be a boost to their overseas marketing too. I don't know who outfits KU, but it would seem rather weird for Adidas to have $180 million waiting for Wiggins (and I know none of this is "official" but it's not like the public isn't going to know) while he's playing a year in college wearing Nike or some other brand.

Well sure, but they might as well just take off a year. If LeBron James had just spent a year under bubblewrap would any team not taken him #1? Europe should be the players who want to more establish themselves but still get paid.


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#4 BSLMikeLowe

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Posted 16 October 2013 - 07:56 PM

Well sure, but they might as well just take off a year. If LeBron James had just spent a year under bubblewrap would any team not taken him #1? Europe should be the players who want to more establish themselves but still get paid.

 

While I'm sure money means a lot to these kids, I would think they love playing basketball just as much if not more. Do they really want to sit around for a year doing nothing, even if they get paid?



#5 Oriole85

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Posted 16 October 2013 - 08:09 PM

While I'm sure money means a lot to these kids, I would think they love playing basketball just as much if not more. Do they really want to sit around for a year doing nothing, even if they get paid?

I would think so, it's not as injury prone as football obviously. The better the player, the less likely I think they'd just go to Europe to experience a culture they've never been before. Let's not forget were talking about 18-19 year olds here. Long-term wise it's a better investment IMO to take off a year and be in a controlled environment. Case-by-case basis though.


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#6 BSLMikeLowe

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Posted 16 October 2013 - 08:19 PM

I would think so, it's not as injury prone as football obviously. The better the player, the less likely I think they'd just go to Europe to experience a culture they've never been before. Let's not forget were talking about 18-19 year olds here. Long-term wise it's a better investment IMO to take off a year and be in a controlled environment. Case-by-case basis though.

 

From our perspective, it makes sense. From their perspective, I think they would view it much differently. You don't become the sort of player that a shoe company wants to pay $180 million before you even finish high school if you don't truly love playing basketball. I think a kid like that would want to have his cake ($180 million) and eat it too (play ball).

 

This reminds me of a thread back on OH the summer the O's drafted Manny Machado. During the down time between the draft and the point where contract negotiations get serious (which back then wasn't until August) Machado tweeted something to the effect of "this has been the worst summer of my life." Naturally the board went into a total meltdown, until someone with a voice of reason (don't remember who, but major props to whoever it was) posted that the reason is probably simply that it was the first summer since he could walk that he wasn't playing baseball.

 

The point is, if an 18-year old kid is having the "worst summer of his life" because he's spent two months away from the game he loves, even though he knows he will eventually become rich, how do you think an 18-year old kid will react if he has to spend a whole year without playing?



#7 Oriole85

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Posted 16 October 2013 - 08:33 PM

From our perspective, it makes sense. From their perspective, I think they would view it much differently. You don't become the sort of player that a shoe company wants to pay $180 million before you even finish high school if you don't truly love playing basketball. I think a kid like that would want to have his cake ($180 million) and eat it too (play ball).

 

This reminds me of a thread back on OH the summer the O's drafted Manny Machado. During the down time between the draft and the point where contract negotiations get serious (which back then wasn't until August) Machado tweeted something to the effect of "this has been the worst summer of my life." Naturally the board went into a total meltdown, until someone with a voice of reason (don't remember who, but major props to whoever it was) posted that the reason is probably simply that it was the first summer since he could walk that he wasn't playing baseball.

 

The point is, if an 18-year old kid is having the "worst summer of his life" because he's spent two months away from the game he loves, even though he knows he will eventually become rich, how do you think an 18-year old kid will react if he has to spend a whole year without playing?

If the shoe company is paying $180 million regardless if they go to Europe or not, I think that changes things because at this point you're set for life to begin with. If I'm the shoe company, I'm probably tell them they can't play in Europe though, I'm wanting to protect my investment. But yeah, I'm not sure how many 18-19 year olds are going to go to to Euorpe when they don't have to, maybe if they have a support system (parents, siblings, friends) who are going with them. Ovi after all, atleast as of last year still lived with his parents here and he's 28 now.

 

The players always make those kind of statements, which is why I expected Hunter Harvey to "change his mind" and say he could go to community college -- he gave away his main leverage there by not even considering college.

 

I think they'd react, that things suck right, but I'd rather be set for life and have one miserable year than risk becoming the next Greg Oden in Europe. Again, if the shoe company is paying them ~$180 million they'll be more likely to go to Europe, but I could still many by passing it.


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#8 Oriole85

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Posted 16 October 2013 - 08:40 PM

Also, I'm not sure what their agents and/or advisors are going to tell them. I'm guessing they'd generally advise against playing in Europe if they are a top 5 pick, maybe even lottery.

 

Without the influence of agents, players would probably sign earlier like with Machado saying how bored he was.  As much as they love playing the game, long-term comes before short-term.


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#9 BSLMikeLowe

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Posted 16 October 2013 - 09:12 PM

End of the day, it's the player's choice if he goes to college, overseas or sits....regardless of what the shoe company or agent says. I think nearly all kids would probably prefer to stay in the US and do a year of college rather than go overseas. But for those rare few who have the opportunity to ink an 8 or 9-digit endorsement deal right out of high school, but then they have to forego college, I think that they would choose playing a season overseas before they choose spending a year doing nothing. And as I said before, if the shoe company can steer the kid towards a club over there that they already outfit, there's a benefit for them as well, versus having the kid sitting in the US where he might be able to make a commercial for you, but his name brand still probably slips because he's nowhere to be found on the SportsCenter highlights.



#10 BSLMikeLowe

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Posted 16 October 2013 - 09:52 PM

From the looks of it, Kansas wears Adidas, so that obviously helps Adidas' cause in getting a post-college endorsement deal from Wiggins. Nike would probably have to do more than match, they would have to beat Adidas' offer to get him, I would think.



#11 Oriole85

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Posted 16 October 2013 - 09:59 PM

End of the day, it's the player's choice if he goes to college, overseas or sits....regardless of what the shoe company or agent says. I think nearly all kids would probably prefer to stay in the US and do a year of college rather than go overseas. But for those rare few who have the opportunity to ink an 8 or 9-digit endorsement deal right out of high school, but then they have to forego college, I think that they would choose playing a season overseas before they choose spending a year doing nothing. And as I said before, if the shoe company can steer the kid towards a club over there that they already outfit, there's a benefit for them as well, versus having the kid sitting in the US where he might be able to make a commercial for you, but his name brand still probably slips because he's nowhere to be found on the SportsCenter highlights.

Well yeah, it's the kids decision but they aren't going to make a great short-term decision for a bad long-term decision. $ talks and is very important in the process, regardless of the whole "love the of the game" bs they'll tell you..

 

I don't think the shoe companies would want them playing "over there," when they could capitalize more from their rookie year in the NBA. These games in Europe aren't going to be watched for the most part besides basketball junkies.


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#12 BSLMikeLowe

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Posted 16 October 2013 - 10:22 PM

Well yeah, it's the kids decision but they aren't going to make a great short-term decision for a bad long-term decision. $ talks and is very important in the process, regardless of the whole "love the of the game" bs they'll tell you..

 

I don't think the shoe companies would want them playing "over there," when they could capitalize more from their rookie year in the NBA. These games in Europe aren't going to be watched for the most part besides basketball junkies.

 

You think their love for playing basketball is BS? That seems awfully jaded considering it's an 18-year old kid that has yet to (officially) make a single dime playing it.

 

I also think your view on Europe is a bit narrow-minded. Nike and Adidas are global companies....Adidas is HQ in Germany. Basketball is arguably the second most popular sport in Europe (just like in the US). Let's look at it from Nike's perspective....they buy the Andrew Wiggins hype that he is the next LeBron. They want to build a brand around him. Word is Adidas plans to make him a big offer once he's finished college. Putting them in the driver's seat is the fact that Wiggins' college team wears Adidas, so he will have an entire season to get comfortable with their product. Comfort level with shoes is a huge deal to basketball players. You are likely going to have to sell him big time to get him to switch.

 

Or

 

You could offer him the same amount of money right now, and then get him a contract with one of your teams in Europe for a season. You can start building your brand with him, now. He can film commercials, now, for both Europe and the US. He's also marketing/wearing your gear in Europe, easily your #2 market in the world....as opposed to someone else in the US. He's on Europe's version of SportsCenter every night he plays.

 

From his perspective, he gets paid from Day 1. He doesn't have to sit in classrooms for a semester. He gets a taste of professional life before he gets to the NBA.

 

And he will still be a rookie whether he goes to college or Europe.

 

It's a very, very rare player for whom this scenario would make sense, from anyone's perspective. But for this one, I see it. And for Wiggins specifically, he's Canadian, so he's already used to life in a slightly different culture.



#13 Oriole85

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Posted 16 October 2013 - 10:48 PM

You think their love for playing basketball is BS? That seems awfully jaded considering it's an 18-year old kid that has yet to (officially) make a single dime playing it.

 

I also think your view on Europe is a bit narrow-minded. Nike and Adidas are global companies....Adidas is HQ in Germany. Basketball is arguably the second most popular sport in Europe (just like in the US). Let's look at it from Nike's perspective....they buy the Andrew Wiggins hype that he is the next LeBron. They want to build a brand around him. Word is Adidas plans to make him a big offer once he's finished college. Putting them in the driver's seat is the fact that Wiggins' college team wears Adidas, so he will have an entire season to get comfortable with their product. Comfort level with shoes is a huge deal to basketball players. You are likely going to have to sell him big time to get him to switch.

 

Or

 

You could offer him the same amount of money right now, and then get him a contract with one of your teams in Europe for a season. You can start building your brand with him, now. He can film commercials, now, for both Europe and the US. He's also marketing/wearing your gear in Europe, easily your #2 market in the world....as opposed to someone else in the US. He's on Europe's version of SportsCenter every night he plays.

 

From his perspective, he gets paid from Day 1. He doesn't have to sit in classrooms for a semester. He gets a taste of professional life before he gets to the NBA.

 

And he will still be a rookie whether he goes to college or Europe.

 

It's a very, very rare player for whom this scenario would make sense, from anyone's perspective. But for this one, I see it. And for Wiggins specifically, he's Canadian, so he's already used to life in a slightly different culture.

For most of these 18 year old kids, they want to see real money. I think when they realize this can happen, their attitudes change on this matter. I think you're overdoing the "love of the game' argument. I think when they can turn pro, they'll do whatever is in their best long-term interest. You've seen kids have a hard enough time domestically with maturity issues from high school to pros, going to Europe is a whole new dimension. That's why I said I could see it more if they have a support system. 

 

I just don't think these kids are going to move to Europe for a year if they clear consensus top NBA Draft picks. I don't think they'll want to move there for a single year, I think they'd rather take the year off. You disagree with that. I don't disagree with your marketing reasons though.


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#14 Oriole85

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Posted 17 October 2013 - 08:26 PM

ESPN: That reported shoe endorsement offer for Andrew Wiggins was a hoax

 

http://collegebasket...a-hoax/related/


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