Darius Bazley has changed his pre-NBA plans a few times, but everything seems to be working out for him these days. Bazley opted not to go to Syracuse University for what would presumably be his one-and-done season before he entered the NBA Draft. Bazley announced in March that he would skip Syracuse and instead play in the NBA’s G League, making a salary while training for the NBA Draft.
The move was one that Bazley characterized as starting a “fire” of sorts, allowing NBA hopefuls to bypass the NCAA and forge a new path into the pros. In August, though, Bazley made a new announcement: he would skip the G League, too, instead spending his time training and hoping to be drafted in the NBA despite not playing anywhere the season after his high school career ended.
You can’t train 24 hours a day, though, and so many wondered what he would be doing to fill his time while G Leaguers and NCAA players went to class or worked elsewhere. And the answer for Bazley appears to be a lucrative job with New Balance. Marc Stein of the New York Times reported on Monday that Bazley and his agent have inked a deal with New Balance that would give him an endorsement deal in the hopes that he is, indeed, drafted next summer.
Stein described the deal on Monday with a profile of Bazley, who was characterized as essentially getting a million-dollar internship instead of playing college basketball.
The internship, to be precise, is folded into a handsome shoe contract Bazley, 18, has landed with New Balance on the lure of his pro potential. According to Paul, Bazley’s multiyear deal will pay him $1 million “no matter what happens” with his N.B.A. career — and can pay up to $14 million if he reaches all performance incentives.
“They hooked me up,” Bazley said.
This deal is perhaps the most interesting development in the ever-changing landscape of the pre-NBA world. Last week, the G League announced a pay structure for players who would presumably decide not to play NCAA basketball while the one-and-done rule is still in effect. But private companies coming into the picture is intriguing. The deal is essentially a bet for New Balance, who could come out of it with a star athlete in its stable for a bargain while other companies like Puma are also betting big on young players.
It’s tough to say what will happen to Bazley’s draft stock given that NBA teams will have far less data to evaluate him before the Draft. But his time at New Balance will certainly be unique. It may not be the path Bazley was thought to be forging earlier this year, but he’s in a category all his own right now.
