Hear Me Out...NBA goes all in on the G League

Thursday the NBA announced its new plan to bolster the NBA G-League by offering elite high school players (AKA the one-and-done players) $125K to play one season in the G-League before entering the NBA draft. Immediately after the announcement, the hot takes were flowing like the Big Horn River in the spring.

By and far the favorite hot take was the move being the NBA's way of killing the NCAA and the JBA (Junior Basketball Association, LaVar Ball's sham semi-pro league) in one fell swoop. Both are an overreaction mostly by people who hate both the NCAA and JBA.

The NBA isn't worried about the JBA because until Thursday, or even as you read right this minute, no one has heard of this dumpster fire league. There are no players of consequence in the league and Ball has a hard time as it is paying players. NBA commissioner Adam Silver hasn't lost a wink of sleep since the JBA was announced last year.

The JBA was dead on arrival because its founder, Ball, is only using the league to prop up his younger and not as good at basketball sons, LiAngelo Ball and LaMelo Ball.

Now that the ridiculous JBA is out of the way, let's get to the serious question. Does the G League's move threaten the NCAA? No.

Actually, I believe both stand to benefit from this move but more so the NBA.

The NBA has too much of a good thing going with the NCAA. They're a free feeder-system to the NBA, why would they want to spoil that? I guarantee the NCAA was heavily consulted as these G League plans were being hashed out.

Thursday's announcement could possibly help the one-and-done problem which is a win for both organizations. With one-and-dones having a reasonable alternate avenue to the pros, the NCAA can continue pumping its student-athlete farce and the NBA can begin to legitimize their minor league.

To me, the purpose behind Thursday's move was just another step in the NBA's mission to bolster the G League. Slowly, they've been making one after another to make the G-League a true minor league system.

First, and smartly, they rebranded. Getting rid of the Development League, D-League, name and brought in Gatorade to sponsor and that's why it's called the G-League. They've expanded teams so that nearly every NBA franchise has an affiliate, only the Denver Nuggets, Portland Trailblazers and New Orleans Pelicans do not have an affiliate. (So if you won the Mega Millions last night, reach out to the Nuggets about starting up their G League team.)

By far the most important move made to improve the G League, even more than offering a few of the best high school players $125K, has been better integration of the G League teams with their NBA affiliates. It's crazy that it took so long but the NBA franchises are now far more involved with running their G League teams.

Before, NBA teams had their affiliates nowhere near team headquarters. For example, in 2007-08 both the Washington Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies shared the same D-League team the Dakota Wizards who played in Bismarck, North Dakota. Now, most teams have their affiliates nearby and often practicing at the franchise's training facility.

A better effort has been made to establish continuity as teams have handpicked coaches and training staffs for their G League teams. It is weird for a league as smart as the NBA to, just now, figure out that their minor league guys would transition better to the big leagues if the same message was being preached at all levels. Better late than never.

It's no surprise since the NBA started to focus more on its minor league that the number of players currently in the NBA with G League/D-League experience has jumped up significantly. In 2011-12 the NBA had 88 players with G League/D-League experience. At the start of the '18-'19 season, that number has jumped to 198.

With 40 percent of their current players having played a stint in the G League, it's clear the NBA's investment in their minor league is paying off, and Thursday's move just helps beef it up even more so. Their mission to build a MLB-esque minor league is well on track.

Specific details are still being hammered out and I'm sure we'll get those specifics around the NBA All-Star Break. Again, everyone stands to benefit from this news, well mostly everyone. The only person that's going to be hurt by this move is Kentucky coach John Calipari, he feeds off the one-and-done model. But Coach Cal isn't going to go quietly, he's already cooked up an idea that benefits absolutely everyone and might help his program but that's not important. Here's his exact quote to ESPN:

"I've got the solution," Calipari told ESPN on Tuesday. "The NBA, you want these kids in the G League, you want to do all this? Everyone that goes in the G League is guaranteed eight semesters of college education if you don't make it. You give them a signing bonus, you pay them. And then if they don't make it after two years, the NBA pays to have them on my campus. They have to sit out their first year, to prove they really want to be in college. So you can come to college, the NBA is gonna pay for it, for eight semesters. You come back, sit out a year to prove you really want to be in college, then you start playing and your clock starts."

Never, ever change Coach Cal. NEVER. EVER. CHANGE.