G League Claims Another One

Another five-star basketball recruit has decided to head to the new G League development program. The league announced point guard Daishen Nix has decommitted from UCLA to pursue the new professional pathway for rising basketball stars.

Nix joins fellow top recruits Jalen Green and Isaiah Todd, who both chose the new program over collegiate offers. Nix is the first to decommit from a signed letter of intent, and he is expected to earn $300,000 while playing a limited amount of games.

As the news became public, Yahoo’s Chris Haynes tweeted that Green, who is projected to be the 2021 No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft, has signed a memorabilia deal with the trading card company Upper Deck. According to Haynes, Green is the third player to sign a memorabilia contract directly out of high school, joining LeBron James and Dwight Howard.

College Athletes Compensation Changes

While more high school players are planning on skipping school to make money, a working group presented a list of possible changes to the NCAA’s name, image and likeness rules to the organization’s board of governors on Tuesday.

Recommendations include allowing players to make money through modeling and advertisements, so long as the college isn’t referenced and student-athletes avoid marketing products that conflict with NCAA legislation, such as sports betting. The recommendations also note that athletes would be allowed to hire an agent to seek out deals outside of pro sports, according to ESPN’s Dan Murphy. Student-athletes would also be required to disclose all endorsement contracts to their athletic department.

A vote on new NIL rules isn’t expected until January 2021.