Jim Boeheim landed one of the top recruits in the nation and a potential one-and-done superstar last summer when Darius Bazley committed to the Orange in July of 2017 – but he stunned Syracuse last March by de-committing to spend a year in the NBA’s G League instead.
In April, Bazley signed with agent Rich Paul, the founder of Klutch Sports Group and a lifelong friend of LeBron James. With Paul’s help, Bazley has changed course yet again in his journey to the NBA. It was reported on Monday that the 18-year-old signed an endorsement deal with New Balance worth a guaranteed $1 million. Bazley won’t be playing in the G League in the lead up to the 2019 NBA draft, and will instead train on his own and work at New Balance as a intern. The New York Times’ Marc Stein broke the news on Bazley’s deal.
Via the New York Times:
“Currently training in Memphis and living with the Memphis assistant Mike Miller – one of James’s favorite former teammates – Bazley will move to the Boston area in early January to start his off-court business education. He is expected to spend time with New Balance’s marketing department, digital and social teams and footwear and apparel design arms and the company’s sports laboratory in Lawrence, Mass.”
As Stein notes, it’s possible that Bazley won’t have played an organized, competitive basketball game for more than a year by the time of the 2019 Draft. New Balance is already sold on Bazley’s pro potential without a stop in college or the G League, and his deal with the company could be worth up to $14 million should he hit certain benchmarks. Boeheim, however, feels that Bazley’s game would have benefited from a year in upstate New York.
Via the New York Times:
“In my mind he was a top-20, top-25 pick – conservatively – because he’s long,” said Boeheim, who believes the G League would have been too physical for Bazley. “He needs to work in a weight room and eat right for a year.”
When asked about Bazley’s endorsement deal on Wednesday, Boeheim had a message for LeBron James.
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