UNC signed Justin Watt this week, and Jack Daly of the Herald-Sun suggests that he might have been offered because UNC expects to lose one of their three players who are currently in the draft (incidentally, he picked UNC over Stanford after Roy Williams urged him to wait to see how things played out). One mock draft had Wayne Ellington going in the first round, but could UNC be hedging their bets because of Danny Green? Judging by what his father is saying, it could be.
Danny Green Sr., a guy whose judgement is already highly questionable, has some very strong comments about his son's status and intentions.
Green, who was convicted in a cocaine case involving 462 pounds of cocaine with a street value of around $40 million, $5 million in cash, and firearms.
Green said it was all a mistake, and the original charges were dismissed, but he was hit with a new charge of conspiracy, and that's what he pleaded guilty to.
Green Sr. says that âDanny Green is not just testing the waters. Everybodyâs put that out there, that heâs just testing the waters. Well heâs not. If Danny is going to get drafted and we think heâs going to be able to get a contract, he is going to the NBA. No questions asked. Letâs make that clear.â
Thing is, almost no one else thinks he's good enough at this point to get drafted. So here's what he's potentially giving up: a free education at a fine university that will translate, over the course of his lifetime, to millions of dollars.
Leave aside the likely career in Europe, which will bring him several million. He's in a position to be earning $70,000 or more at a fairly young age. That's over a million, and that's not counting investments or other opportunities.
It's a reasonable guess to assume that Green's UNC education will bring him somewhere between 3-10 million dollars over his lifetime.
He can always go back and finish up, of course, but given the general opinion of informed NBA types, he's not going to get drafted and has limited options. Given all that, we'd think his father is misguided when he says "[t]he whole idea of going to a school like North Carolina to play basketball is to try to position yourself to get into the league, to get a contract. If Danny can realize that dream right now, why not seize the opportunity?â
Getting to the NBA is a big goal for anyone who is remotely close to that level. But getting a solid education pays off as well.