Put ourselves in the shoes of these young men.  If you have the chance now to help out Mom by improving her lifestyle (retire from a bad job, new car or house, etc.), do it.  I think we assume that these players are only out for riches for themselves.  That's not true.  Many have had difficult, challenged upbringings. They are usually thinking of their larger families.  This is their chance to turn things around.

1 hour ago, The Flea Market said:

Orten has really done well in basketball since he left? Where is he now? Selling cars at Paul Miller?

You assume that Calipari pushed Daniel Orton out the door is a pretty poor assumption.

13 minutes ago, bugatti said:

I am not a parent, so I can't answer this. But if your kid was 19 years of age and had an offer to make approximately $5MM the next three years of their lives (this is about what you would make as the last pick of the first round), is it responsible to tell them to come back to college on the off chance they "improve their stock?"

Absolutely not. 

Not many have come back, what happens when the money is gone? I guess it is good when the money is there but when they are broke what do they have in life?

6 minutes ago, The Flea Market said:

Not many have come back, what happens when the money is gone? I guess it is good when the money is there but when they are broke what do they have in life?

You are assuming someone making millions of dollars is going to spend it all. I know for me, had I had the opportunity to make $5MM+ at 19-22 years of age, my parents would make me take the money and we can figure out the rest later. The University of (insert your school) is not going anywhere if you want to collect your degree. Chances are Daniel Orton made more money than your average person will make in a lifetime before he was 23, and he was out of the league by then.  A leg up in life is of greater benefit than sticking around to get a degree. We all have different pathways.

And if he goes broke? Well, that is America.

2 hours ago, bugatti said:

You are assuming someone making millions of dollars is going to spend it all. I know for me, had I had the opportunity to make $5MM+ at 19-22 years of age, my parents would make me take the money and we can figure out the rest later. The University of (insert your school) is not going anywhere if you want to collect your degree. Chances are Daniel Orton made more money than your average person will make in a lifetime before he was 23, and he was out of the league by then.  A leg up in life is of greater benefit than sticking around to get a degree. We all have different pathways.

And if he goes broke? Well, that is America.

The problem with that thinking is that many, many, many people are not prepared mentally to have that type of money. Because it is more money than many of us will see in our lifetime, you’re programmed to think it is impossible to spend it all. But the reality is that you can spend that much money frighteningly fast. There’s a reason the made that 30 for 30 “Broke” about athletes that had gone bankrupt. It happens to a lot of them. You need to have a good head on your shoulders and some good advice to make it work. Shunning advice from someone who knows the game a lot better isn’t a solid start. 
 

All that being said, there’s worse things than what Orton is doing, playing professionally overseas.

On 2/17/2021 at 10:49 PM, MJAlltheWay24 said:

Meaning he can tell them how much he thinks they could get paid if they go pro this year vs going pro in the future?

Yup, I truly belief Cal's main objective is to put his players in the best possible position to create generational wealth.  

8 hours ago, John Anthony said:

Yup, I truly belief Cal's main objective is to put his players in the best possible position to create generational wealth.  

I completely agree with you.

But that main objective and winning championships doesn't have to be mutually exclusive, as some tend to believe.

13 hours ago, DragonFire said:

The problem with that thinking is that many, many, many people are not prepared mentally to have that type of money. Because it is more money than many of us will see in our lifetime, you’re programmed to think it is impossible to spend it all. But the reality is that you can spend that much money frighteningly fast. There’s a reason the made that 30 for 30 “Broke” about athletes that had gone bankrupt. It happens to a lot of them. You need to have a good head on your shoulders and some good advice to make it work. Shunning advice from someone who knows the game a lot better isn’t a solid start. 
 

All that being said, there’s worse things than what Orton is doing, playing professionally overseas.

I am not disagreeing with this at all. It is easy to fly through the money when you combine immaturity and ignorance. All I was saying is it unfair to paint the brush all kids that jump to the NBA and don't have a long career: A) Made the wrong move; and B) Will go broke.

On 2/17/2021 at 8:48 PM, John Anthony said:

I think Cal is always honest with kids when it comes to them getting paid.

 

On 2/17/2021 at 10:36 PM, Randy Parker said:

For all the smoke he blows, I think this is spot on.

I agree RP. JA blows a lot of smoke but that post is on target.

4 hours ago, Voice of Reason said:

 

I agree RP. JA blows a lot of smoke but that post is on target.

LOL!!!!

I think you have to keep in mind that there can be a difference between what Cal advises a player privately and what he says publicly.  I believe that even if he thinks a player is better of to return for another season, should that player ultimately declare for the draft, Cal is going to support that decision as far as the public is concerned.