Christie going pro?

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bga1 said:
That will be an interesting conversation. Max is in his second year averaging 16 minutes and 4.9 points per game....but he certainly is cashing checks. Would another year have meant more money for Max?
Max is making 1.7 million this year. The 15th pick in the NBA draft gets over 3 million- so that's the gamble. Can a guy raise his stock enough to make up for the lost year?

To me, if he is not a first round shoe in, the only downside of staying one more year in college is injury. If Battle got 250k - I would think we could drum up 300k here to keep him as the center piece of next year's squad. Selfishly- I'd love that!
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Not an NBA guy at all, but what I have been reading is the projected draft next year is much deeper than this year. That might be a consideration for him as well.

He is a wonderful player and is only going to get better. NBA draft is a lot of projection, I think, so he may get a round one look.
 


Bad Gopher said:
Maybe I'm naive or dense, but this was not on my bingo card. I did not see this possibility coming. He's got good potential and most of the physical tools, but he needs at least another year of development. What would really spring him is having a prominent role in a NCAA run next year. That will increase your draft profile like nothing else.
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If the G-League wasn't a thing I would agree but now that that is an option for guys who aren't quite ready that makes it more possible for someone to make the jump earlier. Hopefully he will choose to keep developing at the college level in order to improve his draft stock for when he does come out but that might not end up being what is most important to him.
 

I had similar thoughts and speculation on this in the NIL thread. Very similar skillset to his brother who did not spend much time at all in the G-League and is about to get a 2nd contract going into his 3rd season the size of a mid-1st round pick or better.
 


Slim Tubby said:
If the NBA deems him worthy and he earns a guaranteed FRP contract, that's a success story for Cam, Ben and the program. Selfishly, I hope he stays at least another year.
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No it isn't. It's a failure 100%. Get him to stay whatever it takes.

I don't think he is ready, but I'm not an NBA draft guru either. Can't constantly lose whatever talent you have that has a good season every year unless you are able to reload fast. At the U that is nearly impossible.
 

Go Gophs said:
No it isn't. It's a failure 100%. Get him to stay whatever it takes.

I don't think he is ready, but I'm not an NBA draft guru either. Can't constantly lose whatever talent you have that has a good season every year unless you are able to reload fast. At the U that is nearly impossible.
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Ah, no. There is this little thing called "free will". When you recruit good players and they perform:

1. They usually get paid
2. The team plays better
3. The coach wins more games

It's a success already regardless of what happens after the season. Unless he transfers. That's a different conversation.
 

Who would have thought this time last year our biggest worry was that CBJ was recruiting guys that are potentially 1 and done. 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

Might suck in the short term if Christie goes pro, but certainly might help CBJ’s recruiting trail pitch to have put a 4 star into pros as a 1 and some guy.
 

Go Gophs said:
No it isn't. It's a failure 100%. Get him to stay whatever it takes.

I don't think he is ready, but I'm not an NBA draft guru either. Can't constantly lose whatever talent you have that has a good season every year unless you are able to reload fast. At the U that is nearly impossible.
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Not impossible. It can be done. The right coach and administrators can make it happen.
 



Kobe Brown was the last pick of the 2023 1st round. He is guaranteed ~$4.95 million and if he sticks for 4 years his total would $12.394 million.

If Christie can be a first round pick he should probably go ahead and take that guaranteed money. Could he go higher in the draft if he came back? Yes. Could he go undrafted if he came back? Yes. Hard to turn down $5 million to maybe make an NCAA tournament.
 

Zeppelin Gopher said:
I mean, that logic doesn't really check out.

Cam is having a much better freshman season than Max had Michigan State, and they have extremely similar skill sets and physical profiles. Max is now in the Lakers rotation so it's hard to say he made a bad choice by coming out.

I didn't expect Cam to be this good or a possible one&done either...but this was always looming as a possibility once he started playing so well.

Selfishly we'd all love him to stay for another season, obviously.
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This reminds me of what our daughter's club gymnastics coaches would have to tell the parents all the time about the reasoning behind who got promoted to the next level and who didn't. It wasn't all about how you performed in the lower level, because that didn't always translate into performance at the next level. It's a matter of whether you were in a position to develop the next-level skills. And it certainly wasn't a matter of how anybody's sister did at the next level. Cam is not Max.
 
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Go Gophs said:
No it isn't. It's a failure 100%. Get him to stay whatever it takes.

I don't think he is ready, but I'm not an NBA draft guru either. Can't constantly lose whatever talent you have that has a good season every year unless you are able to reload fast. At the U that is nearly impossible.
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Come on man really?.....If he leaves for a different college team that would suck and there might be reason to blame the school, but if he chooses to go pro you can't fault the U for not being able to keep him here.
 



Please stop this NBA Christie talk. There is no way this freshman can or will be drafted after one year at MN. He's nowhere near strong enough with the ball, and he doesn't defend at nearly a high enough level. MAYBE, after next season we can start that conversation. At this point he wouldn't play in G or Euro League, so why even consider that. Just stop already...
 

SplitDecision said:
Please stop this NBA Christie talk. There is no way this freshman can or will be drafted after one year at MN. He's nowhere near strong enough with the ball, and he doesn't defend at nearly a high enough level. MAYBE, after next season we can start that conversation. At this point he wouldn't play in G or Euro League, so why even consider that. Just stop already...
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NBA drafts on potential.
 

math time --
30 teams in the NBA. 2 rounds in the draft = 60 players drafted.

that's 60 players out of all the eligible players in college hoops + the international players, who are making up a larger part of the NBA (over 25%).

So is Cam Christie one of the 60 best draft-eligible players in the world? and if you want the guaranteed contract money, is Christie one of the 30 best draft-eligible players in the world?

I'm going with No. He has a lot of potential, but he needs to get stronger, work on his ball-handling, etc.

and I think that's what Reusse was getting at in his sarcastic way - if Christie tries to go NBA now, he will wind up in the G League.
 

From the Strib: Was surprised to see Hawkins included in the article but everyone saying pretty much what they should say. Keeping their options open. NIL might help keep players who are in that "Not a sure thing level." They can get paid and still get better. That's assuming they don't go someplace else for more cash. Weird times.

Garcia and Hawkins both said they'll wait until after the season to make decisions on their college future to keep their attention on the late-season push. "It's definitely a possibility," Garcia said about returning to the Gophers.
Christie won't let NBA draft talk distract him from the task at hand, either.
"When that time comes, then I'll focus on it," Christie said. "But right now, staying focused on [the next game] is the main thing."
 

BarnBurner said:
Not an NBA guy at all, but what I have been reading is the projected draft next year is much deeper than this year. That might be a consideration for him as well.

He is a wonderful player and is only going to get better. NBA draft is a lot of projection, I think, so he may get a round one look.
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If someone commits to taking him in round one- then he should probably go. I sure would. If it's a second round deal- then he should be patient- he will get there.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
math time --
30 teams in the NBA. 2 rounds in the draft = 60 players drafted.

that's 60 players out of all the eligible players in college hoops + the international players, who are making up a larger part of the NBA (over 25%).

So is Cam Christie one of the 60 best draft-eligible players in the world? and if you want the guaranteed contract money, is Christie one of the 30 best draft-eligible players in the world?

I'm going with No. He has a lot of potential, but he needs to get stronger, work on his ball-handling, etc.

and I think that's what Reusse was getting at in his sarcastic way - if Christie tries to go NBA now, he will wind up in the G League.
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He wouldn’t be the first ever player to leave before being “strong enough” for the NBA. An NBA team might draft him because he has the frame and work ethic and can get strong enough in 1-2 years with NBA strength training.

In this case, they have a near genetic copy that they’ve already seen work out in a similar position.

Even if he slips into the second round, he still likely gets a decent 2-way contract like his brother, who has won “betting on himself” in 2 pro years that should turn into a 3-year $20 million deal (or so).

If he falters and is a career G-leaguer the money is probably a wash. He leaves a little bit of NIL money on the table and maybe an NCAA tournament experience. That’s up to him. Obviously also the gamble to play himself up into a mid 1st rounder…but he can get himself an earlier contract by playing his way up like his brother in the NBA as well.
 

Go Gophs said:
No it isn't. It's a failure 100%. Get him to stay whatever it takes.

I don't think he is ready, but I'm not an NBA draft guru either. Can't constantly lose whatever talent you have that has a good season every year unless you are able to reload fast. At the U that is nearly impossible.
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I don't know if it's a "failure" but it would certainly be a gut punch to the prospects for next year's team. Either way, it's NCAA or bust. No excuses.
 

Bad Gopher said:
This reminds me of what our daughter's club gymnastics coaches would tell the parents all the time about the reasoning behind who got promoted to the next level and who didn't. It wasn't all about how you performed in the lower level, because that didn't always translate into performance at the next level. It's a matter of whether you were in a position to develop the next-level skills. And it certainly wasn't a matter of how anybody's sister did at the next level. Cam is not Max.
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You're right, I've seen Cam projected to be drafted higher than Max was :)
 

MNVCGUY said:
Come on man really?.....If he leaves for a different college team that would suck and there might be reason to blame the school, but if he chooses to go pro you can't fault the U for not being able to keep him here.
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How many fringies do the sconnies lose per year? How about the other top teams in our conference?
Anytime we get someone worth a salt here they bolt for Euro league, etc. I get it, they can make money there but this doesn't happen as often everywhere else as it does here.
Also, I am not going to give any coach credit for a kid becoming a pro, only for recruiting them. The talent needed is the kid's deal, not the program or coach's.

Just funny how people will act like losing guys to fringe leagues instead of keeping them here is some indictment about how good our program is. Yah right.
 


Go Gophs said:
How many fringies do the sconnies lose per year? How about the other top teams in our conference?
Anytime we get someone worth a salt here they bolt for Euro league, etc. I get it, they can make money there but this doesn't happen as often everywhere else as it does here.
Also, I am not going to give any coach credit for a kid becoming a pro, only for recruiting them. The talent needed is the kid's deal, not the program or coach's.

Just funny how people will act like losing guys to fringe leagues instead of keeping them here is some indictment about how good our program is. Yah right.
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What fringe leagues have we lost players to? And who?
 

Coffey, Oturo were the 2 most recent that I remember. If both had stayed, Pitino would still be here.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
What fringe leagues have we lost players to? And who?
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Although poor arguments are not so uncommon here, ones coming completely out of left field are more unusual.

Admittedly, I've been a Gopher fan for a shorter time period than most around here but I don't recall anyone who fits the poster's description. The Gophers have had their share of former players playing in lesser international leagues but those have been players who have exhausted their collegiate eligibility. Then there are those, like Isaiah Washington, who transferred elsewhere and played in lesser pro leagues (a couple of Balkan leagues) after his collegiate career was over. Washington could have played a 5th year but he didn't choose that option. He seems to be playing in Germany now.
 
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Go Gophs said:
Coffey, Oturo were the 2 most recent that I remember. If both had stayed, Pitino would still be here.
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They didn't leave here for a fringe Euro league position. Coffey was undrafted but got a two-way NBA contract and he's still playing in the league. Oturu was the 33rd pick in the NBA draft in 2020. He only played 33 games but he did stick around long enough to make $2.5 million dollars. He played in an international league this season but it's a fairly respectable one (Turkey) and he did pretty well.
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
Kobe Brown was the last pick of the 2023 1st round. He is guaranteed ~$4.95 million and if he sticks for 4 years his total would $12.394 million.

If Christie can be a first round pick he should probably go ahead and take that guaranteed money. Could he go higher in the draft if he came back? Yes. Could he go undrafted if he came back? Yes. Hard to turn down $5 million to maybe make an NCAA tournament.
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Yes, but I doubt he would be a first round pick if he went this season. He's not on any draft boards I've seen even though I'm pretty confident he's on the radar. He has plenty of talent but he's a bit light right now.
 

Go Gophs said:
How many fringies do the sconnies lose per year? How about the other top teams in our conference?
Anytime we get someone worth a salt here they bolt for Euro league, etc. I get it, they can make money there but this doesn't happen as often everywhere else as it does here.
Also, I am not going to give any coach credit for a kid becoming a pro, only for recruiting them. The talent needed is the kid's deal, not the program or coach's.

Just funny how people will act like losing guys to fringe leagues instead of keeping them here is some indictment about how good our program is. Yah right.
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Didn't realize the NBA was considered a fringe league.....silly me, here I thought it was the top of the heap.

The thread is about Cam Christie, if he goes pro it will be for the NBA not some fringe league in Europe.
 


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