Make the Right Decision, Kyler

Kyler,

u like what u see?

This could be yours if you know what’s best for you. With all the talk about if you should choose football or baseball, I think you should go all the way against the grain and choose basketball. I feel like the case makes itself but as the current word count for this blog is CRIMINALLY low, I will present my case.

1. Short basketball players aren’t that uncommon

There have been 25 players all-time listed at 5′ 9″ or shorter that made it to the NBA. I doubt there have been that many NFL quarterbacks of that stature and you can be that small in baseball, but you gotta be Eckstein-level scrappy (wink) to make it work. If you take into consideration the JJ Barea’s of the NBA that are clearly lying in their listed height, the true list gets longer.

2. The money is still guaranteed

The football money isn’t all guaranteed and you gotta take a whooping to get it. The baseball money is, but no one outside of your team will know who you are so the marketing opportunities will be tougher to come by in my uninformed opinion. Basketball is the best of both worlds.

Of those 25, seven played in 350 games or more. 350 is a completely arbitrary but important number here. 350 games/82 games per season = 4.26 seasons (You have my promise, that is the LAST advanced number I will ever use in a post). 4.26 seasons runs the entire length of a traditional first or second round contract, plus .26. That .26 is that second contract, Kyler.

Earl Boykins played 13 seasons and made over $16 million dollars. Muggsy Bogues played 14 seasons and made over $18 million dollars.  Nate Robinson played 10 seasons and made nearly $25 million dollars. Isaiah Thomas had an All-NBA season for the Celtics and was rewarded with a handsome nine-figure deal. Keep in mind that each of these gentlemen made their hay before the new CBA sent the salary cap to the moon. Boykins would have cleared $30 million today. Muggsy would have made $45 million now. Nate Robinson would currently be on year three of a 4 year/$65 million dollar deal with the Miami Heat. The aforementioned .26 could be the .26 of a $52 million dollar deal with the Hornets. Something to consider.

3. The NBA is getting smaller as we speak

As recently as 2015, PJ Tucker was consistently defending shooting guards. Last year, he spent a good bit of time at center in the playoffs for a team that was one game away from knocking off the Warriors. This is a good sign for you, Kyler. Sure, you’re a point guard NOW. In 2027 as the game gets smaller and smaller? With modern medicine?? I could see you playing some small ball four.

4. The NBA is relatively easy to get into

Hakeem Olajuwon and Joel Embiid started basketball relatively late in their lives and still became All-Star talents. CPF Dewayne Dedmon didn’t start playing until his senior year of high school. Dedmon hasn’t turned 30 yet, is making $7 million dollars this season and is about to hit free agency at a time when teams are flush with cap space.

Now Kyler, I know each of these gentlemen are upwards of 7 feet tall and north of 250 pounds. You are not. Counterpoint: You have a Heisman. They do not. Embiid would have lost that shootout against West Virginia. There’s not a chance Olajuwon puts up 400 total yards and 3 touchdowns on Bama. Dewayne is a friend of the show. I like him. But let’s not forget that 3 interception debacle of a Senior Day game he had against Iowa State. You’ve already done what they never could. What’s one more time?

I’m not certain you’ve played basketball or even seen a basketball in real life per se, but I have faith in you. Just because it has not been done, doesn’t mean it can not be done. Make me, a complete internet stranger, proud.