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2024 Transfer Portal Thread

Which is better, another year of NIL here or getting started on the next stage of his career in Europe? I have no idea how those 2 incomes match up. I've heard that the pay over there can be pretty sweet, if you land on a good team. Marcus will have input on that, I imagine.

Another variable I can't assess is the impact of what his girlfriend does. Do they want to be near each other? How important is the relationship?

Is there anything that might push RJ away? What if Hubert doesn't land top transfers? It's one thing to speculate, as many have, that RJ can't improve his stock by returning. It's another to worry that returning might hurt his stock.

As sensible as @DaveChapelle's post was, I still think Hubert needs to deliver.
I would suggest that RJ is feeling pressure to make a decision, his loyalty to UNC is deep and strong and he realizes that if he is going to leave Hubert needs to know quickly so he can work the portal for a replacement, which he has not been so far doing. Hubert has worked to address other position needs but nothing as far as a ball handling combo big time jump shooting 2 guard that covers the PG back up minutes. The closest thing is Seth's maybe return but he played with Seth last season. At some point Hubert is going to have to act as if RJ is gone.

The girl friend, if he plays UNC/NBA/G/Over the water they are not going to be together a lot of the time so matter what they will not be together as much as they were.
 
I think the fact that Marcus now resides on our bench is telling. If he was able to make big money overseas, chances are he would be doing that.
I think a lot of people put too much stock into money when imagining what kids want to do. We have to have it but it’s not an end all be all. Family, job security and other things matter. Close to home means a whole lot more to some people, even if it’s a lot less comfortable financially.
 
Other than winning a Title why would he come back…He is not going to improve his draft stock because he needs to play PG full time and run the show…Not happening with EC here…IMO his best move would be to enter the Draft go to the G-League and be a full time PG and work your way up the ladder…
NIL $ > G $
 
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I think the fact that Marcus now resides on our bench is telling. If he was able to make big money overseas, chances are he would be doing that.
Playing over seas is not for everyone, a lot of it is more about where you play as opposed to money. It would be awesome for example to play in Australia but can you make as money there as maybe playing in China, would you really want to play in China, would you want to play in Russia, want to play for the Ukraine Warriors? Safety trumps money and the world is not peaceful right now.

I don't think I have ever heard a kid say, I want to grow up and play pro basketball in Europe, that is my dream! The end game dream is always the NBA...

I agree, Marcus likely has already talked at length with him about this, would not doubt that Joel may have or will as well. EVERYTHING I see and have heard seems to indicate RJ will come back and play for UNC next season but there is just this feeling in my gut that is screaming hold on, maybe not. I feel like if I were RJ's dad I would have a hard talk with him, feel like I would have to tell him what he really wants just is not an option and that is a discussion neither father or son want to engage in but know they have to. In the end, I would tell him I think his best option is to come back and play for UNC next season, make the NIL money and see where the road leads after that because no matter what road you chose there is something great at the end. But it is not my decision to make, it isn't anyone on this boards decision to make, it is all RJs decision to make and I wish him well in making it. NOT EASY!
 
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Which is better, another year of NIL here or getting started on the next stage of his career in Europe? I have no idea how those 2 incomes match up. I've heard that the pay over there can be pretty sweet, if you land on a good team. Marcus will have input on that, I imagine.

Another variable I can't assess is the impact of what his girlfriend does. Do they want to be near each other? How important is the relationship?

Is there anything that might push RJ away? What if Hubert doesn't land top transfers? It's one thing to speculate, as many have, that RJ can't improve his stock by returning. It's another to worry that returning might hurt his stock.

As sensible as @DaveChapelle's post was, I still think Hubert needs to deliver.
Per your money thought, why not both…NIL $ this year and Europe (or wherever) next? Imagine if Marcus or Berry had that option when they played.
 
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NIL $ > G $


G-League salary is $40,500 for the whole season, and it's not guaranteed. If you get cut, your paychecks stop.

With Bacot (and Drake Maye) gone, there is no one at UNC who would make more NIL money than RJ Davis. He'd be making a lot more money than he would in any of his pro options.
 
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Per your money thought, why not both…NIL $ this year and Europe (or wherever) next? Imagine if Marcus or Berry had that option when they played.
Both Paige and Berry tried to break into the NBA, they both tried overseas, and they both retired from playing basketball the past couple of years.

I can guarantee you that both of them would have loved the opportunity to play a 5th year at UNC while UNC alums/fans paid them NIL.
 
So if RJ returns and also Trimble..What does Coach Davis do…You know the NBA is telling RJ you need to be the PG…Trimble got in the portal because he wants to play more PG and then you have EC the real PG…It’s only 1 basketball…
 
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So if RJ returns and also Trimble..What does Coach Davis do…You know the NBA is telling RJ you need to be the PG…Trimble got in the portal because he wants to play more PG and then you have EC the real PG…It’s only 1 basketball…
Please say the answer is to NOT to pull EC at the 16 minute mark every game again....
 
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CRAP! Not happy about what I just heard, not RJ related. Can't share what I am not happy about, will be public rather quickly I would guess... Guess it is like what Mick Jagger said "you can't always get what ya want"...
 
So if RJ returns and also Trimble..What does Coach Davis do…You know the NBA is telling RJ you need to be the PG…Trimble got in the portal because he wants to play more PG and then you have EC the real PG…It’s only 1 basketball…
Been saying this since Ian Jackson committed. By the way, he wants the ball too. I don't know how this is a feasible working arrangement myself, but hopefully Hubert has a plan.
 
Trimble rarely played PG last year. If we got to a point in a game where Cadeau and RJ could both sit, we usually were clearing the bench and Lebo got to play PG.


RJ just had the best season of his career specifically because he got to play off the ball next to Cadeau. He was First Team All American and ACC Player of the Year. If he returns to UNC for the same role, he'd be favorite for National Player of the Year. We're talking a giant pile of NIL money and the chance to retire his jersey.


Also if you watch the NBA, they let anyone run point guard. LeBron James, Luke Doncic, and Nikola Jokic are out here running point in the playoffs and they are all over 6'8". It's also quite common to see shooting guards bring the ball up and initiate the offense. Can you run pick & roll? Then you can play point guard in the NBA. The NBA isn't going to tell RJ he has to play PG. They'll tell him he needs to be able to guard someone on the court, and he needs to find a team that considers him the right fit. His shooting and scoring has a place in the modern NBA, but he's not going to get drafted. So his chance to make it is entirely about fit.

Look at Danny Green. Late 2nd round pick. Washed out of the league. Briefly played overseas. Got another chance purely bc Popovich and Roy believed in him, and sat him down to talk about changes he needed to make. Found a fit in San Antonio that launched a successful NBA career.

RJ needs to find the right team fit in the NBA. It may or may not happen. But he's found the right fit in college. He's gotten paid handsomely to be a 1st Team All American at UNC in Hubert's system, playing next to Elliot Cadeau.
 
It's the worst draft in years and he isn't projected to be drafted. He can't hurt his draft stock.
Worst case scenario starts with Hubert failing to add top players. This is something which you have worried about.

The next contributor to a worst case scenario is that our returning players don't improve very much.

I'm still optimistic that Hubert will deliver, and that guys like Elliot, Jalen and Jae'lyn step up a lot. But when I play the Debbie Downer "what if?" game, is that a team RJ wants to wear himself out with for another year?

Last season, RJ was our top scorer. But he had plenty of help. What if he doesn't have plenty of help next season? Is that a situation he wants to be in?

The flip side, of course, is what if Hubert does get good portal help, and our returning guys do make good strides. How good is good enough?

I imagine things will be much more clear next week. What do you think?
 
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You know the NBA is telling RJ you need to be the PG
Since he's unlikely to be in the NBA long, if at all, maybe the question is what would good overseas teams expect from him? Does he need to be PG for them, too?

If his future career requires more PG chops, where can he get them? Unless Elliot struggles as a soph, UNC may not be the best place to hone those skills.
 
Why would he want to go make peanuts in the G-league when he can make another year of NIL at Carolina. Dave made a good point above, with Mando and Drake Maye out of the way, Davis is the most well known and marketable athlete at the school. He stands to make a good amount through NIL.

No, his draft stock isn't going to get any better. But it's not good enough now. Why not take the better money of staying in college another year then start your g-league experience after next year.

From my perspective, there is no logical reason whatsoever to leave absent a first round guarantee from some NBA team, which he doesn't have. But I acknowledge that he may just be done with Carolina and want to move on. If that's the case, I get that.
My guess for the argument for G league is it prepares you better for your possible role to earn roster spot with league skills. You are not going to do what works in college for wins, you get focused NBA team development.

You also can train without weekly time limits as a pro., work on your craft full time. Lastly the longer you take competing against who you are really going to compete against as opposed to young 18 year old future NBA guys and no chance guys puts you behind.

If he could could secure a G league two way I think he would jump on it. That is half the rookie contract, 559,782 and growing with the massive sucess the NBA is having. Salary cap is due for another huge jump from how great the NBA finances are growing.
 
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NC State just added a 3rd player from the portal. Another SF, Mike James, who started for Louisville.

Keatts has a lot of SFs to work with. Is that a good thing?
 
My guess for the argument for G league is it prepares you better for your possible role to earn roster spot with league skills. You are not going to do what works in college for wins, you get focused NBA team development.

You also can train without weekly time limits as a pro., work on your craft full time. Lastly the longer you take competing against who you are really going to compete against as opposed to young 18 year old future NBA guys and no chance guys puts you behind.

If he could could secure a G league two way I think he would jump on it. That is half the rookie contract, 559,782 and growing with the massive sucess the NBA is having. Salary cap is due for another huge jump from how great the NBA finances are growing.
Sounds like a good path to work on PG skills but can he get to the G League? I don't know how it works these days, but years ago there were only a limited number of slots and most of those were dedicated to players already in the NBA.

Perhaps he is in talks?
 
CRAP! Not happy about what I just heard, not RJ related. Can't share what I am not happy about, will be public rather quickly I would guess... Guess it is like what Mick Jagger said "you can't always get what ya want"...
Well that makes me less "less nervous".
 
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Trimble rarely played PG last year. If we got to a point in a game where Cadeau and RJ could both sit, we usually were clearing the bench and Lebo got to play PG.


RJ just had the best season of his career specifically because he got to play off the ball next to Cadeau. He was First Team All American and ACC Player of the Year. If he returns to UNC for the same role, he'd be favorite for National Player of the Year. We're talking a giant pile of NIL money and the chance to retire his jersey.


Also if you watch the NBA, they let anyone run point guard. LeBron James, Luke Doncic, and Nikola Jokic are out here running point in the playoffs and they are all over 6'8". It's also quite common to see shooting guards bring the ball up and initiate the offense. Can you run pick & roll? Then you can play point guard in the NBA. The NBA isn't going to tell RJ he has to play PG. They'll tell him he needs to be able to guard someone on the court, and he needs to find a team that considers him the right fit. His shooting and scoring has a place in the modern NBA, but he's not going to get drafted. So his chance to make it is entirely about fit.

Look at Danny Green. Late 2nd round pick. Washed out of the league. Briefly played overseas. Got another chance purely bc Popovich and Roy believed in him, and sat him down to talk about changes he needed to make. Found a fit in San Antonio that launched a successful NBA career.

RJ needs to find the right team fit in the NBA. It may or may not happen. But he's found the right fit in college. He's gotten paid handsomely to be a 1st Team All American at UNC in Hubert's system, playing next to Elliot Cadeau.
This A 1000 times man. During these nba playoffs I’ve seen a couple guys already that RJ could beat out for pt. Too much talk about pg. Not the popular opinion on here but he’s a pg imo whether a unc one or not. He can and did facilitate and have decent assist numbers. He ran the team quite a bit this past year and we were fine. Our talent level is way down from past years. And the NBA doesn’t put the pg position in a box. Right situation and right fit in the league. Allstar no, a lot of minutes maybe not, good scoring off the bench for a spark , definitely.
 
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This A 1000 times man. During these nba playoffs I’ve seen a couple guys already that RJ could beat out for pt. Too much talk about pg. Not the popular opinion on here but he’s a pg imo whether a unc one or not. He can and did facilitate and have decent assist numbers. He ran the team quite a bit this past year and we were fine. Our talent level is way down from past years. And the NBA doesn’t put the pg position in a box. Right situation and right fit in the league. Allstar no, a lot of minutes maybe not, good scoring off the bench for a spark , definitely.
PG roles in the league aside, we were bad with RJ at point this year and even worse last year without fewer shooters (makers). With the differences in rules and less focus on vision I hope you’re right that he can function in the pros. I expect he will return and for many reasons it will most likely be even more important for this year’s team that he use all his energy on scoring.
 
Was kind of hoping wed talk to him about replacing Ingram. Feels like we've put all our eggs in the Adou Thiero basket.

 
PG roles in the league aside, we were bad with RJ at point this year and even worse last year without fewer shooters (makers). With the differences in rules and less focus on vision I hope you’re right that he can function in the pros. I expect he will return and for many reasons it will most likely be even more important for this year’s team that he use all his energy on scoring.
I disagree with we were bad but to each his own.
 
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Maybe.. could mean RJ is gone or Cade Tyson will no longer commit..
It means neither of those things.

It just means Seth listened to his heart, and had a bunch of phone calls from former Tar Heel players who told him stories about when they almost transferred
 
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Trimble rarely played PG last year. If we got to a point in a game where Cadeau and RJ could both sit, we usually were clearing the bench and Lebo got to play PG.


RJ just had the best season of his career specifically because he got to play off the ball next to Cadeau. He was First Team All American and ACC Player of the Year. If he returns to UNC for the same role, he'd be favorite for National Player of the Year. We're talking a giant pile of NIL money and the chance to retire his jersey.


Also if you watch the NBA, they let anyone run point guard. LeBron James, Luke Doncic, and Nikola Jokic are out here running point in the playoffs and they are all over 6'8". It's also quite common to see shooting guards bring the ball up and initiate the offense. Can you run pick & roll? Then you can play point guard in the NBA. The NBA isn't going to tell RJ he has to play PG. They'll tell him he needs to be able to guard someone on the court, and he needs to find a team that considers him the right fit. His shooting and scoring has a place in the modern NBA, but he's not going to get drafted. So his chance to make it is entirely about fit.

Look at Danny Green. Late 2nd round pick. Washed out of the league. Briefly played overseas. Got another chance purely bc Popovich and Roy believed in him, and sat him down to talk about changes he needed to make. Found a fit in San Antonio that launched a successful NBA career.

RJ needs to find the right team fit in the NBA. It may or may not happen. But he's found the right fit in college. He's gotten paid handsomely to be a 1st Team All American at UNC in Hubert's system, playing next to Elliot Cadeau.
Facts.
 
Players overseas can make up to 4M per year, but this only applies to a few players.

Most make much less. Shane Larkin makes 1.7K annually



Shane Larkin is actually one of the few players who does make 3-4 mil a year playing overseas…lol

https://www.eurohoops.net/en/trademarks/1559225/the-top-10-euroleague-salaries-2023-24/
 
Getting Seth back and most likely keeping RJ out of the portal is another coup for Hubs! He is proving to be a great recruiter and growing into another in our line of awesome coaches!
 
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Gillis can play, not that concerned with Brown honestly. There is something really strange going on with that duke program, they have been losing guys that you just cannot afford to lose if you want your program to get older.
If it continues then yes....last year, we had no portal defects....this year different story...Reeves and Schutt, meh.....Blakes graduated and wants a year of more opportunity....Roach gave us 4 years and it appears Baylor paid him well, the focus is Foster/Proctor.....Mitchell, loved the kid, but his shot essentially camped the 4 in the lane and made it hard on the guards to drive...now Power and Stewart, I hate it, wish they got burn, but I watched all games there leashes were short for a reason, but I wanted them both back to see growth....Brown and Gillis essentially replaces them and automatically makes us older and experienced....it appears right now, Brown is the 4...we got 10 guys right now...maybe adding 1 more, we'll see....all coaches are gonna have to adjust as it seems if kids dont play, they dont stay..lol
 
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If it continues then yes....last year, we had portal defects....this year different story...Reeves and Schutt, meh.....Blakes graduated and wants a year of more opportunity....Roach gave us 4 years and it appears Baylor paid him well, the focus is Foster/Proctor.....Mitchell, loved the kid, but his shot essentially camped the 4 in the lane and made it hard on the guards to drive...now Power and Stewart, I hate it, wish they got burn, but I watched all games there leashes were short for a reason, but I wanted them both back to see growth....Brown and Gillis essentially replaces them and automatically makes us older and experienced....it appears right now, Brown is the 4...we got 10 guys right now...maybe adding 1 more, we'll see....all coaches are gonna have to adjust as it seems if kids dont play, they dont stay..lol
The 4 of Proctor/Foster/Gillis/& Flagg (sounds like a law firm) is pretty solid, add in Ndongo/Maluch/Brown and the freshman shooter and you have a good bit of talent to work with. It just doesn't strike me as being at the level of talent K was able to consistently wield. Is that a top 3 in the ACC team, time will tell but it isn't as clear cut as it usually is in my view.
 
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The 4 of Proctor/Foster/Gillis/& Flagg (sounds like a law firm) is pretty solid, add in Ndongo/Maluch/Brown and the freshman shooter and you have a good bit of talent to work with. It just doesn't strike me as being at the level of talent K was able to consistently wield. Is that a top 3 in the ACC team, time will tell but it isn't as clear cut as it usually is in my view.
does have a ring to it...lol...i believe flagg/malauch/ndonga/evans/harris/kneuppel is a solid 6 man class...the joy is seeing how it pans out, or the pain
 
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