Las Vegas semi-pro Amerileague is set to begin its first 3-month season in November and even with the close date, no one really knows a lot about this privately-funded league.
That’s until now of course.
Back in September, ESPN first reported the league’s finalized deal with former NBA first-rounder David Harrison. Now it has started tryouts in several cities to fill six teams’ 10-man rosters.
According to Amerileague’s President Jonathan Jordan, the conference has filled up roughly 25% of its spots, with the rest set to be filled during the October 22nd draft.
With the wheels turning fast, one must wonder, “Will this league match, rival or exceed the D-League as a stepping stone toward the NBA?”
“We don’t want to be just another D-League,” Jordan says, “We are trying to make our league extremely competitive. When you have top college recruits and (players) come to our league, they’ll have a greater experience than the NCAA, overseas league and D-League can offer. This will lead to a higher draft position.”
Amerileague intends on targeting former NBA players who are looking to go back, college players, and McDonald’s All-Americans who are looking for alternatives to “one-and-dones.”
Discussions about NCAA’s “one-and-dones” have sparked much debate and mixed feelings. Conversations that will now include the Amerileague, focusing on whether or not they will have some issues with the NCAA.
“We are not trying to take away a player’s eligibility to make them our only option,” Jordan says, “We want them to make an informative decision, whether it’s the NCAA or here, we will follow the same rules as college coaches and NBA scouts.”
In addition to a salary, incentives for joining include a comprehensive mentorship program, a pro transition program, and 5-6 months available time to intensely train and prepare for the NBA Draft.
Although each team has salary caps, all of the players’ salaries will be based on experiences.
“We determine player’s salary based on draft position and second is prior experience. So, the NBA guys have certain salaries and draft guys have different salaries.”
Time will only tell if this rising basketball federation will be successful, we all will have to keep our eyes and ears open for what’s yet to come.
“What most of these guys will make in 3 months (in the Amerileague) is what they will make overseas in an entire season, that’s the incentive for our league,” Jordan says.