The NBA has has hired former Knicks star and legendary Brooklyn hooper Rod Strickland as program manager for its G League professional path program.



Strickland, a 17-year NBA veteran and former college assistant, will evaluate elite prospects, as well as educate and mentor them on the new initiative that offers select high school prospects the option to bypass NCAA basketball and accept a $125,000 salary for a 5-month G-League season.



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NEWS: Allison Feaster to lead #NBAGLeague Professional Path, Rod Strickland (@rod_strickland) hired as Program Manager.



Read more: https://t.co/MdmUbAGPnO pic.twitter.com/YO0VLUS9oY — NBA G League (@nbagleague) November 20, 2018



The recruiting game has just been taken to a next level and Rod Strickland's grass roots with the New York AAU scene and his familiarity with high school, prep and college level hoops will provide the NBA with an eye in the sky and an inside guy when it comes to cherry picking future NBA talent.



Via Forbes.com:

"In his newly appointed post, Strickland will spend time on the road evaluating and meeting with uncommitted high school players who satisfy the league’s desire for high character and high upside prospects to play in the G League prior to entering the NBA Draft.

With the announcement that the NBA has tabbed former journeyman Rod Strickland to head their inaugural professional path program, the league has made it clear that they are ready to be a major player in a game they have previously observed only from the sidelines."



At his best, the 1997-98 season with the Washington Wizards, the point-GOD extraordinaire averaged 17.8 points and 10.5 assists and electrified the crowd with an array of potent playground moves. But playing in a guard-heavy era that included John Stockton, Gary Payton, Tim Hardaway and Allen Iverson wasn't easy, as Rod's accomplishments were overshadowed by immortal players.









In October, the NBA unveiled the blueprints of a new development program aimed to further legitimize the G League as their official minor league. The NBA exploited the 2017 college basketball corruption scandal by offering high school prospects an alternative to college basketball, which loosened the NCAA's grip on elite high school athletes.

Strickland will be the man running through the fire to secure the NBA's bag. He's the point guard for a new kind of team with long lasting relevance to the viability and sustainability of the league.