NBA Draft Prospect Skips College For China (And $1.2 Million)

Point guard Emmanuel Mudiay has the potential to be a lottery pick in next year's NBA draft, but he won't be spending a year in college before going pro. Mudiay's taking his talents to China for the required year between high school and the NBA, and he's getting a hefty chunk of money for his efforts.

Per Adrian Wojnarowski, Mudiay has signed a $1.2 million deal with the Chinese Basketball Association's Guangdong Southern Tigers. He'll be able to play the Chinese season until it ends in March, then come back to the United States and train for the draft in June. As for any potential serious injury, Mudiay has an insurance policy for his time in China. Peace out, NCAA!

Mudiay had previously committed to play under coach Larry Brown at SMU, but back on July 14, the 19-year-old said he would not be attending because he wanted to help out his family. He and Brown both said that the decision had nothing to do with academic eligibility concerns at SMU, though Mudiay had attended Prime Prep, Deion Sanders's hot mess of a charter school that's on the way to getting shut down.

Photo: Getty