NBA Veteran Rod Strickland to Manage G League’s Professional Path Program

NBA veteran Rod Strickland has been selected to manage the debut of the G League’s new professional path program. The newly founded pathway allows select prospects to earn a salary of $125,000 for one season in the developmental league. Along with Strickland, WNBA veteran Allison Feaster will aide in the launching of the new program.

It is unclear how many players will participate in the first year of the initiative, but Feaster did explain to ESPN what type of prospects the program is targeting.

“First and foremost, we want to make it clear that they won’t be searching out any player already committed to school,” Feaster told ESPN. “We will focus on players who are undecided. As Rod moves into the market, he’ll have interactions with organizations and potential parents. Initially, it’ll be those who reach out to us and want more information on the professional path.”

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“We want to target players who would not be going to a university if it weren’t for the NBA eligibility rule. That’s more or less what’s going to dictate this.”

As for Strickland, he wants to focus targeting players that are ripe for development on and off the court. Strickland encountered his fair share of issues with the law, and he is in a unique position to share his experiences with the next generation of players.

Strickland explained that his work as manager will see him fulfill a mentorship role.

“We will have former players and former G League players to guide [the pro path players],” Strickland told ESPN. “We want to help them in everyday life, like balancing a checkbook, understanding what’s out there -- and how not to get caught up in the wrong things. Just like with a college kid, we will put in place a structure to help guide them through it all.”

Prior to taking this position, Strickland served on Orlando Antigua’s staff at University of South Florida.