Falling To the Second Round Could Make Chris Douglas-Roberts a Very Rich Man

Chris Douglas-Roberts didn't anticipate to freefall all the way to the 40th pick last week, but he plans on making the team who passed him up pay. "Big chip. Big. That's the biggest motivation I have. Getting picked 40, I'm gonna write a book," he said during his introductory press conference.

According to multiple published reports, CDR refused to work out for teams with a low first-round pick, apparently taking for granted that he'd be long gone before they'd have a chance to draft him. Once he slipped a few spots below what he anticipated, he was stuck in no man's land with a bunch of teams he shunned no longer showing any interest in him. Fortunately he had worked out for the Nets before the draft, though at the time he was thinking they'd take him 21st overall instead of 40th.

In any case, a lot of people have chided CDR for his arrogance, citing the fact that it cost him a chance at the guaranteed contract all first-round picks receive. But if CDR is half as good as he thinks he is, this will end up being a blessing in disguise.

You see, second-round picks who blossom into stars end up making the big dollars a lot sooner than their first-round counterparts. Gilbert Arenas, Mehmet Okur and Carlos Boozer are all examples of players who broke the bank after proving themselves their first two years in the league, quickly making up all the money they lost and then some. Had they been first-round picks, they wouldn't have had a chance to test the open market until after their fourth year in the league.

In fact, CDR doesn't even need to be All-Star bound to make up that money -- he simply needs to show a little promise. Take the case of Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson in Detroit. The two forwards were both drafted in 2005, but Maxiell, who spent four years in college, was able to crack the rotation by his second year, whereas Johnson, drafted out of high school, saw most of his meaningful minutes his first two years in the D-League.

But because Johnson was a second-round pick, he was a restricted free agent last summer. And despite lagging a full year behind Maxiell in terms of on-court NBA experience, Johnson hauled in a three-year, $11 million contract. As NBA contracts go it's a modest deal, but his paycheck was three times the size of Maxiell's last year, and it'll be twice as much as Maxiell's this year. Do you think Johnson wishes he was a first-round pick?

Yeah, CDR lost a bit of security going this route, but so long as he takes care of his business on the court, he'll make the jump from "rather wealthy" to "crazy rich" much earlier than if someone snagged him 10 picks earlier.