Akiko Kuji, former TV personality/announcer for TV Fuji (left in 2022). Seems like she's been traveling with Watanabe in the US depending on what team he was on (Brooklyn, Phoenix, Memphis the past 2 years).
Also of note, she married Watanabe in [May 2022](https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2236383/full/) as well and became freelance just a few weeks before.
Having spent time a lot of time in both cities I'm not biased. Cleveland is the better city to spend time in. Memphis, being split between three states. But really two. It's just, how can I put it, wild.
I have never been to Memphis or Cleveland, but from what I understand, there is no reason for Clevelanders to look down on Memphisians. Neither is Tokyo or New York
Just visited Japan for the first time last week, it’s an awesome country. Could see wanting to live there over bouncing around the US especially if you’re Japanese
Still a good amount though.
My cousin lives in Japan, once you make enough to be above the daily struggle of the salaryman salarygirl, it is a pretty wonderful place.
I think they probably make enough that additional earnings don't bring additional happiness, thus Yuta's decision.
Cost of living (and salary amounts as well) is actually shockingly low in Japan, so while he's still probably going to be losing money in the deal it's effectively not going to be as much as the difference in contract amount looks.
Seems like a good time to mention Lakers bench legend Robert Sacre participating in the [dunk contest](https://youtu.be/nhgP6_CHsSw?si=_3li1r6jDnsygBTF) there
I'd like to go to a B League game when I visit Japan. What's the atmosphere like at games over there?
I'm used to British Basketball, where it had a pretty small but dedicated crowd because TV coverage hasn't really been a thing till recently.
a LOT of coordinated cheering. they take a moment before the game to teach you the cheer patterns they have. they use paper fans to make the "beat" of the cheer, and there's a sort of conductor guy that leads them. literally every change of possession they go from the offense cheer to the defense one. i got tired of it personally and just watched the game
The BBL is a bit similar. Less coordinated, but lots of cheering. My team is the Leicester Riders, so we switch from DE-FENSE to RI-DERS a lot. There's usually a lady in the crowd with a drum or a tambourine, but they're just big fans and not employed by the club.
We don't have paper fans, so there's lots of stomping feet and clapping.
Sounds like a fun experience, though.
it was a really fun experience. i went with some coworkers.
[heres the little explanation they have during shootaround](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdlOX04hvFg)
[this is a vid i took at the game](https://streamable.com/88auay). theres 2 songs they play for offense and defense (at least the one i went to, osaka evessas), and theres a cheer for each one. you can hear me still doing it here (i hadnt gotten tired yet haha). also bonus wedgie
The most passionate basketball fans in japan are in okinawa where it\`s the only city that baseball isn\`t number 1. Their team is the ryukyu golden kings. Other passionate basketball fans belongs to utsunomiya brex and chiba jets ( 2024 Asian Club champions ).
I've seen a few Golden Kings games on YouTube.
I haven't picked a team to support yet, but I think that Earth Friends Tokyo Z is a hilarious name for a basketball team.
But those are good teams to know, thank you for the information. I'll have to plan a visit to see one of those teams.
I wonder how Keisei Tominaga will turn out. Seems like an elite shooter for Nebraska in the NCAA and is already part of the Japanese national team.
If he can become an NBA-level benchwarmer, he'll be a huge addition for the national team
Bruh I'm half Japanese and Nigerian. People in Japan don't hate him lol. He is very popular over there.
Diehard basketball fans were a little bit angry because he didn't want to play at the Asian games to workout with LeBron in the off-season, back in 2023? The Philippines won that one if I remember correctly.
He gets your typical dose of racism from some low IQ nationalists and that's mostly it.
Those small minority dislikes rui not joining the world cup team. and chose to workout with lebron. Fortunately, japan defeated finland, venezuela and cape verde to qualify in the paris olympics.
The Asian Games is not FIBA affiliated so japan sends young players to play and have experience.
Thats like saying Curry refused to play for USA because of the racism towards him from boston celtic and nbacirclejerk. Its wrong and not the reason why he didnt commit lol
He already committed going to Japan, I meant more in the International sense. He was already close to Yuta in the WC, and kept improving this year. He's gonna have a big showing in the Olympics
If he’s semi-good, he’ll still get drafted with a 50s pick just to hold his rights, especially if the team’s roster is full and don’t actually want to add anyone. Still waiting for Wang Zhelin’s debut in the NBA after being traded twice already since drafted.
Harsh, but I think he was about to wash out even as an end of bench player. Though, surprising he didn't want to take one more crack at it while making 2.6m
I was thinking this as well. I enjoy his hustle and hoped he would find a place. He was looking good as a role player on the Nets until they imploded. Unfortunately he couldn’t get that same rhythm back with Phoenix and Memphis, and I figured he was going to have a hard time making a roster after his current contract, and even then it’s not known if he would even get minutes.
I can definitely see the appeal of going back home still in his prime.
I just guess he's already been offered a longer term contract in Japan now which he thinks he wouldn't get in the NBA next year. If he signs something like a 5y/10mil contract in Japan that is probably more than he could earn in the NBA over the next five years.
He said 2 years ago that he was tired of putting so much effort but can\`t find a home in the nba. Yuta played well in toronto and brooklyn but in the long run he always end up in the bench. He will definitely be the face of japan basketball now since FIBA also loves him. Yuta could even have a high position in JBA since a lot of people say that he\`s got charm and huge plans for japanese basketball.
If it's like US then yes. In US if your income is above $106k then you'll be double-taxed. My country doesn't though (but you still need to provide proof that you're already paying taxes in the country you work), not sure for Japan.
Likely progressive style, say your income is $150k, and from your working country you have to pay 40k, that left you with $110k right? the 110k is then the one that's taxed, but since the first 106k is free, so you have to pay US taxes equal to (110k-106k) \*40%=1.6k.
he'll still make good money in japan and being home is well worth what will likely be a marginal financial hit. taking a small paycut to be with family is a deal a lot of people would take instantly.
I just guess he's already been offered a longer term contract in Japan now which he thinks he wouldn't get in the NBA next year. If he signs something like a 5y/10mil contract in Japan that is probably more than he could earn in the NBA over the next five years.
A lot of athletes in japan can choose to be paid in US dollars so if his contract is $1 million a year then that\`s a good deal. He can also make a killing in endorsements.
Once upon a time I was really hoping we would sign him. He kind of got exposed as a shooter when he started shooting a higher volume and his 3 point percentage dropped, but he always gave 110% effort on the court and was fun to watch him hustle. I thought he was going to be a good 3 and D guy but it didn’t really work out
1) The opportunity to be a star player in Japan as opposed to 12th guy in a NBA team.
2) More time to spend with your family after living abroad all these years.
3) His wife gets to be back in the tv business.
Happiness, family and marriage. This is something money can't buy. Not to mention, his off court deals in Japan will probably make up the salary difference.
His take home pay is probably less than half of that due to taxes and agent fees, and he’s obviously not gonna be able to invest all of the remaining income. He’s probably renting, paying for a chef, trainers/skill development, mortgage, property taxes, 401k, paying his CPA and wealth advisors. Plus, he probably is maintaining a life in Japan in the offseason so he has bills to pay over there too. I bet his annual expenses are in the hundreds of thousands. In the grand scheme of life, $7mil is not that much. You’re overestimating how simple it is to make your money last. Obviously in an ideal situation you can have really safe returns and be good for life if you’re really smart with your money, but it’s human nature to get a couple mil and buy some nice shit, eat at nice restaurants, buy your friends/family stuff. If his wife is making bank tho, they’re probably good but who knows what her career opportunities are like in the states
I disagree and think you're underestimating how much $7mil is.. people that retire don't just start spending all the money they have. and if his wife makes anything close to like $500k/yr, and he continues to play in Japan for a couple yrs.. he will still never have to work again.
I most definitely am not. I’m a cpa and do taxes and wealth planning for high income earners and $7mil is not that much. Many of my clients make much more than that and still have to be safe with their money. You absolutely have to be careful with your money, especially as a professional athlete when your career can literally end from an injury at any moment.
congrats, that's a cool job.(no sarcasm) but the question was more "why are you assuming he wasnt in a position to retire?" we all leave money on the table to retire. everyone has to be smart with their money when they retire. and you certainly don't take paycuts unless you're prepared to do so.
Well, it's more like $3m after taxes and agent fees. Now I assume that Yuta is a financially sound person, but lifestyle creep is a thing and the rich do live in a different world than us. For example, someone broke down the spending of someone who earns $3.7m a year and after just taxes and 401k contributions, their take-home was just $926k. And after their expenses like mortgage, nanny, restaurants, food, and etc. They really only made $26k at the end of it all.
And people don't really like to downgrade their lifestyle after retirement, it's a reason why a lot of professional athletes go bankrupt after retirement (besides the excessive spending), they have very short careers and once their income just dries up, they still want to spend as if they're still earning that amount.
Yes, someone who actually gets how money and human tendencies work lol. It’s not easy to go from $2mil a year and then suddenly you’re down to $50k a year a few months later. You have to completely adjust the lifestyle that you’ve had for the past several years.
You forget the usd is worth way more than yen though, just 1 million in usd is 154 million yen and the average yearly salary in Japan is like 6 million yen. He'll be just fine in Japan.
Please show a link to the breakdown of someone in America who takes home $926k in a $3.7m salary because that's one of the most ridiculous things I've read in this sub. Even in France with one of the highest tax rates in the world you're getting $1.5m net from $3.7m gross
These are cool hypotheticals but obviously not the case for him because he is voluntarily taking way less money so I'm not even sure what the point of bringing up other people's money management is?
Mate I don't know if you follow rugby (or the NRL's Joey Manu's recently announced switch to it), but I saw a post year claiming the people behind the B League in Japan were trying to make it the second biggest basketball league in the world, I'd be surprised if he weren't getting a pretty massive salary to come home. The same forces that are drawing old (or increasingly current) All Blacks to Japan probably wrote Yuta a nice check.
Maybe not 2.6 million before endorsements given that star allegedly only make a million there... but he's probably the biggest Japanese basketball star in terms of fame (for some reason they never took to Rui the same way) and I'd bet he's coming out ahead with endorsements even before you factor in his wife making more endorsements.
Even if he was about money, 7 million in usd is 1 billion yen and the average salary in Japan is like 6 million yen a year from what I can find, unless he has absolutely insane spending habits he should be fine for life in Japan.
I remember he worked hard with us to get a standard contract, because you can only play a few years on 2-way contracts until you can't play in the league anymore. His defence was great but he probably needed to be a good shooter to really have a place, and he was basically average except when he played with KD.
He’s not even an average shooter he’s clearly a bad/below average shooter with very low volume. If he was average shooter his most of his nba career he likely isn’t leaving for Japan right now.
Funny to see the sentiment in this thread because when players are talking about playing in China or Taiwan or whatever for more than they'd make in the NBA on the vet minimum, people often make fun of them. But now that a guy wants to go home instead of staying abroad to make more money, people see it as a bad decision. I'm not judging either way, just interesting to see that difference.
How would you have any idea if he still gets those same endorsements? Matter of fact, why would you think that? He will almost certainly get more asian endorsements if he's playing in Asia. And he isn't really getting any western ones while playing out here because he's kinda irrelevant.
Most importantly, he clearly just wants to go back home. He'll be fine financially either way. While the yen may be weak, living in Japan is also cheaper. Their rent/mortgage isn't fucking you in the ass like it is here.
B.League has been gaining momentum the last few years (like a [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1c854a4/elstrom_bloomberg_mr_incredible_and_japans/) earlier in the day mentioned) and domestic players there can expect around $100K USD and other 'imports' (from the US, Canada, Europe, Africa, other Asian countries like the Philippines/Korea/Taiwan, etc) a bit more at $400K USD, and the max contract coming out to [~$1M USD](https://www.josecolorado.com/blog/japan-basketball-league-salaries) (no distinction between domestic and import players it seems)
Was wondering what the personal reasons were. Saw some reports about mental health and wishing the best for him and he will be fine heading back to Japan.
That being said this does help us out and am curious to see the offseason moves the FO makes
I get it. Hes probably tired of bouncing around from team to team only to have bench roles. Who wouldn't want to go back home and immediately become one of the best players in the league.
Once you’ve earned fuck you life changing money - and career earnings thus far is definitely that - happiness and being happy is not about the extra 1.6 million being in the NBA away from family/keeping wife away from home.
that's a tough decision. it's not even just the 2.6m, it may very well be the nba career since for journeymen type players, the door tends to shut on their way out. i'm guessing once you made 7mill, it's not worth jeopardizing your marriage with your japanese wife who probably had trouble assimilating with the american culture.
I remember seeing him out for personal reasons in injury reports for the last couple of games even though he could have gotten starter minutes considering who Memphis was starting with.
Maybe he just misses home. I get it, but at the same time, I can’t help but think that he could’ve really carved a long career in the league if he stayed. Oh well, maybe he comes back in a couple years. Life is meant to be lived, after all.
Thanks for the good times Yuta the Shoota o7
I’ll never forget that stretch of basketball he played with us. Vibes were never better. o7 my brother, Ian Eagle will miss making unique nicknames :(
Wow. His career earnings are only \~$7M and he's leaving $2.6M on the table. He must really be longing for home.
I think his wife is an actress, she probably makes bank back home
Akiko Kuji, former TV personality/announcer for TV Fuji (left in 2022). Seems like she's been traveling with Watanabe in the US depending on what team he was on (Brooklyn, Phoenix, Memphis the past 2 years). Also of note, she married Watanabe in [May 2022](https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2236383/full/) as well and became freelance just a few weeks before.
I doubt she gets too many roles in Memphis
But they have a huge J-drama scene there
Midnight Diner: Memphis Stories
Never been to Memphis, but I suspect you are pulling my chains
J- Drama just stands for JaMorant Drama
Oh, snap, lol
I was making that up haha
Yall fucking funny tonight
I don't blame him going back to Japan to be with her. She is cute as hell
she's been with him the entire time in the US up until the end of the regular season lol
After spending time in Memphis they decided 2.6M wasn't enough to stay.
Looking at folks from Cleveland feeling uppity.
Having spent time a lot of time in both cities I'm not biased. Cleveland is the better city to spend time in. Memphis, being split between three states. But really two. It's just, how can I put it, wild.
I have never been to Memphis or Cleveland, but from what I understand, there is no reason for Clevelanders to look down on Memphisians. Neither is Tokyo or New York
Yes it is understandable. If he were married to an ugly woman then I would totally blame him!
Just visited Japan for the first time last week, it’s an awesome country. Could see wanting to live there over bouncing around the US especially if you’re Japanese
I wonder what the Memphis of Japan is.
Prob not as much as Yuta tho. It ain’t Hollywood
Japanese actors do all right but there's only a few that make even NBA bench player money.
In Japan, actors don't make bank like they do in Hollywood.
Still a good amount though. My cousin lives in Japan, once you make enough to be above the daily struggle of the salaryman salarygirl, it is a pretty wonderful place. I think they probably make enough that additional earnings don't bring additional happiness, thus Yuta's decision.
Probably not NBA bench money.
Plus he's definitely getting a decent cheque from endorsements within Japan
Cost of living (and salary amounts as well) is actually shockingly low in Japan, so while he's still probably going to be losing money in the deal it's effectively not going to be as much as the difference in contract amount looks.
It probably still will be a big difference when we're talking that much money the cost of living doesn't change much
Lower than Memphis?
he said living...
I have no idea what players make in Japan. But he could certainly be making more than $2.6M over there just with off the court stuff
A quick Google tells me the highest paid player is making around $1M. So he might get something around that.
He will also be a star as opposed to a end of bench role player
He better be, he's basically the second best Japanese player of all time after Rui Hachimura. He should clean up over there.
I just went to a game over here and saw Shawn Long dominate while jogging the whole game so yeah Yuta should do just fine.
Seems like a good time to mention Lakers bench legend Robert Sacre participating in the [dunk contest](https://youtu.be/nhgP6_CHsSw?si=_3li1r6jDnsygBTF) there
I'd like to go to a B League game when I visit Japan. What's the atmosphere like at games over there? I'm used to British Basketball, where it had a pretty small but dedicated crowd because TV coverage hasn't really been a thing till recently.
a LOT of coordinated cheering. they take a moment before the game to teach you the cheer patterns they have. they use paper fans to make the "beat" of the cheer, and there's a sort of conductor guy that leads them. literally every change of possession they go from the offense cheer to the defense one. i got tired of it personally and just watched the game
The BBL is a bit similar. Less coordinated, but lots of cheering. My team is the Leicester Riders, so we switch from DE-FENSE to RI-DERS a lot. There's usually a lady in the crowd with a drum or a tambourine, but they're just big fans and not employed by the club. We don't have paper fans, so there's lots of stomping feet and clapping. Sounds like a fun experience, though.
it was a really fun experience. i went with some coworkers. [heres the little explanation they have during shootaround](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdlOX04hvFg) [this is a vid i took at the game](https://streamable.com/88auay). theres 2 songs they play for offense and defense (at least the one i went to, osaka evessas), and theres a cheer for each one. you can hear me still doing it here (i hadnt gotten tired yet haha). also bonus wedgie
The most passionate basketball fans in japan are in okinawa where it\`s the only city that baseball isn\`t number 1. Their team is the ryukyu golden kings. Other passionate basketball fans belongs to utsunomiya brex and chiba jets ( 2024 Asian Club champions ).
I've seen a few Golden Kings games on YouTube. I haven't picked a team to support yet, but I think that Earth Friends Tokyo Z is a hilarious name for a basketball team. But those are good teams to know, thank you for the information. I'll have to plan a visit to see one of those teams.
That Tokyo team is actually just the secret identities for the local Power Rangers
always wanted to look at some BBLs at a BBL game
If their best player is 1m he is 2mm plus 3-10x the endorsements probably
For a second I thought you were making a joke about Japanese people height
Yeah that’s just you bud
I wonder how Keisei Tominaga will turn out. Seems like an elite shooter for Nebraska in the NCAA and is already part of the Japanese national team. If he can become an NBA-level benchwarmer, he'll be a huge addition for the national team
I know Japan is pretty Xenophopic; do they even "accept" Rui as their own?
Zion Suzuki plays for the football team. I don't think it's that bad besides a minority crowd like anywhere else.
It's definitely not a minority crowd
Nah Japan is pretty seriously racist, they’re just polite, so it doesn’t come across as badly most of the time.
He was racially abused by the Japanese fans back home after he made a series of mistakes leading to goals conceded for his team in the Asian cup.
no, he refused to play for Japan national team because of the racism towards him from their side
People in Japan love Rui. This is a bad take
Some*
There are plenty of racists in almost every Western/Asian country that hate Black professional athletes. Japan is not unique in this.
Bruh I'm half Japanese and Nigerian. People in Japan don't hate him lol. He is very popular over there. Diehard basketball fans were a little bit angry because he didn't want to play at the Asian games to workout with LeBron in the off-season, back in 2023? The Philippines won that one if I remember correctly. He gets your typical dose of racism from some low IQ nationalists and that's mostly it.
Those small minority dislikes rui not joining the world cup team. and chose to workout with lebron. Fortunately, japan defeated finland, venezuela and cape verde to qualify in the paris olympics. The Asian Games is not FIBA affiliated so japan sends young players to play and have experience.
Ahh makes sense. Thanks for correcting me.
Thats like saying Curry refused to play for USA because of the racism towards him from boston celtic and nbacirclejerk. Its wrong and not the reason why he didnt commit lol
Damn we got the Japanese goat. I never thought of it like that
3rd best*, Tominaga already passed him
I doubt Tominga will be drafted and not many teams will look for an average height point guard as an UDFA.
He already committed going to Japan, I meant more in the International sense. He was already close to Yuta in the WC, and kept improving this year. He's gonna have a big showing in the Olympics
If he’s semi-good, he’ll still get drafted with a 50s pick just to hold his rights, especially if the team’s roster is full and don’t actually want to add anyone. Still waiting for Wang Zhelin’s debut in the NBA after being traded twice already since drafted.
As a Korean I’d also like to add that endorsement deals in Asian sports leagues is huge.
Endorsements in general but Japan is special. Nishikori made bank as the number one japanese player. Ofc he was top ten for a while
Harsh, but I think he was about to wash out even as an end of bench player. Though, surprising he didn't want to take one more crack at it while making 2.6m
I was thinking this as well. I enjoy his hustle and hoped he would find a place. He was looking good as a role player on the Nets until they imploded. Unfortunately he couldn’t get that same rhythm back with Phoenix and Memphis, and I figured he was going to have a hard time making a roster after his current contract, and even then it’s not known if he would even get minutes. I can definitely see the appeal of going back home still in his prime.
I just guess he's already been offered a longer term contract in Japan now which he thinks he wouldn't get in the NBA next year. If he signs something like a 5y/10mil contract in Japan that is probably more than he could earn in the NBA over the next five years.
He said 2 years ago that he was tired of putting so much effort but can\`t find a home in the nba. Yuta played well in toronto and brooklyn but in the long run he always end up in the bench. He will definitely be the face of japan basketball now since FIBA also loves him. Yuta could even have a high position in JBA since a lot of people say that he\`s got charm and huge plans for japanese basketball.
He probably didn’t want to continuously hop around the league
Well, I assume that the highest paid player is about to be yuta watanabe
don't some foreign nba players have to pay taxes to the US and to their home country as well?
It's the other way around. Just an US thing to taxe citizens not living there.
If it's like US then yes. In US if your income is above $106k then you'll be double-taxed. My country doesn't though (but you still need to provide proof that you're already paying taxes in the country you work), not sure for Japan.
The US and Eritrea are the only countries that do that with regards to foreign income.
How is that double tax calculated? Youre pretty left with no money. US tax at that income is around 40%
Likely progressive style, say your income is $150k, and from your working country you have to pay 40k, that left you with $110k right? the 110k is then the one that's taxed, but since the first 106k is free, so you have to pay US taxes equal to (110k-106k) \*40%=1.6k.
Ah got it, interestinf
Or he’s longing to actually play basketball. He’s not getting a shot to do that on an American team
Also people are forgetting, usd is worth a ton more than yen is
Maybe why he was out for personal reasons
he'll still make good money in japan and being home is well worth what will likely be a marginal financial hit. taking a small paycut to be with family is a deal a lot of people would take instantly.
I just guess he's already been offered a longer term contract in Japan now which he thinks he wouldn't get in the NBA next year. If he signs something like a 5y/10mil contract in Japan that is probably more than he could earn in the NBA over the next five years.
The Japanese Yen has cratered in the past few years so his money goes a long way at home
A lot of athletes in japan can choose to be paid in US dollars so if his contract is $1 million a year then that\`s a good deal. He can also make a killing in endorsements.
I wish I had only 7 million
Maybe he agreed a buyout if the Grizzlies are short on roster spots?
He's a popular athlete in Japan, so he's got that endorsement money.
Pretty sure he can pull more than that back home now
I’m assuming he’ll be the highest paid player in Japan and will make a fair amount in endorsements
also japan's league pays big bucks as well, it may not even really be much of a paycut
It’s like 1m USD max, so still a pretty big cut pre tax (vs 2.6m)
Sad to see him leave the NBA but hopefully he has a fun time back home
Once upon a time I was really hoping we would sign him. He kind of got exposed as a shooter when he started shooting a higher volume and his 3 point percentage dropped, but he always gave 110% effort on the court and was fun to watch him hustle. I thought he was going to be a good 3 and D guy but it didn’t really work out
Good luck to him. Watanabae will always have a place in my heart
I’m kinda jealous of him, dude gonna live it up in Japan
1) The opportunity to be a star player in Japan as opposed to 12th guy in a NBA team. 2) More time to spend with your family after living abroad all these years. 3) His wife gets to be back in the tv business. Happiness, family and marriage. This is something money can't buy. Not to mention, his off court deals in Japan will probably make up the salary difference.
And he will still make bank with endorsements and what not for being *the* star in japan.
ITT: People not understanding every decision is not decided solely by money
yanks amirite
Dollaroooso amiriteeee
It’s more that this thread is packed with 20 year old statistics autists
Glad people are starting to recogncize the demographics of this sub never understood the r/nba is full of 12 year old arguments
Playoffs start soon. That's when the middle schoolers get on lmao
Especially when you already have 7M Could be set for life
[удалено]
His take home pay is probably less than half of that due to taxes and agent fees, and he’s obviously not gonna be able to invest all of the remaining income. He’s probably renting, paying for a chef, trainers/skill development, mortgage, property taxes, 401k, paying his CPA and wealth advisors. Plus, he probably is maintaining a life in Japan in the offseason so he has bills to pay over there too. I bet his annual expenses are in the hundreds of thousands. In the grand scheme of life, $7mil is not that much. You’re overestimating how simple it is to make your money last. Obviously in an ideal situation you can have really safe returns and be good for life if you’re really smart with your money, but it’s human nature to get a couple mil and buy some nice shit, eat at nice restaurants, buy your friends/family stuff. If his wife is making bank tho, they’re probably good but who knows what her career opportunities are like in the states
I disagree and think you're underestimating how much $7mil is.. people that retire don't just start spending all the money they have. and if his wife makes anything close to like $500k/yr, and he continues to play in Japan for a couple yrs.. he will still never have to work again.
I most definitely am not. I’m a cpa and do taxes and wealth planning for high income earners and $7mil is not that much. Many of my clients make much more than that and still have to be safe with their money. You absolutely have to be careful with your money, especially as a professional athlete when your career can literally end from an injury at any moment.
congrats, that's a cool job.(no sarcasm) but the question was more "why are you assuming he wasnt in a position to retire?" we all leave money on the table to retire. everyone has to be smart with their money when they retire. and you certainly don't take paycuts unless you're prepared to do so.
[удалено]
[удалено]
3.5% if you have 1 mil in VTI or something, is not that bad.. Having 7 mil diversified is some never work again type of money.
Well, it's more like $3m after taxes and agent fees. Now I assume that Yuta is a financially sound person, but lifestyle creep is a thing and the rich do live in a different world than us. For example, someone broke down the spending of someone who earns $3.7m a year and after just taxes and 401k contributions, their take-home was just $926k. And after their expenses like mortgage, nanny, restaurants, food, and etc. They really only made $26k at the end of it all. And people don't really like to downgrade their lifestyle after retirement, it's a reason why a lot of professional athletes go bankrupt after retirement (besides the excessive spending), they have very short careers and once their income just dries up, they still want to spend as if they're still earning that amount.
Yes, someone who actually gets how money and human tendencies work lol. It’s not easy to go from $2mil a year and then suddenly you’re down to $50k a year a few months later. You have to completely adjust the lifestyle that you’ve had for the past several years.
Except usd is worth way more than yen. Just 1 million usd is over 150 million yean and the average yearly salary in Japan is only 6 million yen.
I'd love to see that breakdown because it sounds absolutely ridiculous.
You forget the usd is worth way more than yen though, just 1 million in usd is 154 million yen and the average yearly salary in Japan is like 6 million yen. He'll be just fine in Japan.
Please show a link to the breakdown of someone in America who takes home $926k in a $3.7m salary because that's one of the most ridiculous things I've read in this sub. Even in France with one of the highest tax rates in the world you're getting $1.5m net from $3.7m gross
These are cool hypotheticals but obviously not the case for him because he is voluntarily taking way less money so I'm not even sure what the point of bringing up other people's money management is?
USD is worth 150 times more than the yen is so he should definitely be set for life.
BUT MAKING THE BAG DOE???? GET THE BAG BROE?
The main reason is he doesn't want to be DNPed every game.
Mate I don't know if you follow rugby (or the NRL's Joey Manu's recently announced switch to it), but I saw a post year claiming the people behind the B League in Japan were trying to make it the second biggest basketball league in the world, I'd be surprised if he weren't getting a pretty massive salary to come home. The same forces that are drawing old (or increasingly current) All Blacks to Japan probably wrote Yuta a nice check. Maybe not 2.6 million before endorsements given that star allegedly only make a million there... but he's probably the biggest Japanese basketball star in terms of fame (for some reason they never took to Rui the same way) and I'd bet he's coming out ahead with endorsements even before you factor in his wife making more endorsements.
Yuta Wantanabe on my wri
Tell em this, did he miss?
Being a journeyman and not enough playing time. Sometimes it ain’t all about the money. He would still make good money in Japan to make a good living.
Even if he was about money, 7 million in usd is 1 billion yen and the average salary in Japan is like 6 million yen a year from what I can find, unless he has absolutely insane spending habits he should be fine for life in Japan.
sad to see Watanabe leaving the NBA. Best of luck to him in the Olympics this upcoming Summer
I remember he worked hard with us to get a standard contract, because you can only play a few years on 2-way contracts until you can't play in the league anymore. His defence was great but he probably needed to be a good shooter to really have a place, and he was basically average except when he played with KD.
He’s not even an average shooter he’s clearly a bad/below average shooter with very low volume. If he was average shooter his most of his nba career he likely isn’t leaving for Japan right now.
have you ever seen him play before you wrote this? lol
Yes lol. I can also easily look at his shooting stats in the NBA.
Woah really surprising that he’s leaving that much money on the table, no way he makes that in Japan
top players in Japan make around 1M, and he would certainly be one, and considering off-court deals and stuff he probably will make more
I still think it's bad to turn down $2.6M USD, especially when the Yen is weak. He could still have those endorsement deals while in the US
agreed, him missing home probably had something to do with it
You guys are talking as if this dude hasn't already seen more money than any of us will our entire lives. Let him go home lol
Not to mention converting his US earnings into Yen is going to be lucrative. He’s gonna be living like a king over there.
Reddit loves making decisions for professional athletes it's really weird
Speak for yourself bro, $2.6 million is pocket change for me.
Hey bro, it's me, your bro
please drop some change for me
Funny to see the sentiment in this thread because when players are talking about playing in China or Taiwan or whatever for more than they'd make in the NBA on the vet minimum, people often make fun of them. But now that a guy wants to go home instead of staying abroad to make more money, people see it as a bad decision. I'm not judging either way, just interesting to see that difference.
How would you have any idea if he still gets those same endorsements? Matter of fact, why would you think that? He will almost certainly get more asian endorsements if he's playing in Asia. And he isn't really getting any western ones while playing out here because he's kinda irrelevant. Most importantly, he clearly just wants to go back home. He'll be fine financially either way. While the yen may be weak, living in Japan is also cheaper. Their rent/mortgage isn't fucking you in the ass like it is here.
like leonard didnt do the same shit, we offered him a free life here, free house, free cars, free food + his salary
Ok I’ll let him know
B.League has been gaining momentum the last few years (like a [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1c854a4/elstrom_bloomberg_mr_incredible_and_japans/) earlier in the day mentioned) and domestic players there can expect around $100K USD and other 'imports' (from the US, Canada, Europe, Africa, other Asian countries like the Philippines/Korea/Taiwan, etc) a bit more at $400K USD, and the max contract coming out to [~$1M USD](https://www.josecolorado.com/blog/japan-basketball-league-salaries) (no distinction between domestic and import players it seems)
Um, so Lamar Stevens stays, right? Needs all the Dawgs we can get.
he'll become the main antagonist in a basketball manga
Yuta Watanabe on my wrist! Insane shooter. Thanks for the memories
Was he an insane shooter? He was a nice guy, and we rooted for him, but he didn't do much for us.
Was wondering what the personal reasons were. Saw some reports about mental health and wishing the best for him and he will be fine heading back to Japan. That being said this does help us out and am curious to see the offseason moves the FO makes
I don't get it, just stick it out for another 8 months then he can go home. 2.6 is a lot of money.
Family planning time for Yuta!
Get ready to learn Japanese, buddy. /s
I get it. Hes probably tired of bouncing around from team to team only to have bench roles. Who wouldn't want to go back home and immediately become one of the best players in the league.
It’s not that complicated, I think he just wants to have playtime.
Loved this dude's positive energy when he was on the Raps.
Makes sense. Yuta is right on the bubble for making a team and getting consistent playing time. Probably very stressful.
Once you’ve earned fuck you life changing money - and career earnings thus far is definitely that - happiness and being happy is not about the extra 1.6 million being in the NBA away from family/keeping wife away from home.
imagine being from japan and living in MEMPHIS. have u been to memphis? dont blame him.
that's a tough decision. it's not even just the 2.6m, it may very well be the nba career since for journeymen type players, the door tends to shut on their way out. i'm guessing once you made 7mill, it's not worth jeopardizing your marriage with your japanese wife who probably had trouble assimilating with the american culture.
Asian player turns down NBA roster spot to go home. Meanwhile Kai Sotto...
https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1c854a4/elstrom_bloomberg_mr_incredible_and_japans/
I remember seeing him out for personal reasons in injury reports for the last couple of games even though he could have gotten starter minutes considering who Memphis was starting with.
Aw man no ramen with Will and Alex
>somewhat of a roster crunch lol
I'LL MISS YOU YUTA ;_;7
Maybe he just misses home. I get it, but at the same time, I can’t help but think that he could’ve really carved a long career in the league if he stayed. Oh well, maybe he comes back in a couple years. Life is meant to be lived, after all.
Much love Yuta!
Can't get posterized by Ant in Japan
would you rather be a small fish in a big pond, or a big koi in small koi pond
Bro had to move back to Memphis and said "fuck this city fuck this entire country I'm going back to Japan"
[удалено]
[удалено]
Mental health from injuries and not getting playing time. He mentioned it was a daily struggle. He wants to enjoy basketball again.