"They going to take this seriously": Gilbert Arenas cites $500,000 bait will keep superstars engaged in NBA In-Season Tournament

The first day of the NBA In-Season Tournament is already in the history books and NBA fans including former league star Gilbert Arenas had some positive things to say about this new installment. The 11-year veteran sees this as an extra motivation for players to stay competitive in the early stages of the season.

Arenas already forecasts that this NBA In-Season Tournament will be a success with the amount of money that players can win. More so, the cash prize is even bigger than winning an NBA championship.

"I don't know what they decided to do but that is more than the championship prize money," Arenas said, "They going to take this seriously."

According to the three-time NBA All-Star, an NBA player who wins the championship gets only 300,000 dollars. This is cheaper as compared to the NBA In-Season Tournament as he indicated.

"I get 500,000 for winning it. You win the championship you get about 300, 350 for more games," said Arenas. "Sign me up."

NBA In-Season Tournament set to boost value of media deals

The NBA has introduced the new In-Season Tournament offering the NBA Cup as a price, in an effort to engage fans and boost its already successful brand. The success of this tournament is vital to the NBA's media negotiations, impacting the league's future and already huge financial growth. The key is to entice fans to be excited about the games similar to the playoff atmosphere.

However, it is a question of how the players will perceive these NBA In-Season Tournament games and if they will treat it nearly as close to the ultimate Larry O'Brien Trophy. Fans are showing disinterest in the neon-themed courts but once the ball was thrown up, it indeed created a good competitive atmosphere.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver insists that the NBA Cup will not dilute the value of the Larry O'Brien trophy but it will gain significant value as he predicts.

“We think taking nothing away from the Larry O’Brien trophy, and the ultimate goal of winning a championship, that you can create another competition within the season that becomes meaningful. And there’s a recognition that new traditions are not built overnight," said Silver. Just as the Play-In (Tournament) has had significant value, I think this Cup tournament will as well.”

The NBA In-Season Tournament is now ongoing and the single-elimination games take place on December 4 and 5, leading to the semifinals on December 7. The final two teams will be competing on December 9.