Name: Jeff Pendergraph
Position: Power forward
Year: Rookie
Stats: 2.3 points, 2.7 rebounds
College: Arizona State
On the NBA: “The best thing about getting to the NBA is, I don’t know — I can’t really put it on one thing. It’s just everything. Like, everything’s different than what I expected it to be. Playing the game is different. Off the court stuff is different. Practices are different. You have way more time to do stuff. There’s no class. There’s no study hall. No grade checks. I don’t want to say it’s a job, because I don’t think of it like a job. Because you have fun doing it. It’s, like, ‘Oh. Gotta go to work today.’ Not , ‘Ah, man. I got a 7:30 (a.m.) class. What was my advisor thinking? This sucks.’ So, it’s like, it’s more fun.”
On adjustments: “For me, in school and growing up, it was always a struggle. Bills suck. Having to pay bills was tough. And now it’s kind of like, that’s not really a worry I have. But now there’s other stuff I’ve got to worry about. Like, I’ve never had to do taxes before. Now, I’ve got to file taxes. So, I’m kind of nervous. I’m like, ‘Well, what happens if maybe I miss something?’ Like, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing.’ I don’t want to go to jail. I really am trying to pay; I’m not dodging anybody. I just don’t know what’s going on.”
On hiring a tax advisor: “Ah, I’ve even got one. It’s just, I’ve got to keep finding all the different forms. The 1099 forms and all the W-2s and stuff that I had to fill out. So, it’s like, ‘What is this? What do I gotta do to get a refund? How much are they going to take? Are they going to take more? Are they going to give me back (money)?’ Like, what’s going on? They already took all of my money, anyway. What is this? What are these taxes? It’s crazy. ”
