I take him at his word. He is 22 yrs old. Four years removed from High School. He has a very short time to make as much money as he can. He can only do this for another 10-15 years.
The NBA is putting a lot of money into the "G" League (used to be the "D" League). They are allowing teams to pay the players more and have players dual rostered in both leagues. It is an exciting time for these players. If he makes 500k in the next 2 years, that will be 500k he could have never made up if he had stayed in school.
Lets wish him well and get on with it.