OT-Age Limit

[ICMTM]

Imagine if Reke, Greene, Cousins, and Casspi had three years of college ball under their belt before they turned pro? Do you think we'd have to go through the growing pains we are? It's just a thought but I'm pro age limit because it's going to take another 2-3 seasons before the guys above are who their going to be. Also the things they need to work on are easier to workout in college than here.

I think three years removed from high school like the NFL makes a lot of sense. The players can get into the D-League right out of high school if they'd like.

[_SRV_]

There are 2 sides to each story, LeBron James would've wasted every second he had in college, and guys like Carmelo, Durant, Oden (disregarding injury), Rose and others would've wasted every year they stayed, on the other hand Roy wouldn't have been drafted at all.
Players can always opt to stay more and teams are free to not pick 1 year college players, but around guys like Tyreke and Cousins who were rumored to be immature before there were clouds of doubt, and we're watching these doubts, I can't say we couldn't expect that.

[Wolfay]

I think LeBron James could've benefitted from some college...

[dozencousins]

KOBE didnt go to college either .
Their are 2 sides for sure .
If all players in college had to play 3 in college or be a certain age at least then all teams in most drafts would have likely have drafted different players & who knows what players would be were .
It is likely that EVANS , COUSINS , THOMPSON , CASSPI & GREEN would all be with different teams as an example.

[_SRV_]

I think LeBron James could've benefitted from some college...

Seriously?

[dozencousins]

In terms of his play only I disagree 100% Wolfay I think LeBron James is a freak of nature all around gifted & so blessed to not only have the talent but to actually perform at the trure raw abilty & god given talent he has College from his play stand point would not have made a difference .

Lebron could have used some college to learn a lesson about loyalty & appreciation though ...

[Wolfay]

I think LeBron James could've benefitted from some college...

Seriously?

Not for basketball of course, but for maturity, yes. He still acts like a high school kid at times, and I think that's why there's an age limit. They don't want people who act like kids in the NBA.

[SacKingZZZ]

I like the 1 and done rule. Gives teams enough idea about certain players and whether or not they'll bust or shine. Players that would normally have come in straight out of high school do so for a good reason. No reason to just waste their time. No reason for these players to risk their bodies on college games if they're destined to be NBA players, maturity or not. They'll mature, but lets not really kid ourselves into believing NBA teams genuinely give a crap about the kind of people these players are. Too much big money being thrown around for that. As long as they put on a happy face when their on the floor, in the community, or selling shoes all's good.

[some_rand]

yeah 1 year rule is fine, gives teams a means of evaluating the guys who would usually make the jump straight from HS and also lets the players know if they are ready to make the jump or not. I only reason id be for a 1 year rule is because it would make college ball so much better. But implementing a 3 year rule would cause to many problems. Even the 1 year rule changed the way that players develop with some going to europe/taking other routes. A 3 year rule would make it even worse.

[_SRV_]

I think LeBron James could've benefitted from some college...

Seriously?

Not for basketball of course, but for maturity, yes. He still acts like a high school kid at times, and I think that's why there's an age limit. They don't want people who act like kids in the NBA.

I think the age limit is more for BB reasons, more time for teams to evaluate players and the player is more developed which means better player for less money, the maturity is a by-product, and it's gained by age, not necessarily college education, there isn't much education for most of these players.

[cdt3]

I think that stars should be allowed to come straight to the NBA. MLB does that with a few gem players. Tennis lets guys play without college on the tour.

Now as for the non star players, the NBA owners should not draft them until they have played 4 years in college to learn stuff like practice

The NBA owners shouldn't be complaining when they are too cheap to buy a minor league system like the MLB.

The owners know that the average players need time to develop in a team sport. Quit picking too raw players and complaining about the the players. You did it.

[Wolfay]

I like the 1 and done rule. Gives teams enough idea about certain players and whether or not they'll bust or shine. Players that would normally have come in straight out of high school do so for a good reason. No reason to just waste their time. No reason for these players to risk their bodies on college games if they're destined to be NBA players, maturity or not. They'll mature, but lets not really kid ourselves into believing NBA teams genuinely give a crap about the kind of people these players are. Too much big money being thrown around for that. As long as they put on a happy face when their on the floor, in the community, or selling shoes all's good.

I think do they do care, or at least Stern does. The NBA has an image problem and Stern has been trying to fix that image.

I think the age limit is more for BB reasons, more time for teams to evaluate players and the player is more developed which means better player for less money, the maturity is a by-product, and it's gained by age, not necessarily college education, there isn't much education for most of these players.

Better learning the game of basketball and giving scouts more opportunity to evaluate talent definitely has something to do with it, but I still think there's more to it. It's part of the image thing I said above. Most people who aren't fans of the NBA think it's full of thugs and spoiled children, and it really shouldn't be any surprise. These guys are coming straight from their mama's home into the big world of the NBA without the slightest clue of how to act like an adult. A year of college or overseas can better prepare them for the transition into NBA and the adult decisions they have to make that comes with it, at least in theory anyway I admit.

[ICMTM]

Dwayne Wade has a ring and finished three years of school. You can argue in hindsight that he was the most NBA ready player in his draft class. LeBron is such a freak athlete that he didn't need a basketball IQ. He's the exception not the norm. Even still he's just now starting to live up to the hype he's generated.

Kevin Durant is another freak athlete, but you can make the argument that he's getting by purely on being bigger/faster and can jump through the roof.

This is still select company though. What about your Sebastian Telfairs? What about your Darko Milicic's? Even a Luol Deng, a Kris Humphries, Marvin Williams, Charlie Villanueva, Tyrus Thomas, Patrick O'Bryant, Mohammed Sene.

I can make a list 25 times as long of guys who took 4-5 years to be what they where projected to be. In the NBA if you're no good for 5 years you will lose your fanbase. Look what's happening now. The franchises at the top of the draft HAVE TO take chances on these players that aren't NBA ready. My case and point is both Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins. Both have been in situations where they just had to be the best athlete on the court. Even for as successful as Reke has been he has SERIOUS holes in his game. Now if he were in college last year and this year he could have worked that out without the money pressures.

Speaking of the money pressures this is a pro league. The Kings are running this team like a developmental team. They don't have a choice in the matter. It's going to take about another 4-5 years for this squad to develop, AND that is if we didn't draft any wrong players or make any bad moves. Going to the draft only makes the process slower because you're getting a player that is again not ready for the entire NBA game. Tyreke and Cousins can play on their own islands for stretches and look good. Unfortunately they also go through stretches where they look like kids in a man's world. The fact that our franchise has to turn to these kids to bring us to relevance is a problem.

[The Beam King]

I think LeBron James could've benefitted from some college...

By having decided to stay in Cleveland. Sorry I couldn't resist.

[The Beam King]

My question is this....of all the problems in the CBA from the players perspective, why do they even care about this one? Isn't it a union's best interest to protect the interests of their clients(i.e. the players here) not the future clients. I mean once you're in the league you should be worrying about the LEAGUE itself. Also, the age limit does benefit the league two fold. It develops players physically and fundamentally to the game of basketball. It also markets players and gives teams a larger sample size to gauge the value of players before they hand out guaranteed money.

It's funny to me that the Union is working for high school kids on this issue, not NBA players.

[SacKingZZZ]

Not for basketball of course, but for maturity, yes. He still acts like a high school kid at times, and I think that's why there's an age limit. They don't want people who act like kids in the NBA.

I think the age limit is more for BB reasons, more time for teams to evaluate players and the player is more developed which means better player for less money, the maturity is a by-product, and it's gained by age, not necessarily college education, there isn't much education for most of these players.[/quote]

Me too. They can paint whatever pretty picture it is they want, but it's about quality insurance. It's no coincidence that there have been less and less "bust" picks lately and the NBA reaps the benefit. Especially now with Euro teams potentially being a legit competitor for talent in the future, they can't afford to let any "superstars" slip through the cracks.

[ICMTM]

Not for basketball of course, but for maturity, yes. He still acts like a high school kid at times, and I think that's why there's an age limit. They don't want people who act like kids in the NBA.

I think the age limit is more for BB reasons, more time for teams to evaluate players and the player is more developed which means better player for less money, the maturity is a by-product, and it's gained by age, not necessarily college education, there isn't much education for most of these players.

Me too. They can paint whatever pretty picture it is they want, but it's about quality insurance. It's no coincidence that there have been less and less "bust" picks lately and the NBA reaps the benefit. Especially now with Euro teams potentially being a legit competitor for talent in the future, they can't afford to let any "superstars" slip through the cracks.

I think the rate of bust picks are higher. The rate of 2nd round picks becoming all stars is higher as well. I think that baseball is the only sport that gets it right in terms of a minor league system. If these kids don't want to go to the NCAA they should not have to. The NBA development league should be able to handle these kids.

The NCAA student athlete model is killing sports. In Football/Basketball they've used the NCAA as a minor league system. The MLB has it's own. The age of a player is completely irrelevant in baseball. Said player is going to get in where he can fit in, and be paid accordingly. The college option is there if they want it. Baseball isn't what they call a revenue sport in school so you're not going to get much NCAA resistance to whatever baseball wants to do.

We've seen that the Europe experience didn't "make" Brandon Jennings, but it broke Jeremy Tyler. The resistance really comes from the NCAA. if the NBA had a full development league it would kill college basketball as far as tv revenue.

[SacKingZZZ]

I think the rate of bust picks are higher. The rate of 2nd round picks becoming all stars is higher as well. I think that baseball is the only sport that gets it right in terms of a minor league system. If these kids don't want to go to the NCAA they should not have to. The NBA development league should be able to handle these kids.

The NCAA student athlete model is killing sports. In Football/Basketball they've used the NCAA as a minor league system. The MLB has it's own. The age of a player is completely irrelevant in baseball. Said player is going to get in where he can fit in, and be paid accordingly. The college option is there if they want it. Baseball isn't what they call a revenue sport in school so you're not going to get much NCAA resistance to whatever baseball wants to do.

We've seen that the Europe experience didn't "make" Brandon Jennings, but it broke Jeremy Tyler. The resistance really comes from the NCAA. if the NBA had a full development league it would kill college basketball as far as tv revenue.

Didn't make him, but it's been cited numerous times that his experience probably helped him to a great degree. I'm not talking about players forgoing college and using the Euro leagues as a bridge the NBA. I'm talking about the potential that eventually Euro teams will make a stand and attempt to sway young talent their way for a good chunk of their career. It's why Stern is so interested in infiltrating that area of the world. Beat them to the punch basically. I'll be very interested if a lockout occurs. It could be a HUGE opportunity for them, the NBA players and owners could potentially find themselves in a bad spot. Would serve them right too.