OT: Brandon Jennings. "I'm ready!" Yeah, Right...P

[NotYoAvgNBAFan]

Brandon Jennings commenting on why certain players have to wait a year before making the jump to the Association. Another one who says, "it's not fair!"

Yes it is fair. In fact, they should raise it to age 21 if you ask me as the amount of years removed from High School players should be eligible to play Pro ball.

I say 3 years removed from High School is good, NOT ONE. It has not one thing to do with your rights and entitilement to make money... The league must put out a quality product first and money will come.

He just does not get it just like a lot of players in the NBA who thinkt they are ready to make the jump from AAU McDonald's All American status to the NBA.

In answering whether he is ready to make the jump now to the NBA ,He says, "Physically no, mentally yes, because I love the game of basketball. I can play basketball all day."

I cannot think of a more dumb comment every made then this one since Latrell Sprewell's "I gotta feed my family quip, and Larry Hughes' dumb ass assertion that, "it is not always smart to play hard!'

Brandon your love for baskeball does not mean you are ready mentally and does not make you entitled to play or make one ready!.

Love is an emotion. To love the game does not make you qualified or special or basketball smart enough to endure the mental strain that most players have to learn to handle.

Too many kids want to take the easy and fast route to the NBA and not wait and work on their games and learn how to be coached and howq to learn the game to play it well EVERY NIGHT.

Many are ready athletically and or physically if that is the same thing. And still others are ready on an emotional level but few are ready mentally to come to play hard every night, respect the game, the fans, the coaches and responsible of being a pro or how to handle the media, groupies, their free time, and many other disciplines...you learn by staying in school and college at least two years and grow up into manhood and adulthood...

Even Iverson was not ready mentally. Many are ready inspirationally and they seize their dream too quick and never really maximize their full potential because it came too easy and too fast. Some scout or agent fell in love with them too easy and tell them what they want to hear to the peril of the NBA game...

But no Mr Jennings you and many of your class are not ready mentally to play in the game until you spend two years learning who you are. Even LeBron could have waited...

Now onto Mr Stupidity Larry Hughes... They should run his ass out of the league for this comment. You would think he was a Milwaukee Bucks player saying something like this...

Another nut who got in the league too early...

[blkout]

But no Mr Jennings you and many of your class are not ready mentally to play in the game until you spend two years learning who you are. Even LeBron could have waited...

Jesus christ... anyway I have never liked the age restriction rules, as someone who wasn't particularly fond of school after high school I would hate it if I was forced to attend college for a year, or two or three just to play professionally. I can understand why they have the restrictions they have in the NFL, but it is pointless for the NBA. The only people who benefit from the rules are the NCAA because all the best high school prospects HAVE to go to college. There are still busts, there always will be.

What I don't understand is why people seem to think a high schooler declaring early and failing (Lenny Cooke) is a monumental mistake that should be avoided at all costs, but a college freshman doing it is not such a big deal. The penalties are equal for both and the age difference is 1 year.

[smokinherb]

3 years? no way! I like the rule in place as it is. there are quite a few players who are going through college who are PHYSICALLY prepared to play in the NBA. (beasley,rose from this year, Oden and Durant from last) but it's good to have these kids make sure they don't want to go to college. For a lot of these kids it is a money thing. If your family was broke, and they were struggling to provide, you would skip college for millions of dollars too. Let's say as a "what if" that after your forced to go to college, you have a career ending injury, your scholarship is dropped, and now your a high school graduate who may or may not have the grades to get into a college and definitely doesn't have the financial means? that's not a good scenario.

[smauss]

I'm curious as to the opinion on the board is for restructuring rookie contracts time-wise to give these young kids time in the NBA to mature and learn. I hear much more often now-a-days that many rooks need time to acclimate versus years ago. How many young kids, who could potentially have really great NBA careers often don't have enough time on a rookie contract to really show their potential. Maybe the length of rookie contracts should be based on age to give the younger guys more time? I don't know but it certainly does appear that many of the young kids leave the NBA after rookie deals. Maybe I'm wrong on this. I'm no expert of contracts and the like and have no solid numbers in which to draw conclusions.

[Rockmaninoff]

I'd like to see ballers ages 18 to 21 given 2 options:

1. Play college basketball. Make the grades and improve in spades.

2. Play for an expanded D-League. Play for pay, everyday.

Then, both groups can be eligible to play for the National Team. No more NBA players.

I'd like to see a D-League affiliate in a place like LaCrosse. The CatBirds were successful when Flip Saunders was the coach...

[Buck You]

I'd like to see ballers ages 18 to 21 given 2 options:

1. Play college basketball. Make the grades and improve in spades.

2. Play for an expanded D-League. Play for pay, everyday.

Then, both groups can be eligible to play for the National Team. No more NBA players.

I'd like to see a D-League affiliate in a place like LaCrosse. The CatBirds were successful when Flip Saunders was the coach...

Wait, did I read this wrong or do you really want to go back to the days where there's no NBA players in the olympics? You want to lose?

[blkout]

2. Play for an expanded D-League. Play for pay, everyday.

That gives me another idea, players out of high school could nominate for the draft, they spend the season in the D-League with their rights held by the team who picked them and a default salary for all HS'ers who get picked. After that season they go into the NBA roster with the rookie contract beginning at wherever it would usually begin based on where they are picked.

So DeRozan comes out, picked say 14th, goes to the D-League for a season then next season goes onto the 14th teams roster and his real rookie contract begins.

I guess the only real purposes it serves are a) enhancing the D-League, b) giving those who don't want to go to college another route and c) giving players a year to get themselves NBA ready only with the security of having already been picked and knowing what their future will be.

[LUKE23]

In my opinion, there should be no age limit, for a couple of reasons:

1. Basketball is one sport where it is physically possible to be ready to play out of high school. Football is a different animal given the absolute huge discrepancy in size/strength between high school and NFL football players, and the fact that football is a sport that can result in catastrophic injuries at any moment.

2. This is America, I don't believe that you should be banned from doing something you choose if there is an employer out there willing to pay for your services. Would a Fortune 500 company not pay a prodigy out of high school if he was as or more qualified that people coming out of college? Doubtful.

I know they are trying to improve the NBA product with this rule, but one year of college for the handful of guys that WOULD have tested the draft isn't going to have a significant impact on the NBA game.

[drew881]

I think there are three main issues here in allowing HS players to play

1. Are they physically/mentally ready to play, and if they are not does this water down the talent of the NBA?

2. If they are physically/mentally ready to play, are they ready for the role/lifestyle of an NBA player off the court? We can think of a number of examples where this failed. Yes, we can think of a number of examples of where this failed in college as well, but college seems to provide players with a higher level of maturity that would help them once in the NBA.

3. Players jumping from HS dilutes the college field. Players jumping straight to the NBDL (if allowed) would also dilute college ball.

I really don't like the "this is America" argument. The "America as land of opportunity" or "Land of freedom" is a worn out trope in so many aspects of life, that applying it to professional basketball just seems cliche. If players want to make money, they should go play in Europe. I also think that the NBA has a right to protect itself. Yes teams may covet some high school players, but the NBA is an organization that should be able to set its own standards as a professional sports league.

[LUKE23]

I think there are three main issues here in allowing HS players to play

1. Are they physically/mentally ready to play, and if they are not does this water down the talent of the NBA?

2. If they are physically/mentally ready to play, are they ready for the role/lifestyle of an NBA player off the court? We can think of a number of examples where this failed. Yes, we can think of a number of examples of where this failed in college as well, but college seems to provide players with a higher level of maturity that would help them once in the NBA.

3. Players jumping from HS dilutes the college field. Players jumping straight to the NBDL (if allowed) would also dilute college ball.

I really don't like the "this is America" argument. The "America as land of opportunity" or "Land of freedom" is a worn out trope in so many aspects of life, that applying it to professional basketball just seems cliche. If players want to make money, they should go play in Europe. I also think that the NBA has a right to protect itself. Yes teams may covet some high school players, but the NBA is an organization that should be able to set its own standards as a professional sports league.

It is the NBA teams choice to employ these players, it's not like the players have the choice of playing, but if an employer is willing to pay for their services AND they are qualified, why should they be told they cannot? If they do make the league but get caught up in the lifestyle, that is the choice they have to live with. I just don't buy the argument that these young kids mature so much after one year of college, either in life or on the court.

[smauss]

I agree in that a single year of college doesn't necessarily mature a kid very much but I also agree that there are some jobs that have age requirements now that I would agree with. I'm not sure what the answer is but so far nobody has convinced me one way or the other. Personally, I wouldn't be apposed to a 21 year old age restriction in the NBA; giving the kid millions of dollars and all the temptations that come along with this life-style must be at least as dangerous as consuming alcohol, wouldn't one think?

[LUKE23]

I agree in that a single year of college doesn't necessarily mature a kid very much but I also agree that there are some jobs that have age requirements now that I would agree with. I'm not sure what the answer is but so far nobody has convinced me one way or the other. Personally, I wouldn't be apposed to a 21 year old age restriction in the NBA; giving the kid millions of dollars and all the temptations that come along with this life-style must be at least as dangerous as consuming alcohol, wouldn't one think?

So you think there should be a 3 year minimum college requirement before heading into the NBA (for the vast majority of HS seniors anyway)? So at 18 you can do everything legally except drink, you can fight in the military, but you cannot play basketball for a living if an NBA team wants you?

It should be a kids choice.

[WEFFPIM]

Who is Brandon Jennings?

[smauss]

-= original quote snipped =-



So you think there should be a 3 year minimum college requirement before heading into the NBA (for the vast majority of HS seniors anyway)? So at 18 you can do everything legally except drink, you can fight in the military, but you cannot play basketball for a living if an NBA team wants you?

It should be a kids choice.

I think drinking is the best metaphor for this situation. Bars want kids to drink , so should we let them? What the employers want is meaningless. BTW, I said nothing about not playing basketball for a living, just in the NBA.

Luke, as I stated earlier, I'm not sure what the best route for this is, and without solid numbers, which only the NBA has I would suspect, we are all just shooting from the hip. All I know is that players that come into the NBA should be mature enough both physically and emotionally to play in the NBA. It is now the norm to hear that we need to wait for the kid to mature and become NBA ready after he's drafted, and that IMHO is very unfortunate.

[drew881]

-= original quote snipped =-



So you think there should be a 3 year minimum college requirement before heading into the NBA (for the vast majority of HS seniors anyway)? So at 18 you can do everything legally except drink, you can fight in the military, but you cannot play basketball for a living if an NBA team wants you?

It should be a kids choice.

The "fight in the military" example but not be able to drink is also a worn out comparison. This comparison was a lot more prevalent during Vietnam, when 18 year olds were DRAFTED. At 18 you can do everything illegally, minus drink, which includes leaving the country where you can play pro-ball in europe for 2 years if you need the money that badly.

I am in favor of at least a 2 year minimum. Like I said before, yes the employer has to deal with the problem if the HS player sucks in the NBA. They missed out on other players in that draft, they still have to pay him, but on the other hand it makes the NBA as a whole look bad. And personally, I don't like watching kids play in the NBA. If I want to watch kids I'll watch college ball.

Since we all seem to be making examples and parallels to other jobs, here is my example. Like all the other parallels we are trying to make, it probably has flawed logic, but I'll try since that seems to be the way some of us are viewing this issue:

Would you be happy if you were the boss of a company (NBA) and hired a manager (NBA team) who then hired a lot of workers who didn't lack the traditional experience and resume of the existing workers? Yes, for the most part half or so were qualified, ready to step in and do their job, but the other half really weren't and reflected badly on the whole organization. In a regular world job, these people would be fired. They aren't competent. In the NBA these kids would have 3 year contracts. They would ride the bench, not necessarily work (in games), but would be stuck with that team, and stuck in the NBA, where they potentially don't belong.

[Bernman]

The NBA has a right as a private entity to meet and collectively decide what is best for their product. They decided together that the best thing for their overall product was not to allow immature 18 year olds, most of whom are wholly unprepared mentally and physically for the demands of the job, to occupy so many precious roster spots, thus lowering the overall quality of the product they can sell to the fans. They are wasting roster spots for their first couple years in the league, maybe more. I think if teams had the option of sending them to a minor league system where they could develop gradually, and pay them a stipend, while still retaining their rights, they would. But teams right now are deterred from sending rookies to the NBDL because most make millions per year from the guaranteed rookie contracts which are in place and also the players currently in the NBDL are mostly career minor leaguers and fringe prospects. It's difficult to improve, against that level of competition, and in that kind of atmosphere. They, and the NBA, would have been better served having them play in college, learning how to lead a team to victory in high pressure situations. Until the minor league system and CBA is changed, that's the best option for everyone, whether they know it or not. This aint an individual sport like golf or tennis where you have to prove your ability first by playing in a qualifier. It's a team sport. If Brandon Jennings doesn't like it, he can bide his time for a year or two playing for the Yakama Sun Kings.