NBA age limit increase?

[PG24]

Not exactly coming from the trusted of all sources, but it's an interesting thought:

I keep hearing NBA owners want to adopt same rule as NFL. Players will have to wait 3 yrs to enter the draft. Certainly would be interesting

http://eye-on-basketball.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22748484/31255311/1

The likelihood of the players caving into a 3-yr post HS rule agreement is remote, but at the same time you think about how much good it would do for the game as a whole (college and professional). Looking back at Jordan's career and how his championship and storied stay at UNC is only fuel to the fire and cements his legacy even further, and how it's something the Kobe's, the LeBron's, and the one and done's will never have. It wasn't too long ago where the greatest to ever play the game were all sticking around on campus for years as the unwritten rule. Times do change, but even the two best bigs of this generation - Shaq and Duncan - both played at least 3 years of college hoops before they made the jump to the NBA.

Plus, how vindicated would you feel to give away the 1st round pick to LA immediately after a rule like this was put into place? Out of all eligible players, the current DX mock draft would list John Henson, Tyler Zeller, Thomas Robinson and Mason Plumlee as the top prospects for the 2012 draft. Ha! It couldn't get any sweeter than that as a Wolves fan.

Edit: Of course, the probability a HS player pulls a Jennings could increase dramatically if a rule like this were put into effect, but how many players would actually want to live in a foreign country for 3 years albeit, yes, getting paid?

[cpfsf]

I find it interesting that the union is trying to make the the eligibility requirement 18 years old again considering the guys just out of high school aren't even a part of the union.

[Klomp]

The biggest prospect this affects is Andre Drummond, who might be able to declare for the 2012 draft under the old CBA rules.

[pumunga]

Times do change, but even the two best bigs of this generation - Shaq and Duncan - both played at least 3 years of college hoops before

Garnett? and Howard for next generation?
Will never happen,

Edit: Of course, the probability a HS player pulls a Jennings could increase dramatically if a rule like this were put into effect, but how many players would actually want to live in a foreign country for 3 years albeit, yes, getting paid?
Hmmm get paid or risk getting hurt and never getting paid.. tuff choice.

[Foye]

3 years of college basketball will be bad for the NBA. That just restricts the player development, IMO.

If you have to play against college boys while you could be playing against Kobe or Wade that's not good.

[shangrila]

2 years makes a little more sense.

I always thought current players would be pushing for a rule like this. A slower intake of rookies would mean more roster spots for the older, less talented guys.

[PG24]

Personally I think it would be great for the NBA to have the most talented rookies be more ready made once they enter the pro level. A top pick should be able to play effectively and often right off the bat without the need of too much development. It's become one of the biggest differences between the NFL and the NBA over the past decade - in the NFL essentially every top pick taken (sans QBs) is expected to come in and produce immediately, whereas in the NBA the word 'potential' rather than 'production' is thrown all too commonly when discussing top prospects.

Griffin last season was the first player in a long time to come in and as a rookie essentially take over the league. That rarely happens in the NBA anymore. It used to. There were almost always rookies with all-star caliber numbers and play before the influx of 18 and 19 year old top prospects came into the league, who while still developing their mostly raw skills got paid more in one season than lots of people make in their lifetimes. Paying players like Gerald Green millions of dollars to discover whether or not they can play basketball really damaged the overall perceived outlook of the NBA. The 1 yr rule has helped out a lot, but a push to 2 or 3 years would do dirty things for both college and the NBA.

For example, Evan Turner was clearly the best option as the #2 pick last year. He was as ready made as any compared to his peers in that draft. I'm gonna list some names off in no particular order: Derrick Rose, Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon, James Harden, Jeff Teague, DeAndre Jordan, O.J. Mayo, Kevin Love, Jerryd Bayless, Michael Beasley, Anthony Randolph, etc. Those are all players from the same HS class as Turner. If all of them were required to stay 3 years at their respective schools, and considering the progress each would have made by their Junior seasons, would Turner have even been a top 10 pick?

And likewise, the top one and done's from last year's draft could have used more years at the college level. Wall (physically), Favors (skillfully), and Cousins (mentally) all could have benefited from further development at that level and in the end would have came into the pros stronger, both physically and mentally, their games would have been tons more refined, and on top of everything else they'd be more poised and mature to be much more likely to make a big splash their rookie years. Too bad there are bigger issues at stake to deal with in the new CBA.

[Steve_Holiday]

A top pick should be able to play effectively and often right off the bat without the need of too much development. It's become one of the biggest differences between the NFL and the NBA over the past decade - in the NFL essentially every top pick taken (sans QBs) is expected to come in and produce immediately, whereas in the NBA the word 'potential' rather than 'production' is thrown all too commonly when discussing top prospects.

Every top pick taken in the NFL's first round is EXPECTED to produce immediately, but in reality, a good portion of these guys struggle to stay in the league a few years later.

As far as the NBA is concerned, a few guys are ready to play right out of high school and should be able to pursue that opportunity. The majority of potential pro basketball players have no business setting foot on a college campus - other than to make the school money and to entertain students and alums. I think they should have a chance to play with the big boys as long as teams are willing to draft them.

[john2jer]

I'd like to see a rule like baseball's; come straight out of high school, or stay in college for 3 years.

[Worm Guts]

3 years of college basketball will be bad for the NBA. That just restricts the player development, IMO.

If you have to play against college boys while you could be playing against Kobe or Wade that's not good.

It would be good for the NBA, teams get to draft players and not just prospects. It would lead to less draft busts. And less roster spots would be given on potential and instead could be given to players who can actually play.
As far as development goes, there's different philosphies on what's best for a player. There's plenty of people that believe putting someone in a situation that they're not ready for is bad for development. It's the reason baseball has 4 different levels of minor leagues, it's the reason why football coaches seem to believe that rookie QB's should wait a year before starting.

[Foye]

3 years of college basketball will be bad for the NBA. That just restricts the player development, IMO.

If you have to play against college boys while you could be playing against Kobe or Wade that's not good.

It would be good for the NBA, teams get to draft players and not just prospects. It would lead to less draft busts. And less roster spots would be given on potential and instead could be given to players who can actually play.
As far as development goes, there's different philosphies on what's best for a player. There's plenty of people that believe putting someone in a situation that they're not ready for is bad for development. It's the reason baseball has 4 different levels of minor leagues, it's the reason why football coaches seem to believe that rookie QB's should wait a year before starting.

I disagree. You get better by playing against better opponents.
Top prospects are not going to get much better if they play against college competition for two extra seasons. Coming in for your sophomore year might help (especially the bigs to improve their post abilities). That's something I can completely understand. More than 2 years of college are wasted time, though.
Obviously, you need to work on fundamentals a lot as a young player. That's something that can be done a lot in college which is why 1 year (or 2) of college are a good experience.

To get an even better player you need to play against better opponents, though. College features a lot of scrubs that don't have an NBA ceiling.
For example, if you can create your own shot against a college player that doesn't mean you can create it against Artest, Battier or Sefolosha. That is why you need to play against the best players even if it's frustrating at first. There's no better thing than learning from the best players in the world.

I can give you another example. I played in the U19 soccer team of my club as a 15 y/o because we didn't have an U17 team. At first I was pretty pissed that everyone else was older, stronger and technically better than me. At the start of the season I usually had my seat on the bench.
The longer I trained against them the better I got. Midway through the season someone was like "damn, you've improved a lot."
The game slowed down a lot for me because I got used to playing against taller, faster and stronger opponents. Technically, I improved miles that year because I had to find a way to keep possession of the ball.
At the end of the season I regularly played the full 90 minutes as a defensive midfielder.
That was like the best year of development for me as a soccer player.

[Worm Guts]

Playing against better opponents can help a player develop, but I don't think that's universal. There's plenty of players who aren't going to react well to getting their asses kicked on the regular.
You could also argue the players who get better by facing challenges are going to be fine anyway. Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett we're going to be fine whenever they joined NBA, but someone like Darko could have used some time in an intermediate league.

[C.lupus]

I find it amusing that owners always want to add more rules to keep salaries down, limit guaranteed contracts, increase age requirements, and such. Umm, you guys are the ones signing the players to ridiculous salaries, signing guaranteed contracts, and drafting kids who aren't ready for the NBA. It reminds me of the politicians who try to ban "vices" and "obscenity" because they can't control their own urges.

[john2jer]

I find it amusing that owners always want to add more rules to keep salaries down, limit guaranteed contracts, increase age requirements, and such. Umm, you guys are the ones signing the players to ridiculous salaries, signing guaranteed contracts, and drafting kids who aren't ready for the NBA. It reminds me of the politicians who try to ban "vices" and "obscenity" because they can't control their own urges.

And that's pretty much it. They're protecting themselves from themselves. Like the shop-a-holic who cuts up her own credit card.

[Esohny]

I find it amusing that owners always want to add more rules to keep salaries down, limit guaranteed contracts, increase age requirements, and such. Umm, you guys are the ones signing the players to ridiculous salaries, signing guaranteed contracts, and drafting kids who aren't ready for the NBA. It reminds me of the politicians who try to ban "vices" and "obscenity" because they can't control their own urges.

And that's pretty much it. They're protecting themselves from themselves. Like the shop-a-holic who cuts up her own credit card.

To be fair, if all the teams started capping their contract offers without having it in a CBA, the players would probably accuse the owners of collusion.

[john2jer]

I find it amusing that owners always want to add more rules to keep salaries down, limit guaranteed contracts, increase age requirements, and such. Umm, you guys are the ones signing the players to ridiculous salaries, signing guaranteed contracts, and drafting kids who aren't ready for the NBA. It reminds me of the politicians who try to ban "vices" and "obscenity" because they can't control their own urges.

And that's pretty much it. They're protecting themselves from themselves. Like the shop-a-holic who cuts up her own credit card.

To be fair, if all the teams started capping their contract offers without having it in a CBA, the players would probably accuse the owners of collusion.

Oh of course.

[C.lupus]

And the owners would say "too bad, so sad. This is what you are getting offered. Take it or leave it." I don't believe there is anything in the CBA that says a player MUST get the max, just that he CAN get the max.

[Worm Guts]

I think it's more complicated than that.

[C.lupus]

Details.

[Worm Guts]

In the 80's baseball players sued the owners over collusion and won.