Adam Silver favors raising the age limit

[JSD]

And I think it's the exact opposite approach that the league should be taking. Silver seems to think that catering to the NCAA will help improve his league. What they need in the NBA is a legitimate minor-league system, and this would do the opposite of encouraging that. What the NBA needs to do is completely eliminate all age restrictions and allow players to be drafted at any age. Not only would we get the more vibrant and important minor-league system, it would also eliminate the tanking that we know of today by forcing teams to draft more "question mark" players earlier on.

[wdleehi]

He needs to ignore the NCAA, and set the age the helps his league the most.



Which is why they should raise the age. 

1)  It forces players to train longer against higher level of talent before being asked to perform in the NBA. 
2)  It allows for players entering the league be known to fans which is huge for marketing.
3)  It allows NBA team more time to scout prospective players so they can make more informed choices in the draft.  (yes, mistakes will still happen)



There is not a real NBA minor league like baseball or hockey and it doesn't look like there will be. 

But I think Cuban was right when he said it should be open up to players out of high school.  The can't be drafted until they are the proper age, but it gives players one more option to train before they are NBA age (along with collage and overseas)

[BASS_THUMPER]

So true

the talent would be so much better
Which make the nba as a whole better

this sport will get the respect back that it has lost over the years

[Eja117]

Does anyone know of any other industry that doesn't allow people that are legal adults to make a living in it with willing employers? Just curious.  I can only think of maybe having to be 21 to be a bartender.

[JSD]

He needs to ignore the NCAA, and set the age the helps his league the most.



Which is why they should raise the age. 

1)  It forces players to train longer against higher level of talent before being asked to perform in the NBA. 
2)  It allows for players entering the league be known to fans which is huge for marketing.
3)  It allows NBA team more time to scout prospective players so they can make more informed choices in the draft.  (yes, mistakes will still happen)



There is not a real NBA minor league like baseball or hockey and it doesn't look like there will be. 

But I think Cuban was right when he said it should be open up to players out of high school.  The can't be drafted until they are the proper age, but it gives players one more option to train before they are NBA age (along with collage and overseas)

"It doesn't look like there will be" because they are allowing the NCAA to take on that role. Everything you mentioned would be solved with a legit minor league and then some. Tanking would exist in basketball at the same level it does in baseball, which would be hardly ever . That's the difference.

[SHAQATTACK]

There are good arguments for both sides.

But ultimately ,  the kid is risking too much by turning down a pro offer these days.

I had cousin drafted by Major League Baseball , back in the 70's....he turned it down to stay in college and get his engineering degree .  It was his dream to pitch . But his family talked him out of it ,  keep the scholarship and finish his degree.

The offer only came around once.

He blew it .......he always could do college latter if baseball failed him.

I think if these kids can earn the money at 18 ....you can't say no....it maybe their only chance a better life.

I just don't like the idea of handing a rife to a kid and sending him to be killed...."and not letting him earn a living at the same age playing ball.

Too many double standard here IMO

[mqtcelticsfan]

I'm not in favor of any rule that prevents deserving kids from cashing in on their gifts. Too many things can go wrong in the course of a couple years that will cost a guy millions of dollars.

[LooseCannon]

Eh, just make it so that you have to go through two years of college to be eligible for a contract more than 100% of the rookie scale and that you can't be an unrestricted free agent before age 25 regardless of years of NBA experience.

[action781]

Does anyone know of any other industry that doesn't allow people that are legal adults to make a living in it with willing employers? Just curious.  I can only think of maybe having to be 21 to be a bartender.

Many other industries require some level of "prior work experience" or an educational minimum like associates degree, a bachelor degree, etc.  I think a loose parallel can be made there.  The NBA is essentially requiring one year of college or semi-professional basketball experience.

[D.o.s.]

Does anyone know of any other industry that doesn't allow people that are legal adults to make a living in it with willing employers? Just curious.  I can only think of maybe having to be 21 to be a bartender.

Many other industries require some level of "prior work experience" or an educational minimum like associates degree, a bachelor degree, etc.  I think a loose parallel can be made there.  The NBA is essentially requiring one year of college or semi-professional basketball experience.

Or even honest-to-goodness real professional basketball experience.

Eh, just make it so that you have to go through two years of college to be eligible for a contract more than 100% of the rookie scale and that you can't be an unrestricted free agent before age 25 regardless of years of NBA experience.

What if you're a Brandon Jennings - played overseas instead of college hoops?





The most interesting thing about this potential change would be how the D-League and farm teaming would possibly benefit. You only have to be 18 to play in the D-League. Mark Cuban recently said some smart things to that effect.

[mqtcelticsfan]

Does anyone know of any other industry that doesn't allow people that are legal adults to make a living in it with willing employers? Just curious.  I can only think of maybe having to be 21 to be a bartender.

Many other industries require some level of "prior work experience" or an educational minimum like associates degree, a bachelor degree, etc.  I think a loose parallel can be made there.  The NBA is essentially requiring one year of college or semi-professional basketball experience.

It's not the same. These industries require some sort of education or work experience because nobody can do those jobs immediately without that background. The NBA is only similar to a degree. If everyone came from high school to the pros, it'd be a disaster. However, there are certain players who can actually make that transition and succeed. If there were a LeBron James of accounting, they'd probably make an exception for him, but accounting requires a lot of knowledge and experience gained from college, whereas the NBA requires its employees to be high-level athletes. You don't necessarily need college for that.

[Who]

It is a good decision. Just look at this year's draft and how many highly regarded prospects are in it (Wiggins, Parker, Embiid) + then look at how far away each one of those players is from being able to step in and help their team from day one. It sucks.

None of the teams that land one of those top prospects can expect to be significantly better next season because that prospect is on their roster. It's a great long term acquisition but they are not changing the immediate situation. And that sucks.

[Roy H.]

Does anyone know of any other industry that doesn't allow people that are legal adults to make a living in it with willing employers? Just curious.  I can only think of maybe having to be 21 to be a bartender.

Many other industries require some level of "prior work experience" or an educational minimum like associates degree, a bachelor degree, etc.  I think a loose parallel can be made there.  The NBA is essentially requiring one year of college or semi-professional basketball experience.

It's not the same. These industries require some sort of education or work experience because nobody can do those jobs immediately without that background.

I don't think that's necessarily true.  For instance, to be an attorney, there's no way that seven years of combined college and law school are necessary to give you the skills you need. 

The seven year requirement, though, allows for a maturing process; 24 year old attorneys are going to be a lot more stable and mature than 20 year olds.

It's a flawed system, but it helps weed out bad candidates for the job.

In the same way, I'm not opposed to raising the age limit for NBA players.  It will improve the NCAA product, and it will improve the NBA product.  As a fan, I care more about that than I do some concept about the right to work.

[slamtheking]

I think it's actually for the player's own good that they can't join right out of high school.  Perhaps instead of forcing kids into college for a year, have a requirement of 1 year in a developmental/minor league but without being drafted by a major franchise -- just a draft of high school players not attending college by the minor league franchises.

Let the Major/pro franchises draft from the minor league, colleges and overseas leagues. 

Keeps the basketball-only crowd out of the colleges, gives the pros a chance to see young talent before committing big money to them and kids not interested in education a chance to show their skills and learn how to cope with a pro lifestyle before they have it all thrown at them.

it's not a perfect solution by any means (for instance, is a minor-league system even financially viable-->who's going to pay to see them when the pros and colleges are also competing for the same entertainment money). 

[KGs Knee]

This should read "NBA in cahoots with NCAA to steal more money from athletes and put it in the pockets of college administrators".

Sickening.

Now, if the major college programs broke away from the NCAA and paid there players a legitimate portion of the revenue, I would probably be more inclined to not be bothered.

College football is even worse.