Proposal: Player is Only Eligible for NBA Draft If Age is 21 or Older

[Csfan1984]

If you can go to war at 18 you can play a professional sport or drink imo.

It's been proven by numerous players that playing out of high school is possible so let's not say age or maturity is an issue. It all comes down to making a better product though. I would compromise and say NBA Draft and d-league is open to players 17+. NBA 20+ so if a kid needs $ he can play professionaly and help his family. He does not have to go through the farce that is one and done. NBA needs to stop being cheap.

[PhoSita]

The problem with letting teenagers in the NBA, especially when there isn't a quality minor league that teams can really utilize, is that we end up with multiple NBA teams that are effectively minor league teams for multiple seasons while they train a bunch of teenagers on the job.

[TheTruthFot18]

If you can go to war at 18 you can play a professional sport or drink imo.

It's been proven by numerous players that playing out of high school is possible so let's not say age or maturity is an issue. It all comes down to making a better product though. I would compromise and say NBA Draft and d-league is open to players 17+. NBA 20+ so if a kid needs $ he can play professionaly and help his family. He does not have to go through the farce that is one and done. NBA needs to stop being cheap.

 

SO greatly increasing the chances that you kill someone or are killed yourself is on the same level of competing at the highest level in sports?

Not disagreeing with you, just pointing out a poor analogy.

[Csfan1984]

If you can go to war at 18 you can play a professional sport or drink imo.

It's been proven by numerous players that playing out of high school is possible so let's not say age or maturity is an issue. It all comes down to making a better product though. I would compromise and say NBA Draft and d-league is open to players 17+. NBA 20+ so if a kid needs $ he can play professionaly and help his family. He does not have to go through the farce that is one and done. NBA needs to stop being cheap.

 

SO greatly increasing the chances that you kill someone or are killed yourself is on the same level of competing at the highest level in sports?

Not disagreeing with you, just pointing out a poor analogy.

Lol that is the definition of a bad analogy. How do you get killing or being killed out of that. It's fighting for your country and having the maturity and tools to take on other men that you are up against no matter the age of those men in battle. If we think 18 years can handle that then they can handle alcohol or sports.

[mmmmm]

Discuss pros and cons for both the NBA and NCAA. Only exception to age restriction: Those under 21 who have completed undergraduate studies.

I disagree strongly with such restrictions.  There should be no such arbitrary thresholds that basically amount to restraint of trade.   There are decades of evidence in both the NBA as well as other professional sports (MLB, NHL) that high school provides a sufficient academic basis for their trade.  If they are capable of performing their trade out of high school they should not be prevented from doing so.

I think the one-and-done rule as is should be revoked and frankly the NBA needs to push even harder towards the development of the NBADL to ween their dependency off of the NCAA.  I.E. - they need it to become a true minor league development system that can nuture kids straight out of high school.

Forcing kids to pretend to be college students is a farce, hypocrisy and serves no purpose but to prop up the megabucks exploitation/entertainment engine that is the NCAA.

[mmmmm]

Discuss pros and cons for both the NBA and NCAA. Only exception to age restriction: Those under 21 who have completed undergraduate studies.

This whole notion is no offence ridiculous, it's so easy to propose these things when it isn't you losing millions of dollars and having your family struggle to make ends meet when NCAA rakes it in at your expense, UCLA just signed 280 million jersey deal and those kids won't see a penny. When ex players say you'll make plenty in your career they are usually the legends when actually the average NBA career is only 4.8 years. The only reason the NBA wants to raise the age limit is that the owners are upset that they miss on unfinished draft prospects but if they had decent scouts there wouldn't be a problem. The Red Sox just drafted a 17y.o why don't people get upset with that? Because MLB have established better farm systems and NBA are too greedy and cheap to do the same thing. If the NBA raises the age limit they will force young kids to go overseas to lesser programs where like greece666 stated they might ruin talent.

TP

[PhoSita]

The Red Sox drafted a 17 year old, but they wont be playing that guy in the big leagues until approximately 2025.

That's the big difference here.  I'm all for letting teams take risks on 17 and 18 year olds if that's what they want to do, so long as those players don't immediately take up NBA roster spots.  Let them learn to play the game in college or the D-League before they wander onto an NBA court and become part of the NBA product.

[Csfan1984]

Think most agree then get a better D-league going. Let guys go there if they need $. Bring them up when ready forget the age stuff.

[mmmmm]

The problem with letting teenagers in the NBA, especially when there isn't a quality minor league that teams can really utilize, is that we end up with multiple NBA teams that are effectively minor league teams for multiple seasons while they train a bunch of teenagers on the job.

That's a problem caused by lack of a development mechanism within the current NBA roster structure, not by the age at which players can become professionals in their chosen trade.

Other sports leagues use expanded roster formats so that they have players who are under professional contract (whether it is a minor league contract or a major league contract, but designated for assignment at the minor league affiliate) in the right level for their development prior to putting them on the major league roster and on the major league product floor/field/ice.

The NBA is slowly expanding the D-League to provide enough teams to have affiliate relationships for all NBA clubs, and if they get to that, then an expanded roster model becomes possible.

There are plenty of models for how to do this correctly, to get the NBA unshackled from it's current dependency on the NCAA hypocrisy machine.   It is definitely doable.  It will just take a willingness to actually address the issue by the owners and the NBPA.

[Donoghus]

The problem with letting teenagers in the NBA, especially when there isn't a quality minor league that teams can really utilize, is that we end up with multiple NBA teams that are effectively minor league teams for multiple seasons while they train a bunch of teenagers on the job.

That's a problem caused by lack of a development mechanism within the current NBA roster structure, not by the age at which players can become professionals in their chosen trade.

Other sports leagues use expanded roster formats so that they have players who are under professional contract (whether it is a minor league contract or a major league contract, but designated for assignment at the minor league affiliate) in the right level for their development prior to putting them on the major league roster and on the major league product floor/field/ice.

The NBA is slowly expanding the D-League to provide enough teams to have affiliate relationships for all NBA clubs, and if they get to that, then an expanded roster model becomes possible.

There are plenty of models for how to do this correctly, to get the NBA unshackled from it's current dependency on the NCAA hypocrisy machine.   It is definitely doable.  It will just take a willingness to actually address the issue by the owners and the NBPA.

Absolutely nailed it. 

[Sketch5]

If you can go to war at 18 you can play a professional sport or drink imo.

It's been proven by numerous players that playing out of high school is possible so let's not say age or maturity is an issue. It all comes down to making a better product though. I would compromise and say NBA Draft and d-league is open to players 17+. NBA 20+ so if a kid needs $ he can play professionaly and help his family. He does not have to go through the farce that is one and done. NBA needs to stop being cheap.

 

SO greatly increasing the chances that you kill someone or are killed yourself is on the same level of competing at the highest level in sports?

Not disagreeing with you, just pointing out a poor analogy.

Lol that is the definition of a bad analogy. How do you get killing or being killed out of that. It's fighting for your country and having the maturity and tools to take on other men that you are up against no matter the age of those men in battle. If we think 18 years can handle that then they can handle alcohol or sports.

Except that there is a ton of physical and mental training. I have a bunch of 18 to 20 year olds that work for me, and no way are they mature enough to drink(even though they still do and try to call in sick sunday mournings, and grubble when I say they need to bring in a doctors notice that they were indeed sick if they want to get back on the schedule).

In the army it's 27/7 training and you're closer to 19 before you even get considered to ship over. Plus they are supervised most times with in walls or an area. So the temptations of the out side word doesn't effect there training. And your taught respect, which goes a long way.

NBA the kids get a ton of money with little to no guidance and are free to do what they want out side the few hours a day they have to practice. Some kids get it and work hard, but many don't, not to the point they should any ways.

Now if you want a minor league, Im down for that. But it should be intense. It should be in confined areas for weeks at a time with a few days of recreation in between. And you put in the two years, then you can enter the draft. Go to two years of college, enter the draft. But schools should give players a free 4 year ride even if they leave after 2.

[Evantime34]

I'd prefer for the NBA to do away with an age limit rather than the current rules.

This is another argument, but I think collegiate athletes are treated poorly by the ncaa. I don't want to make rules that help out what I consider to be one of the most corrupt sporting organizations there is.

I'm also of the opinion that players develop better in the NBA (when they can spend all their time on basketball) than in college. So I'd rather have young players improve in the NBA, than toil away in the NCAA.

[PhoSita]

The problem with letting teenagers in the NBA, especially when there isn't a quality minor league that teams can really utilize, is that we end up with multiple NBA teams that are effectively minor league teams for multiple seasons while they train a bunch of teenagers on the job.

That's a problem caused by lack of a development mechanism within the current NBA roster structure, not by the age at which players can become professionals in their chosen trade.

Other sports leagues use expanded roster formats so that they have players who are under professional contract (whether it is a minor league contract or a major league contract, but designated for assignment at the minor league affiliate) in the right level for their development prior to putting them on the major league roster and on the major league product floor/field/ice.

The NBA is slowly expanding the D-League to provide enough teams to have affiliate relationships for all NBA clubs, and if they get to that, then an expanded roster model becomes possible.

There are plenty of models for how to do this correctly, to get the NBA unshackled from it's current dependency on the NCAA hypocrisy machine.   It is definitely doable.  It will just take a willingness to actually address the issue by the owners and the NBPA.

I agree with you.

I think that the best solution to the problem will seek to address it in a way that can improve the product at the NCAA and NBA level without penalizing the players that want to play in college and get a degree or the players that just want to play professional ball straight out of high school.

[max215]

What's the point of keeping someone who's ready to play professionally in college for 3 years? Guys like Towns and LeBron don't need to go to college at all, and forcing them to lose 3 years of their careers is an impediment to them, us, and the game as a whole.

[Donoghus]

Major Con- What's the point of keeping someone who's ready to play professionally in college for 3 years? Guys like Towns and LeBron don't need to go to college at all, and forcing them to lose 3 years of their careers is an impediment to them, us, and the game as a whole.

Absolutely nothing besides the NCAA exploiting the heck out of them.