I don't think players should stay in college for the degree.
They should stay in college (or some other sort of developmental league or overseas) to learn how to better play at a higher level.
Baseball and Hockey do the development themselves the right way. Football force their players to learn before they have to come to the league.
I want the NBA to force players to more fully develop their game before they get to the league. I want to see rookies coming in that we have had more time to see as fans and thus, be more hyped about the players.
3 of the 5 greatest players in the 2000's had no college at all i.e. James, Garnett, and Bryant (Duncan and O'Neal are the other 2, just so we are clear). Nowitzki who isn't far behind those 5, didn't go to college either (though obviously played professionally in Europe). The 2nd best player in the world right now i.e. Durant, went to college for just 1 year.
This idea that you need college is just silly. Last week, Silver was on Cowherd's show and he heavily implied that the NBA will eliminate that rule in some fashion. He basically said the 6 months of "schooling" doesn't help the players or the schools and that they needed to fix it. He and the BPA agreed to put that on hold during the last round of negotiations, but Silver expects that they will work on it before the expiration of the current deal and may even make the change prior to the next overall contract. I got the distinct impression, that they will look at a baseball type system (i.e. you don't have to go to college but if you do you have to stay for x years, with x more than 1), though he didn't come out and say it. This would be coupled with an expanded minor league where the players that aren't ready for the NBA could go.
EDIT: Here is a clip of the interview. they touch on super teams and the one and done here - the full interview is worthwhile, but I can't find it.
https://youtu.be/pVp0W9NfMbQHere is an article which has much of above and a little more for those that can't watch youtube
http://www.foxsports.com/nba/gallery/7-things-we-learned-from-nba-commissioner-adam-silvers-interview-with-colin-cowherd-053117And the text for the part on 1 and done
Colin Cowherd: “The one thing I think is a charade is one-and-done. Many of the most dynamic players in this league -- and most responsible -- did not go to college. Why not expand your D-League, make it the European style? Start at 16 years old. End this charade of college basketball one-and-done?"
Adam Silver: “It may surprise you, but I’m rethinking our position.
"Our historical position since we raised the age from 18 to 19 was that we want to go from 19 to 20, and the union’s position is they want to go from 19 to 18.
"In the last round of collective bargaining, Michelle Roberts and I both agreed ‘Let’s get through these core economic issues in terms of renewing the collective bargaining agreement, and then turn back to this age issue. Because it’s one I think we need to be more thoughtful on, and not just be in an adversarial position, sort of under the bright lights of collective bargaining.
"I’ll take your point one step further. Even the players, the so-called one-and-done players, I don’t think it’s fair to characterize them as going to one year of school.
"What’s happening now, even at the best schools, they enroll at those universities and they attend those universities until either they don’t make the tournament, or to whenever they lose in or win the NCAA tournament. That becomes their last day. So, in essence, it’s a half-and-done. A half a school year, and then they go on.
"For those of [you] who haven’t seen it, take a look at that Ben Simmons documentary that was on Showtime last year. And I don’t blame him, I don’t know him well, but he seems like a bright young man. He has a crew following him around LSU his freshman year — and it’s not LSU’s fault either — he’s essentially saying ‘Why am I here? I don’t even want to be here. I’m forced to be here.’ His team didn’t even make the tournament, and he was still the first pick in the NBA Draft.
"So I do think we have to rethink it at this point, because now selfishly, while I love college basketball and I’m a huge fan of college basketball, I worry about potentially stunted development in the most important years in these players’ careers.
"…. These young men, they’re followed so closely from the time they’re 13 or 14 on. They’re at the major shoe companies’ summer camps. They’re being watched closely by the league, by the college scouts. And so when they get to [college], now they’re in a unique situation. Talk about resting in the NBA, all of a sudden now they realize, even though they can buy insurance, their biggest concern, unfortunately, becomes not whether they can win the NCAA tournament, but whether they drop in the NBA Draft. So then they have to be worried about how their skills are showcased, how many minutes they get, whether they get injured. It’s not a great dynamic.”