Potentially good news on the One and Done rule with the NBA

[ChicosBailBonds]

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said that his push for an adjustment to the one-and-done rule that would force prospects to wait until at least two years after completing high school to enter the draft is a "growing issue but one that is considered minor when dealing with the players’ union," according to Gary Washburn of the BOSTON GLOBE. The one-and-done rule "is not going to derail a new labor agreement." Silver: "From the league’s standpoint, our stance remains the same. We’d rather these young men spend two years out of high school rather than one, which is our current rule, before entering the NBA." He added, "I’m making a business decision for the NBA, which is to the betterment of the league and the roughly 430 jobs we have in this league. We feel that these players are better off having more time developing as players before they enter into this league.” Silver noted that a lot of younger players are "dealing with serious injuries early in their careers." He said, "We’re now seeing the type of injuries in young players that we used to see when they were much older. I think there needs to be more of a holistic response to this. It isn’t just about whether the minimum age should be 19 versus 20. I think, as I’ve said before, we need to get together with the larger basketball community and talk about the number of games these young players, boys, are playing, beginning 12, 13, 14, often eight games in a weekend at tournaments" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/27).

BUCKING THE TREND: In Detroit, Drew Sharp notes there "could be as many as 10 seniors among the 20 starters Saturday night at NRG Stadium in Houston" during the Final Four, and there will "only be two freshmen starters." This is a "more singular moment than revolutionary movement," but it is "refreshing that this Final Four accurately reflects an overall college basketball season that contradicted convention." There were "six freshmen starters in last year’s Final Four just between Duke and Kentucky." All six were "selected in the first round of last year’s NBA draft." The lack of dynamic freshmen in this year's tournament "didn’t diminish the game’s overall star power as many feared." Seniors "proved they’re more than capable of shining when the mood strikes" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 3/28).

[Pakuni]

"Good news" would be doing away with any college requirement and let the players act in what they believe are their best interests, just as we do in baseball, hockey, tennis, golf, soccer, auto racing, etc.

Never understood what conditions exist in professional basketball that make it too difficult for a kid straight out of high school, but aren't present in numerous other professional sports.

[wadesworld]

"Good news" would be doing away with any college requirement and let the players act in what they believe are their best interests, just as we do in baseball, hockey, tennis, golf, soccer, auto racing, etc.

Never understood what conditions exist in professional basketball that make it too difficult for a kid straight out of high school, but aren't present in numerous other professional sports.

A real minor league system where kids who aren't ready to contribute at the highest level go to develop their game, rather than kill their career.

[MerrittsMustache]

A real minor league system where kids who aren't ready to contribute at the highest level go to develop their game, rather than kill their career.

Exactly...and the NBA currently has a free system like that in college basketball. The D-League has improved lately and most NBA teams have affiliates but there's still a long way to go and not much motivation to take it there.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I think this would benefit both the NBA and NCAA basketball. Hope the Union will allow this.

[Pakuni]

A real minor league system where kids who aren't ready to contribute at the highest level go to develop their game, rather than kill their career.

1. Yes, and the NBDL can and should be that. But it won't be as long as the NBA prefers to use the NCAA as a free development league instead, to the financial benefit of everyone but the players.
2. So one year of college, i.e. 30ish games, is all the development a kid needs before being ready to contribute at the highest level?

[Pakuni]

I think this would benefit both the NBA and NCAA basketball. Hope the Union will allow this.

Where do the rights of the players fit into the equation?

[wadesworld]

1. Yes, and the NBDL can and should be that. But it won't be as long as the NBA prefers to use the NCAA as a free development league instead, to the financial benefit of everyone but the players.
2. So one year of college, i.e. 30ish games, is all the development a kid needs before being ready to contribute at the highest level?

2) In many cases, yes.  That freshman year of college is the first time almost all high level basketball players truly find the weight room.  For most of them they've been able to physically dominate the game without being knocked around one bit for their entire lives.  For the first time in their lives, they're the little guy who has to figure out how to compete without the physical advantage, and it's the first time they're seeing what it's like to play with grown men instead of high school kids.

Edit: There will always be players who are not ready to play professionally that will leave early and try to do so anyways.  But at least after 1 year of college that's completely on them.  If they play their freshman year and are overmatched at that level, they need to be smart enough to return.  When they could come out of high school, they could seem ready, but really very few could truly know.

[ChicosBailBonds]

"Good news" would be doing away with any college requirement and let the players act in what they believe are their best interests, just as we do in baseball, hockey, tennis, golf, soccer, auto racing, etc.

Never understood what conditions exist in professional basketball that make it too difficult for a kid straight out of high school, but aren't present in numerous other professional sports.

But that's a poor comparison, because hockey, baseball, have minor leagues.  Football requires a minimum number of years, as well.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Where do the rights of the players fit into the equation?

Turn 18, go to the NBDL.  Simple. 

[buckchuckler]

I think the MLB model may work well for the NBA.  Guys can come out of high school if they want, but if they don't and commit to going to college, they aren't eligible to be drafted until after their junior season. 

[Pakuni]

But that's a poor comparison, because hockey, baseball, have minor leagues. 

So does basketball. They're just not required to use it as such.

Football requires a minimum number of years, as well.

I think we can agree football is an entirely different beast because of the significantly more physical nature of the sport.

[Pakuni]

I think the MLB model may work well for the NBA.  Guys can come out of high school if they want, but if they don't and commit to going to college, they aren't eligible to be drafted until after their junior season.

Hockey's model is even better. Kids can get drafted, but if they don't sign a pro contract they can go to college. And teams retain their rights for a period of time after they leave college.

[Pakuni]

Turn 18, go to the NBDL.  Simple.

But why be forced to the NBDL if an NBA team is willing to draft and pay you?
If your child was sitting on two job offers, would you suggest he take the lower-paying, less prestigious one? Or better yet, a take a year or two to work for free first?

[WarriorInNYC]

Hockey's model is even better. Kids can get drafted, but if they don't sign a pro contract they can go to college. And teams retain their rights for a period of time after they leave college.

Wouldn't this be worse?  In essence, a team could draft a player, but not offer the, a pro contract until they feel they are ready to contribute to their team.  They could in essence force players to stay in the NCAA longer than they may want, as they own their rights.

[Pakuni]

Wouldn't this be worse?  In essence, a team could draft a player, but not offer the, a pro contract until they feel they are ready to contribute to their team.  They could in essence force players to stay in the NCAA longer than they may want, as they own their rights.

A kid can leave college any time he wants. That starts the 30-day clock ticking on the drafting team's rights. If the player is unsigned 30 days after leaving college, he becomes a free agent and the team that drafted him gets a compensatory pick if he signs elsewhere.

[Babybluejeans]

But why be forced to the NBDL if an NBA team is willing to draft and pay you?
If your child was sitting on two job offers, would you suggest he take the lower-paying, less prestigious one? Or better yet, a take a year or two to work for free first?

I agree. Basketball has always stood out as meritocratic: if a player's got "it" then he'll have a place on an NBA team. Why prohibit a player, an adult no less, from doing what the market says he can be doing just because he's young?

Choosing whether to play in college or develop in the pros should be dictated by the market for that player's skills and the player's free will, not Adam Silver.

[WarriorInNYC]

But why be forced to the NBDL if an NBA team is willing to draft and pay you?
If your child was sitting on two job offers, would you suggest he take the lower-paying, less prestigious one? Or better yet, a take a year or two to work for free first?

So this is completely different than the player's "rights".  If the league wants to make the rule that players need 2 years after high school, then they totally should.

I'll try and fit it into your example here.  If I'm a sophomore in college and show insane "accounting skills" and have shown every ability necessary to be able to jump into the corporate world, my rights aren't infringed when companies won't hire me because I haven't fulfilled the minimum requirement of having a college degree.

[MerrittsMustache]

nm

[Pakuni]

2) In many cases, yes. That freshman year of college is the first time almost all high level basketball players truly find the weight room.  For most of them they've been able to physically dominate the game without being knocked around one bit for their entire lives.  For the first time in their lives, they're the little guy who has to figure out how to compete without the physical advantage, and it's the first time they're seeing what it's like to play with grown men instead of high school kids.

Do we have any actual evidence of this?
I mean, are the one-and-dones of today any more productive/ready for the pros than the straight to the NBA players from 10+ years ago? Guys like LeBron, Kobe, Garnett, Howard, McGrady, Stoudemire, etc., seemed OK without that additional year of development. Not just asking rhetorically, wondering if there's actually anything to support this/

There were obviously notable busts in the straight-to-the-NBA crowd, but the one-and-done rule hasn't eliminated or even reduced that, just forestalled it a year.  (see: Anthony Bennett, BJ Mullens, Daniel Orton, Josh Selby, Jereme Richmond).

[mu03eng]

Two separate areas of concern here that are related but should be acknowledged independently. 1. is what is good for the NBA 2. is what is good for the athlete.

If the NBA wants to say that players can't join the league until they're 20(or something similar) that is within their scope to dictate. It's no different than a company or job type requiring certain education or certifications.

Where I have issues is people rationalizing a rule to "keep kids in college" as reason to have the NBA change their one and done. Do I want the college game to be as good as possible, absolutely, but not at the expense of the players themselves. By "forcing" a kid to go to college you are denying them the opportunity to maximize their revenue and actually using them as a form of indentured servitude. The schools are making money off these kids backs, and yes they are getting value in return but when you do the accounting around what they earn in college versus what they earn in the NBA its not close.

I ultimately think the model should be the ability to retain college eligibility as long as a contract isn't signed but they can be drafted and their "rights" are retained for up to a year after they leave school. The students can leave school whenever as long as they leave in good standing, so if they go to school but don't meet prescribed academic thresholds then there would be some sort of impact on their ability to play professionally. This would limit the impact on one and dones just showing up for basketball. If you choose to go to school and play, school will be required.

[Pakuni]

So this is completely different than the player's "rights".  If the league wants to make the rule that players need 2 years after high school, then they totally should.

I'll try and fit it into your example here.  If I'm a sophomore in college and show insane "accounting skills" and have shown every ability necessary to be able to jump into the corporate world, my rights aren't infringed when companies won't hire me because I haven't fulfilled the minimum requirement of having a college degree.

The analogy doesn't hold up because it's a totally different situation.
Your rights as a wannabe accountant would not be infringed if companies individually chose not to hire you because you haven't met some arbitrary requirement that is not essential or legally required for the job (i.e. a college degree).
But what if several accounting firms were willing to hire you, but some association of accounting firms declared that they could not for some arbitrary reason completely irrelevant to your ability to do the work?
That's what's happening here. I think many teams would have been happy to draft Ben Simmons last year or Jahlil Okafor the year before, because they know one year of college is not essential or necessary to become an NBA player.

[SERocks]

Let's look at it from the player's perspective once.  I'll use Henry as an example, just because he is close to our hearts at the moment.  Let's say Henry wants to stay in school for another year, to develop his game and his body, and possibly advance far in the NCAA tournament, but of course risks leaving $10M on the table due to injury etc.... 

The family cannot afford to purchase insurance to cover that catastrophe.  I don't know what it would cost, but why not allow the schools to work with a player such as Henry, and have the school purchase a policy for him.  That way MU would benefit (get Henry's services for another year, probably sell more tickets, etc etc....), Henry would benefit (ability to grow into his game, and develop his body before being abused at the NBA level) and the fans would benefit.

Seems to me there is little difference between offering a scholarship for schooling or an insurance policy against injury.  The player benefits in either case, but it is not a straight out cash payment that would violate a bunch of sensibilities.

[WarriorInNYC]

The analogy doesn't hold up because it's a totally different situation.
Your rights as a wannabe accountant would not be infringed if companies individually chose not to hire you because you haven't met some arbitrary requirement that is not essential or legally required for the job (i.e. a college degree).
But what if several accounting firms were willing to hire you, but some association of accounting firms declared that they could not for some arbitrary reason completely irrelevant to your ability to do the work?
That's what's happening here. I think many teams would have been happy to draft Ben Simmons last year or Jahlil Okafor the year before, because they know one year of college is not essential or necessary to become an NBA player.

How are these completely different situations?  In the example of the accounting firms that are part of this association, they would have to uphold to the rules of their association, regardless of who they want to hire.

If I wanted to work professionally as an accountant, I could then go to other firms that are not part of that association (NBADL) or I could go to Europe to work as an accountant where they didn't have that rule.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Where do the rights of the players fit into the equation?

I wasn't aware it was a person's right to become a professional basketball player at 18.