Will Noel's Injury Change NBA Rules?

[Tugg Speedman]

If you did not see it in the second half of the Florida/Kentucky game, Nerlens Noel crashed into the padded basket support and fell to the ground holding his knee screaming in pain.  He was carried off the floor and taken to the University of Florida Hospital for more evaluation.  He left the Hospital in a wheelchair and flew back to Lexington with his team.

Story and video (starting at 40 seconds) here

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8941964/nerlens-noel-kentucky-wildcats-injures-knee-helped-court-florida-gators

The sports media is speculating/assuming this is a serious injury and he is out for the rest of the season and his high lottery draft status, maybe even #1 status, is now at risk.

Eamonn Brennan is now asking if the NBA age limit rules are a mistake as it could cost Noel a lot of money.  He wonder if they should change them.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/75916/noels-knee-as-age-limit-referendum

And Pat Forde said this:

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaab--nerlens-noel-s-fluke-knee-injury-casts-bleak-pall-over-promising-talent-s-basketball-career-042703462.html

Noel may have gotten hurt in 2013 no matter where he was playing, but at least he would be under contract and well-compensated by whatever NBA team would have drafted him in the first round last June.

Instead, he wound up playing for scholarship money at Kentucky. And while that is nothing to sneeze at, Noel's presence on campus represents restraint of trade and a bastardization of what college is supposed to be.

He wants to be a pro basketball player. Let him be a pro basketball player without the charade of college delaying it.

You think a change is coming?  Should a Change come?

I say no to the change is coming and yes it should change.  If a player is good enough for the NBA in High School, why force him to wait a year?

If the NBA does change the rules that allow people like Anthony Davis, Jabari Parker and Noel to jump straight to the NBA, how does this affect Duke/UNC/Kentucky etc?  Do they lose because they no longer get the high talented one-and-done players?  Or, do they take the next level of solid four year player and the programs a level below them (IU/Mich State/UCLA) suffers as they lose their recruits to these high blue bloods?

Thoughts?
 

[LAZER]

I hate the rule, I think it's ridiculous.

[Warriors10]

You either should be able to be drafted right out of high school or a min. of 2 years in college.  Let the player decide to take the risk of being drafted or not.  This whole one year rule is stupid and the only reason its implemented is because NBA teams didn't want to scout high school gyms along with the fact they didn't want to continously draft a bust.

Basketball is not like football, kids out of high school have the physical abilites to play in the NBA right away, so all this wanting the kids to mature is bull.   What is really one year going to do?  Noel would have been a projected top 3 pick in LAST years draft and his college experience could really only hurt him.

[Lennys Tap]

The NBA  wants colleges to babysit these guys for a year so that they can a) better evaluate their skill sets and b) monitor their behavior/maturity. Total BS.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

You either should be able to be drafted right out of high school or a min. of 2 years in college.  Let the player decide to take the risk of being drafted or not.  This whole one year rule is stupid and the only reason its implemented is because NBA teams didn't want to scout high school gyms along with the fact they didn't want to continously draft a bust.

Basketball is not like football, kids out of high school have the physical abilites to play in the NBA right away, so all this wanting the kids to mature is bull.   What is really one year going to do?  Noel would have been a projected top 3 pick in LAST years draft and his college experience could really only hurt him.

agreed 100%.  plus, the NFL/NCAA/Maurice Clarett case has already been run through the courts, so there is precidence.

[Benny B]

No.  Because it's the NBA's rule (backed by the players' union), the NBA doesn't care about Nerlens Noel, and the NBAPA only cares about current dues-paying members, not future members.

[Hards Alumni]

Personally, I think it should be 3 years at college minimum.  It makes college basketball better, and it gives the NBA more time to evaluate players.  For every KG, Lebron, or Kobe Bryant, there is a Sebastian Telfair, Kwame Brown, and Darius Miles.  Those players (and a few others) really set back the franchises that drafted them

[MerrittsMustache]

The rule was put in place in part to save the NBA GMs from themselves. They kept drafting HS kids who had no business being in the NBA at that point but they had too much potential to pass on.

The NBA needs to fold the money suck that is the WNBA, develop the NBDL so that each team has its own affiliate and expand the draft to 5 rounds. If a HS grad wants to skip college and play pro ball, more power to him, but he should do so knowing that he's likely going to toil in the D-League for a couple years (while making D-League money). If a HS grad wants to play college ball, make him stay there for at least 2 seasons before entering the draft. A similar system works well for MLB. There's no reason to believe that it won't work well for the NBA.

[LAZER]

Personally, I think it should be 3 years at college minimum.  It makes college basketball better, and it gives the NBA more time to evaluate players.  For every KG, Lebron, or Kobe Bryant, there is a Sebastian Telfair, Kwame Brown, and Darius Miles.  Those players (and a few others) really set back the franchises that drafted them

There are going to be busts regardless, there have been just as many that have come out of college.  It's up to the teams to get better at evaluating talent in the draft or learn to acquire talent through trades and free agency.

[MerrittsMustache]

No.  Because it's the NBA's rule (backed by the players' union), the NBA doesn't care about Nerlens Noel, and the NBAPA only cares about current dues-paying members, not future members.

Exactly. The NBAPA wants veterans taking up roster spots, not highly-paid projects who need 2-3 years to develop.

[MU82]

Of course the rule should change. But it won't, at least not anytime soon.

NBA honchos do not want to have to scout, draft and babysit high school kids; the NBA Players Association wants money to go to its current pros rather than to 18-year-olds; and the NCAA certainly doesn't want to lose its best prospects to the pros. So there is neither incentive nor momentum for a change back to the rule that let LeBron and Kobe go from preps-to-pros.

In fact, the governing bodies will argue that for every LeBron and Kobe there are dozens of kids who think they are good enough but aren't and end up having their lives ruined when the dream isn't fulfilled.

Could this end up in court? Maybe, but I doubt it. It is part of a collectively bargained agreement and the NBA is a private enterprise. The CBA has at least four more years left (it runs through 2021 but there is a mutual opt-out in 2017) and the sides are in no rush to reopen it, certainly not for this issue.

As for the injury turning Noel from rich man to pauper, that is being overblown. A toe injury limited Duke's Kyrie Irving to only 11 games, yet he was the No. 1 draft pick. Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford suffered a serious injury to his throwing shoulder but was still drafted No. 1. Unless Noel's injury is diagnosed as career-ending, he still will be the No. 1 pick or close to it.

[JWags85]

Personally, I think it should be 3 years at college minimum.  It makes college basketball better, and it gives the NBA more time to evaluate players.  For every KG, Lebron, or Kobe Bryant, there is a Sebastian Telfair, Kwame Brown, and Darius Miles.  Those players (and a few others) really set back the franchises that drafted them

Probably should choose better examples.  Darius Miles averaged over 10 pts a game over a decade long NBA career.  Telfair bounced around, but is still in the league.  Kwame Brown is probably the best example as he was completely immature and unready for the NBA, but he is still collecting an NBA paycheck 10 years later.  Not every draftee can be a star.  You could choose guys like Robert Swift, James Lang (who?), or everyone's favorite...Eddy Curry

[Hards Alumni]

The rule was put in place in part to save the NBA GMs from themselves. They kept drafting HS kids who had no business being in the NBA at that point but they had too much potential to pass on.

The NBA needs to fold the money suck that is the WNBA, develop the NBDL so that each team has its own affiliate and expand the draft to 5 rounds. If a HS grad wants to skip college and play pro ball, more power to him, but he should do so knowing that he's likely going to toil in the D-League for a couple years (while making D-League money). If a HS grad wants to play college ball, make him stay there for at least 2 seasons before entering the draft. A similar system works well for MLB. There's no reason to believe that it won't work well for the NBA.

Sounds great to me.

[martyconlonontherun]

Personally, I think it should be 3 years at college minimum.  It makes college basketball better, and it gives the NBA more time to evaluate players.  For every KG, Lebron, or Kobe Bryant, there is a Sebastian Telfair, Kwame Brown, and Darius Miles.  Those players (and a few others) really set back the franchises that drafted them

I think you should go back and do some research. Most of the hs players were hits due to their talents. I remember going through every draft when they placed the rule and bring surprised how many hs went on to being longtime nba starters. I also think a year of playing against professionals and getting coached by professionals is so much better than a year in college. College coaches are game teachers like they used to be. Why is buzz a great coach? He recruits and gets his players to play hard. He's an average to below average X's and O's coach IMO.


The rule will never change though since it helps with exposure to players getting drafted by the teams. Plus it forces the NCAA to pay for the development even if its not as good.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Unfortunately basketball suffers with the current rule or the rule change to eliminate it.  Let high school seniors in and that hurts both the NBA and college hoops.  The kids aren't ready from a maturity standpoint, they miss out on that maturation process in college.  Many of the HS'ers ride the pine in the NBA and takes years for them to accomplish anything, if ever.

The current system doesn't help much either. Puts the elite players at risk of injury...very rare, but it does happen.  Schools like Kentucky benefit as a destination spot for these kids which can put the competitive balance out of whack.

No easy answer, but letting the seniors in high school go to the NBA directly makes me believe it's another hit to the game of basketball at the professional and college level.   I'd prefer 2 years minimum.  Don't like it, go play in Europe.

[Benny B]

The rule was put in place in part to save the NBA GMs from themselves. They kept drafting HS kids who had no business being in the NBA at that point but they had too much potential to pass on.

To that I would add that they were drafting HS kids whose bodies were an unknown when it came to a professional training & practice regimen.  College gives the NBA the ability to gauge how a kid's body is going to hold up to the rigors of a schedule and regimen which - although is not quite the pro level - is far beyond anything he was subjected to in HS.  Some people simply have "weak" bodies, not in terms of muscle strength, but bone, joints, ligaments, etc., making them what some would term "injury-prone."  These kids might go through HS with no issues whatsoever, and nothing's going to show up in physicals, MRI's, evaluations/workouts, etc., but once they're on a college or pro training schedule... boom, injury city.  Look no further than Greg Oden, and you'll understand what I mean.

I don't care how talented a kid is, if he's injury-prone, you better believe GM's want to know that before they draft him.  Sure, guys like Oden and Andrew Bogut might slip through a year or two of college with no problems, but if Charlotte passes on Noel this year because of this injury, they may very well save themselves a few million dollars if he turns out to be the next Oden.

[lab_warrior]

The NBA  wants colleges to babysit these guys for a year so that they can a) better evaluate their skill sets and b) monitor their behavior/maturity. Total BS.

This.  

If someone is 18 years old and wants to enter the NBA draft, so be it.  They're adults.  

If and NBA GM is brain dead and lazy enough to overpay for immature, overrated turds like Kwame Brown, Sebastian Telfair, and Jonathan Bender, so be it.

[TomW1365]

As an avid Bulls and NBA fan, I believe this rule was necessary to keep it's fans and protect it's product.  Countless veteran players were being dropped from rosters to make room for immature HS projects.  No one wants to pay for pricey tickets to wait around for the kid to develop while hurting the team short term (turnovers) and long term (after the 3 year rookie contract runs out and he leaves). Not to mention the amount of kids who didn't develop and took salary cap space. I for one am happy that the rule is in place.  Obviously every rule has in intended consequences. But the good outweighs the bad (from the NBA's point of view).  But if you care less about the NBA, and only of the NCAA product, I wouldn't like the rule either.  NBA D League would be good place for a minor league system for the guys who don't want to go to college... But that debases the lottery draft again.

[MarquetteDano]

The rule was put in place in part to save the NBA GMs from themselves. They kept drafting HS kids who had no business being in the NBA at that point but they had too much potential to pass on.

The NBA needs to fold the money suck that is the WNBA, develop the NBDL so that each team has its own affiliate and expand the draft to 5 rounds. If a HS grad wants to skip college and play pro ball, more power to him, but he should do so knowing that he's likely going to toil in the D-League for a couple years (while making D-League money). If a HS grad wants to play college ball, make him stay there for at least 2 seasons before entering the draft. A similar system works well for MLB. There's no reason to believe that it won't work well for the NBA.

Fantastic post.  I could not agree with this more.

[MerrittsMustache]

Probably should choose better examples.  Darius Miles averaged over 10 pts a game over a decade long NBA career.  Telfair bounced around, but is still in the league.  Kwame Brown is probably the best example as he was completely immature and unready for the NBA, but he is still collecting an NBA paycheck 10 years later.  Not every draftee can be a star.  You could choose guys like Robert Swift, James Lang (who?), or everyone's favorite...Eddy Curry

Robert Swift had no business being in the NBA but made over $11M in 5 NBA seasons.

Eddy Curry actually had a few good years in his NBA career. He also has a championship ring and has made over $70M.

While both of their games would have benefited from college, it's hard to tell a kid to play in college for free when bad players in the NBA make that kind of money because of "potential."

[Pakuni]

Why not an MLB-type system that allows a player to sign out of high school, but if he chooses college instead, he's ineligible to be drafted for three seasons or after his 21st birthday, whichever comes first?

This would:
- prevent kids from facing an either/or situation. They'll find out their worth to the pros without having to abandon the college route. And the kids who have no interest in college, and probably don't belong in college, won't be forced into college.
- provide stability and improve quality in the college game. If a kid shows up on campus, you know you've got him for at least three seasons. Though Kentucky has had success with the one and done model, I imagine even Calipari hates having to rebuild his roster on annually.
- force the NBA to create a real farm system to develop talent, and allow them to develop talent without the pressure to play the kids who aren't ready

-

[TomW1365]

One other way of looking at this question is from a Marquette fan's point of view.  There are more than a few of our guys who probably wouldn't have had the opportunity if you had 15+ guys a year that were being drafted out of high school... Even if the NBA draft was expanded a few rounds for a larger NBA d league.

[The Process]

No easy answer, but letting the seniors in high school go to the NBA directly makes me believe it's another hit to the game of basketball at the professional and college level.   I'd prefer 2 years minimum.  Don't like it, go play in Europe.

Yep.  And frankly, I'm surprised more top players don't do the Brandon Jennings thing and make $ for a year over in Europe.

[Pakuni]

This.  

If someone is 18 years old and wants to enter the NBA draft, so be it.  They're adults.  

If and NBA GM is brain dead and lazy enough to overpay for immature, overrated turds like Kwame Brown, Sebastian Telfair, and Jonathan Bender, so be it.

Bender was a pretty good player whose career was ruined by injuries. With his playing days behind him, he's gone on to do some really good charity work in his home state of Louisiana. He's neither immature nor a turd.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/25/sports/basketball/25knicks.html?_r=0

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

I think there are sort of 2 conversations going on:

#1 From a private business perspective, the NBA's rule is wise, and honestly, they should make it 2 or 3 years. Why not let guys develop in their skills in college and build a fan following before they enter the NBA? A TON of entry level jobs require a college degree, even if said degree isn't really applicable to the job role. The NBA is doing the same thing.

#2 From a "freedom perspective", if a kid can play, he can play. A college education doesn't really make him better at putting a ball through a hoop. I totally get that.

Given that the NBA IS NOT a government entity, they are free to run their business as they see fit... so in reality, #2 doesn't mean sh!t, and that's important to remember when we have conversation about what they "should do". The NBA should do whatever it wants to do. If the fans/free market don't support it, then they will change.