NBA Age Limit

[Jimbo's Drinker]

Is it a good think to make NCAA bball players go to school for at least a year, or should they just allowed to go pro?

[chimpy2121]

I think one year is dumb. With one year, all they have to do is take classes like Theory and Practice of Baseball/Basketball/Football and other easy classes and they're set. They don't care about getting education; That's the last thing on their mind. They know they're in and out so they do not care what they learn as long as they can play.

 

I think it should be at least 2 years, but I would like to see the same setup as football and baseball.

[SleepyWhiteSox]

Something like making them stay 2 years would be good. Right now, the NBA product is atrocious. Zero fundamentals. Huge verticals are nice but nobody being able to hit a jump shot or play D is annoying to watch.

Edited April 14, 2008 by SleepyWhiteSox

[Palehosefan]

I think one year is better than nothing, but two years would be ideal for me.

 

However, more has to be done about the shoe industry and their access to high school talent. Scum like Sonny Vaccaro need to be kept away from kids. These guys get in the talented kids heads and tell them all kinds of great things, like how they are going to be drafted in the 1st round. Then draft day comes and they end up as an Ousmanne Cisse or a Lenny Cooke.

 

Some of these talented kids that are forced to come into college for a year find out that they aren't quite ready and end up staying at least 2 years anyways. Others that never wanted to be there in the first place end up at a Memphis and get their exposure and head out a year later.

 

I would love to see a crackdown on graduation rates as well. Graduating less than 25% of your players should never be acceptable, EVER. Punish schools like Memphis that thrive on kids that other schools can't or won't touch.

 

Let the other kids that never belonged in college go overseas for a year or play in the NBDL and refine their skills. They shouldn't be in college anyways, much less playing in the tourney for Memphis, or others.

 

Edit: Forgot to mention, I want a 2 year minimum so that it at least produces a healthy portion towards graduating and hopefully pushes kids past classes such as "chair stacking".

Edited April 14, 2008 by Palehosefan

[Kyyle23]

Does the NBA care about fundamentals though? And for that matter, will an extra year in college really teach better basketball fundamentals to a player?

 

Some kids get it and work really hard at it and excel because of the work they put in, other kids are gifted athletes who play they want to play because they are that good. I like the fact that the NBA is encouraging kids to stay in college(for a little while at least), but I really dont think this changes the product on the floor all that much.

[rangercal]

I think by basically forcing college on someone, is going against an individuals civil liberties as an adult. If you are old enough to lose your life in Iraq, you should be Old enough to play a simple sport (that is if you are good enough to get drafted.)

 

College can wait for these guys. If they can get a guaranteed 6 figures, you sign and don't look back.

[Palehosefan]

That doesn't really fly here. The NBA is basically denying internships due to a lack of experience for these kids wanting to join out of high school.

 

The NBA is an organization that offers some of the best jobs in the world, but only to the most talented.

 

It's absolutely no different than Microsoft wanting a Bachelors degree, or a few years of IT experience before being offered an internship.

 

The NBA is saying currently that you can become part of the organization by EITHER being one year out of high school, or of a certain age.

 

If the NBA only applied the age rule, then there could be a significant beef. However, a guy like Kevin Durant was given an "internship" due to being one year out of high school, and didn't meet the age requirement still from my knowledge of it.

 

These kids can play in other leagues, or get millions to play overseas, however they just can't join this elite organization until they have the experience.

 

 

[Kyyle23]

I think by basically forcing college on someone, is going against an individuals civil liberties as an adult. If you are old enough to lose your life in Iraq, you should be Old enough to play a simple sport (that is if you are good enough to get drafted.)

 

College can wait for these guys. If they can get a guaranteed 6 figures, you sign and don't look back.

 

Is the requirement 2 years in college? Or is it waiting 2 years after high school? I could see kids skipping school and going overseas to play

Edited April 14, 2008 by kyyle23

[Palehosefan]

• All players must be at least 19 years of age during the calendar year of the draft.

• A player who completed basketball eligibility at an American high school must also be at least one year removed from the graduation of his high school class.

I could see the age part coming under fire soon, and it should.

 

I'm assuming that the proposed new set would just change it to 20 years and 2 years removed from high school. However, there is no need for the age addendum.

Edited April 14, 2008 by Palehosefan

[Soxbadger]

I disagree with it.

 

It's absolutely no different than Microsoft wanting a Bachelors degree, or a few years of IT experience before being offered an internship.

 

False, this is an apple and oranges comparison.

 

In the NBA scenario there are teams, which is the equivalent of the employer, who want these players. They will gladly pay them, hire them, etc.

 

So it would be like Microsoft wanting to hire people at the age of 18, but the United States govt saying that:

 

"No one can work for microsoft until they are 19 years old."

 

If the rule changed, microsoft would immediately hire the 18 year old, just like NBA teams would immediately start drafting the players.

 

I have no problem is a team does not want to draft 18 year olds, but I have a problem when a league creates a system to purposefully limit the opportunity for people to make money. The reason why they want to make kids wait is to limit their exposure. By forcing kids to go to school 2 years it:

 

A) Allows them more time to watch and evaluate. How many kids were locks to be first rounders at 18 who then bust out? The money they dont invest on busts, is money that they get to save.

 

B ) Allows more time for players to get injured. How much money is lost by players due to injury, look at Oden. He got lucky and was still drafted with an injury, but who knows if he had to miss all this year where hed have gone in the draft.

 

If these kids want to send a message to the NBA and NCAA, go over seas for big contracts and never come back.

 

Imagine when the next wave of Durant's, Beasley's, is playing in Europe, theyll change their tune.

 

Also, imagine if you have a player who would be drafted #1 over all, but cant get into college. Theyd have to sit for no reason.

 

Its a joke, to bad no one cares about NBA athletes, everyone just wants to make money off of them, so no one is their to help them before they have any money.

Edited April 14, 2008 by Soxbadger

[StrangeSox]

I disagree with it.

 

 

 

False, this is an apple and oranges comparison.

 

In the NBA scenario there are teams, which is the equivalent of the employer, who want these players. They will gladly pay them, hire them, etc.

 

So it would be like Microsoft wanting to hire people at the age of 18, but the United States govt saying that:

 

No, it's not like that. The NBA is the parent organization and the franchises agree to follow the rules that they set. If I open up a new McDonald's, I can't just do whatever I please. The people in Oak Brook still retain some level of control.

 

Comparing a parent corporation to the government is like comparing apples and Italian sausages. There is no law forcing the employment one way or the other -- its one company (the NBA) setting rules for its franchises on who to hire.

 

If these kids want to send a message to the NBA and NCAA, go over seas for big contracts and never come back.

 

Imagine when the next wave of Durant's, Beasley's, is playing in Europe, theyll change their tune.

 

They could do that, but they'd be offered even bigger contracts back here in the NBA. Pissing away tens of millions of dollars won't really prove your point.

Edited April 14, 2008 by StrangeSox

[WilliamTell]

I want to see 2 years out of high school or whatever. That way at least some of them might try to get a 2 year degree. Even if it's just a fraction of the kids, they're getting much needed discipline in college. It's a better transition from college basketball to the pros than high school basketball to the pros.

[ZoomSlowik]

I think it kind of depends on what you do with the D-League. If teams actually send their raw prospects with upside that just aren't ready instead of a bunch of washouts that are just fighting for the last couple of spots on the roster, then screw the age limit. Then you wouldn't be forced to keep guys like Ndudi Ebi or Darko Milicic or Nikolas Tskitisvili rotting on your bench and adding nothing to the team when they could be getting playing time elsewhere. Of course then college basketball takes a bit of a hit if the NBDL becomes a legit alternative, and the NBA teams are still pissing away fairly large contracts on guys that aren't contributing and may never do it.

 

If on the other hand the D-League kind of stays with the same structure, then you really do need an age limit of some kind to cut down on the number of guys that simply aren't ready and/or good enough to contribute. Granted you're always going to have guys that think they're better than they are jumping earlier than they should, but that cuts down on it a bit. I do think teams need to have some leeway with guys with questionable academic abilities though, since there will often be guys like Lenny Cooke that can't really hack it in college but still aren't good enough to jump right to the NBA.

Edited April 14, 2008 by ZoomSlowik

[rangercal]

As a fan, I think an Age limit after the lottery would make most sense. At least they would not be preventing the Lebrons and Kobes from going pro.

[Kyyle23]

As a fan, I think an Age limit after the lottery would make most sense. At least they would not be preventing the Lebrons and Kobes from going pro.

 

That would be chaos, there is no way the could quantify the Lebrons and Kobes. Some kids totally dominate high school and it doesnt translate to the pro game because they havent had quality competition (cough eddy curry cough).

[whitesoxfan99]

That would be chaos, there is no way the could quantify the Lebrons and Kobes. Some kids totally dominate high school and it doesnt translate to the pro game because they havent had quality competition (cough eddy curry cough).

 

Eddy Curry's problem is his work ethic, not his high school competition.

[Balta1701]

I'll be noting this in the NBA thread in a moment, but it's an interesting data point here too. Carmelo Anthony appears to have picked up a DUI last night.

[StrangeSox]

Eddy Curry's problem is his work ethic, not his high school competition.

 

When you don't have to work hard for your success, you don't build a work ethic.

[Balta1701]

When you don't have to work hard for your success, you don't build a work ethic.

For an example on this one...think "Brian Anderson".

[Soxbadger]

No, it's not like that. The NBA is the parent organization and the franchises agree to follow the rules that they set. If I open up a new McDonald's, I can't just do whatever I please. The people in Oak Brook still retain some level of control.

 

Comparing a parent corporation to the government is like comparing apples and Italian sausages. There is no law forcing the employment one way or the other -- its one company (the NBA) setting rules for its franchises on who to hire.

 

Because unlike McDonald's, there is no Burger King to the NBA. Due to the nature of the NBA, that it is the only legitimate league in the United States, barring entry prevents an entire class of people from being able to enjoy their dream. It even goes further with the connection of the NCAA to the NBA, that gives the NBA an apparent monopoly (in reality its an oligopoly as there are a few leagues) and control over these players.

 

Thats why I did not compare it to a normal franchise agreement, because in a normal franchise agreement you generally have had options to chose from for your original franchise, and the employees can go from chain to chain with no real problem. (You can work at a McDonalds then if they changed the rule to say you had to be over 18, there would still be jobs at Burger King, etc.)

 

They could do that, but they'd be offered even bigger contracts back here in the NBA. Pissing away tens of millions of dollars won't really prove your point.

 

You have no idea how much they could get overseas. If big time Euro companies started a European League with teams in London, Paris, Barcelona, Munich, Berlin, you dont think they could pay top dollar?

 

I dont agree with it on principal. An 18 year old can play basketball as well as a 20 year old, the only sports where there are age restrictions are those which the USA has a monopoly on. You dont see the Chicago Fire unable to sign 18 year old talent (in fact I think they make exceptions to hire 16 year olds in MLS). You dont see a tennis player unable to compete at the US Open, or a golfer unable to compete because of age.

 

Its the NBA who wants to make more money by minimizing its risk. Its good strategy, just unamerican in my opinion.

[Palehosefan]

The NBA's owners, "CEO" Stern, and the employees/players themselves have agreed to this set of rules.

 

The only way I see this changing is if the government gets bored again and decides the text about the Age restriction is discrimination.

 

 

 

[Soxbadger]

The NBA's owners, "CEO" Stern, and the employees/players themselves have agreed to this set of rules.

 

Of course they have, it benefits each one of them.

 

CEO Stern gets to limit investment in high school kids.

 

Players get to limit entrance into league, therefore limits competition for their spots, therefore guarantees them more money.

 

The only way its going to change is if some 18 year old phenom with excellent grades challenges it in court.

 

Unlike Lawyer, Dr., where there is public safety to worry about when you give out a license (and nba players need no license to play) i see no legitimate reason to deny people the chance at making their fortune.l

 

I know that current legal interpretation does not agree with my viewpoints, but I believe thats only because no case has been brought where the court could really get behind the person. (ie Clarett was not exactly the poster boy for good behavior.)

 

Find a 4.0 student, who can articulate how stupid it is for him to turn down a lifes worth of income for 1 year of college. With 10million you can go to college more than once.

[knightni]

If kids come out of High School and fail to be drafted, they should be allowed to go to college and keep their amateur status.

[rangercal]

If kids come out of High School and fail to be drafted, they should be allowed to go to college and keep their amateur status.

 

Well, they can if they don't hire an agent.

[kjshoe04]

They should really get rid of this rule. If someone doesn't want to go to college to play professional basketball, who should stop them. It's not really a profession where college is a must.