"The most recent idea in development in the NBA is a required minimum age for players in the Draft. Commisioner David Stern recently proposed that the minimum age be 20. Staff at the NBA have been discussing the idea of a minimum draft age for a while now, in the best interests of the players, but it is also affecting other things, such as colleges."... This i'm not really sure on. This is obviously due to the large amount of HS players coming directly to the NBA. If I were them, I wouldn't pass up the chance to go right in and be making millions to play on the bench for a few years, and that's the way a lot of them look at it. This has also , as said, been affecting colleges, due to a lack of star players, etc. I'll jump to the chase: What do you all think? Should there be a draft age, and if so should it be other than 20? What reasons do you have for your answer? One of the things a lot of people say are that a lot of these HS players are at the peak of their basketball game and if they went to college, they wouldnt ever go to the NBA. Thoughts on that?
There is plenty of reasons why to go to college and I am a firm believer that players should at least spend two years in college. You learn things going to college that you don't learn hoping straight into the nba. For example a certain team concept that some players that make the jump never learn. Playing in high school you can win games just being dominate and just getting the ball and scoring 20 some points a game, you can't really do that in college unless your Larry Bird. You have to rely on your teammate to a certain agree. I also believe that having the opportunity to get a college education is very valuable. Going to college definitely improves your dessession making, clock management exc. This is a good thing for the nba they should make that rule.
I think a 20 year age limit is a good idea. I don't think college experience should be required (though it couldn't hurt). The argument against this made recently is that with a 20 year age limit, we wouldn't have had players like Lebron and Carmelo drafted last year. True -- they would have to be drafed next year. So what? The wait could only help them mature as basketball players, and they'd have even better rookie seasons than they did with the league benefitting from that. Obviously, some kids will be NBA-ready before the age of 20. But that's no argument for not having the limit. If kids out of highschool are itching to play pro-ball and and don't want to go to college, let them play for a few years in the CBA or Europe.
Personally I think the nba should have the same exact rule as the nfl. Fan wise the nba has gone down over the years. I think the rule should be two years of college. Nfl is blooming even with the rule, had they not have the rule I think they'd be in the same exact place as the nba. Don't get me wrong I love the nba, but I'd love it more with less high school players.
I'm actually against the age limit. There are players who are ready, and some that are not. I believe it's the responsibility of the player who chooses to enter the draft whether to enter or not, and therefore if it turns out a failure they only have themselves to blame. These guys are young, but they should be mature and responsible to make a decision whether to go for the cash, or hit the books. Although it has hurt some players' growth in their games, I still believe going to college should be a personal decision. You can make the case that some guys come in too early and end up failing in the league, but then you can also make a case for the other side as well. If there was an age limit, a player who could potentially be drafted high coming out of high school may be exposed in college and never succeed in the NBA. This works both was IMO, and although the NBA would benefit having more skilled and mature players, I just don't think they should try to force college. Even if they chose to go to the CBA or Europe, that's just wasted time IMO. If a player does make the bad choice and turns out a bust in the NBA, then fine. He will still potentially have millions, and he can still go back to school and get a normal education like all the rest of us do. You could argue the case that his talent was wasted, but he has no one to blame but himself. He's still rich and set for atleast a couple of years, so just go back to school and get an education like the rest of us do.
There is a lot of hs players that can play,but than the ones who arent fully developed come in the NBA and take the sppot of a veteran who can play,than it hurts the NBA in the long run.
The age limit has to happen. For one, some of these players won't make it in the NBA, what happens in the future if they're dropped? No college, no high paying job. The NBA is turning into the NHL with this potential crap, that's what always set the NBA's excitement aside from the excitement of the NHL draft is because the NHL is all about 18 year old projects coming in, while the NBA is or was about getting started now.
Yeah, 20 is good, they get college experience, and might even want to stay to graduate. Like all these high schoolers who are suppose to be awesome? Um, Eddie Curry could of use a year in college to bulk up and get some discipline.
20 is a good year to be drafted..I Mean drafting High Schoolers with great skils & All is cool,but let's see here The Maturity Level:Kobe and Lebron are the exceptions here,as they did well,but i think get at least a few years in the NCAA,might get the players a little bit ready for the NBA..i mean going from high school where you were the "Man" to the NBA where you among plenty of skilled better players where you can't be the "Man",because there are TOO MANY people trying to be the Man there..if they got their feet wet in college and get schooled than that would be good,as if you got drafted outta school,and a few years later get hurt,than you can't play anymore,than what the hell will you do now???...getting an education should be a priority in my opinon Other Players...players who play overseas,or in the CBA,who deserve a shot at the Big time,but won't get the chance because of the hype and excitment of a High Schooler..it's not fair to people in this scenario,to be excluded because of a no age draft limit At age 20,it would be great to have a age limit...Just my Opinon!!
The only HS players iv'e seen come into the NBA and start off ready are KG and LeBron. Personally, I think it affects the NBA in the fact that players getting in so easily and early affects the "exclusiveness" of the NBA, meaning not just the best basketball players in the country are getting in, a lot of unexperienced players are getting, which in my opinion brings down the entire league and how special being a pro athlete is.
I think at least 2 years of college would definitely teach more responsibility. I'm for the age limit of 20 or at least 19
I don't think there should be an age limit, HOWEVER I do think there should be a minimum requirement of at least 2 years college experience. The NBA's "Read To Achieve" program isn't very effective when most of the players being drafted can't even read themselves .
hs players turnin pro <div class="quote_poster">Quoting KG-MVP:</div><div class="quote_post">"The most recent idea in development in the NBA is a required minimum age for players in the Draft. Commisioner David Stern recently proposed that the minimum age be 20. Staff at the NBA have been discussing the idea of a minimum draft age for a while now, in the best interests of the players, but it is also affecting other things, such as colleges."... This i'm not really sure on. This is obviously due to the large amount of HS players coming directly to the NBA. If I were them, I wouldn't pass up the chance to go right in and be making millions to play on the bench for a few years, and that's the way a lot of them look at it. This has also , as said, been affecting colleges, due to a lack of star players, etc. I'll jump to the chase: What do you all think? Should there be a draft age, and if so should it be other than 20? What reasons do you have for your answer? One of the things a lot of people say are that a lot of these HS players are at the peak of their basketball game and if they went to college, they wouldnt ever go to the NBA. Thoughts on that?</div> There R 2 many high schoolers jumpin in2 the pros..n truth b told, in most cases they'd b better off goin 2 college. College players goin in2 the nba r more xperienced, stronger (mentally and physically), have a good education (which is a very good idea so that they have a backup in case they get injured), and r usually more mature, n less cocky. High school players r xactly the opposite. It all comes down 2 if gm's r willing 2 draft these guys n wait 4 em 2 mature. A college player already has these qualities so they r better suited 4 the nba when they arrive which means they. High school players don't have these qualities and it will take them just about as many yrs in the nba 4 em 2 develop those skillz as it took the college players 2 go 2 college n learn em. And the risky thing bout goin in2 the nba like that (4 hs players) is that they r tryin 2 become as mature and xperienced as the players that were in college, in a harder environment (the nba). So they either do learn it or they land flat on their faces tryin 2. So y would gm's draft hs players if they know it'll take a few yrs 2 mature n become more comfortable playin @ the nba level, when they have college players who may b older, but r ready? I mean 1 of the "good" things bout draftin a hs player (supposedly) is they'll have a longer career. Well yeah, but after u take away the difference btween 18 (when they enter the nba) and 21 or 22 (when they're really READY 4 the nba) the diff is made up. Their career is longer, but the # of yrs it was longer, would b the yrs they didn't really play very well. Now the age diff is made up, so the other good thing about gettin a high schooler over a college player is that they r sposed 2 have a bigger potential. Sure kobe, tmac, kg, and them r superstars now but so r/were mj, vince carter, tim duncan, shaq, etc. Now don't get me wrong cuz I do like kobe, tmac, n kg but there really isn't a clear reason or advantage. I think there should b a minimum age u gotta b 2 enter the nba draft. 20 is a very good thought cuz it's right in the middle of their college career and if a player went 2 a 2 yr school, they wouldn't have nething 2 do 4 2 yrs if they made u finish college, or 1 yr if they made u wait till after ur jr yr. And, xcept in "hardship" cases, like the old ABA rule, u shouldn't b able 2 jump 2 the nba outta high school, although there have been many players that have been successful after doin that. So in my mind, the ? is 20 or 19..I still agree w/ 20 tho. The only xception 2 the rule should b that "hardship" cases should b allowed 2 jump. These xceptions would b like if a hs player's family wasn't in a financial situation 2 send him 2 college or he didn't have the grades and and the player's family needs money so that should b the xception.
I hope that everyone who is in favor of an age limit in the NBA are also in favor on an age limit in every professional sport. I find it very odd that the issues pertaining to maturity, professionalism, ability, etc. are only brought up in basketball and football. There are kids all over the world playing sports for pay w/ no college education. What is the point of going to college for a year or two? Whether you leave school after receiving 100 college credits or you turn pro after high school you are still w/o a college degree. The thing is if you turned pro after high school you could have at least been compensated for the years you played rather than be broke for the years you attended school. With the rookie salary cap a rookie can only make a certain amount of money. So regardless of what he accomplished in college he can't make veterans money until his rookie contract is finished. LeBron James makes almost all of his money in endorsements. Last year he was only the fourth highest paid player on his team. Why go to college if you can't substantially increase your earning potential? Now there is a simple solution to stop these high school kids from declaring. NBA teams could just wait and draft them in the second round where their contracts would not be guaranteed. This would scare kids into thinking that they had to produce in college to be drafted in the first round. However, considering that the college player of the year was a senior and 8 high school players were drafted ahead of him, you can't blame a high schooler for doubting what a college experience would do for his career. Due to the fact that the past two rookie of the years and three out of last four first overall picks have been straight out of high school you can't blame NBA GM's for being excited about high school prospects. I was just shocked to see how many of these players were selected in the first round. To avoid this happening in future drafts, but still giving great high school players the opportunity to pursue their dreams out of high school, here is what you can do to solve the problems: Do not guarantee first round contracts until the player is 20 years old. If a team drafts a high school player in the first round and the team believes that the player is not equipped to handle being in the NBA they can release the player and not be responsible for any additional payments, provided that the player is under 20. Once the player turns 20 then the original contract would then become guaranteed. High school athletes would then have the added pressure of having to produce in their first couple years b/c they wouldn't have the security that a guaranteed contract gives players. The format for the contracts would still remain the same (team would have the option to release the players after the third season, player would have the option for restricted free agency after their fourth season) but a player having to work to make the team b/c the money isn't guaranteed could deter marginal high school prospects from throwing their names into the draft. They would probably wait until they were 20 before they declared. The top high school prospects would still declare b/c they would be confident that they would play their way into the guaranteed portion of their rookie contract (when they turned 20). I also think that it is wrong for a player to have the option to return to school once they declare for the draft. That takes the decision making out of the process. Once you declare you should forfeit your college eligibilty. Those players who are unsure whether they want to forego their remaining years of college are actually taking the spots of college seniors in predraft camps who have outside shots of getting drafted. The decision to leave school early (or not attend at all) is a major decision and it should be taken seriously. The college that the player plays for and the NBA are in limbo when a players declares w/o signing w/ an agent. The NBA would rather scout players they know are going to be available for the draft and college coaches would want to know who is going to be back for the following season. Declaring for the draft is a risk that a player with the ability has to be willing to take, regardless of the consequences. If they are really unsure than they should return to college. The NBA draft is really beginning to become irrelevant. Most of the prospects are no longer household names and the teams fans are unaware of the talents of the players their teams are drafting. Drafting for the future gives teams excuses for losing, which is a shame b/c every franchise has paying fans that are expecting their teams to do whatever it takes to win now. The NBA draft is endanger of losing credibility and it is important that they make the appropriate changes, otherwise the product (being the NBA) will undoubtedly suffer.
perhaps teams should be able to draft kids as early as they want, but you have to be at least 20 years old to play in an NBA game?
As with any employer, the NBA should have the ability to set terms of employment. Lets face it, with the salary structure we're talking about, why would any reasonable company put thier future in the hands of someone they aren't quite sure is qualified? Even most successful people never reach that level of compensation, even after LIFETIMES of dedication and hard work. I'd have no problem with setting an age limit, particularly if it came at the expense of being able to secure a players right's after HS graduation(ala - NHL). There are plenty of avenues for those players who don't want to attend college to play: Overseas, NBDL, etc. The NBA wouldn't be discriminating based on age, but rather setting terms of employment that provide them the right to get the most qualified applicants for thier businesses, by being ensured that those applicants have at least a small, professional body of work on thier "resumes". The current status quo sets the league up for far too many players who are looking for a "Cash grab" opportunity, based largely on hype, not legitimate qualifications. For every one player who turns out to be Lebron James or Kevin Garnett, you end up with 10 who end up out of the league by the end of thier rookie contract.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting KG-MVP:</div><div class="quote_post">Should there be a draft age, and if so should it be other than 20? What reasons do you have for your answer?</div> There already is an age limit. It requires a player to turn 18 before the Draft if he wants to enter. And "Yes", the age-limit should be raised to 21.
["Jumping from high school to the NBA," Walt Williams once remarked, "is like a virgin sleeping with a 40-year-old woman... You better raise your game a lot, because you'll be humiliated." Cases in point: Korleone Young, who was selected 40th (by the Pacers) in 1998, and soon found himself playing in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Leon Smith, who found the pressure so great that he attempted suicide.]
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Peja King:</div><div class="quote_post">["Jumping from high school to the NBA," Walt Williams once remarked, "is like a virgin sleeping with a 40-year-old woman... You better raise your game a lot, because you'll be humiliated."</div> haha, good example. As for that guiy who tried suicide, that's ust crazy. Not every player is going to have that kind of pressure, it ust matters how thye interpret it.
