Stern wants to raise minimum age to 20

[Andrew]

Briefly mentioned here, full interview here.

It seems like an unnecessary change to me. Raising the minimum age to 19 already eliminated high school players from entering the Draft and basically forces players to spend at least one year at college. Forcing them into a second year isn't going to eliminate players who are destined to be busts from crashing and burning once they arrive in the NBA. I guess it's done with a player's education in mind but I think history has shown that anyone who really wants to stay in college will do so.

[Lamrock]

The maximum age of 19 was the only good thing Stern did. Now he is trying to fuck that up. Whats the point?

[Indy]

The maximum age of 19 was the only good thing Stern did. Now he is trying to fuck that up. Whats the point?

Only good thing Stern did? Yeah, other then market in the NBA in a way that saved it from the brink of extinction and probably being the single most influential person (not named Michael Jordan) in the league's history.

If the NBA had an age limit of 20 we would have the exact same system as the NFL. I think it is fine the way it is.

[Lamrock]

I meant in the last ten years, which I forgot to put in my post.

[Indy]

:oops: I meant in the last ten years, which I forgot to put in my post.

Allowing teams to play zone defense is arguably the best decision Stern has ever made. That saved the league from turning in to star ball and forced coaches to be more creative.

Stern has made some terrible decisions and I have been more then angry with him on multiple occasions. But to suggest that he is not a good commish or that he hasn't made any good decisions in the last 10 years is just silly.

[Matt]

i wouldn't be too upset if this went through....there's still a lot of young guys that are clueless out there and need the college time to evolve their games

[Bruce]

Anybody remembers who that that guy was who successfully sued the NBA to allow high schoolers to play in the NBA? Was it Darryl Dawkins? Anyway, apparently the NBA found a way to get around this ruling. By including it as a clause in the CBA.

I really don't think college basketball really prepares a player for anything. I remember watching the 2005 NCAA dunk contest that featured David Noel, James White, Rodney Carney and I think Ager also competed. These guys at that time were mostly either Juniors or Seniors. These were supposed to be the guys that highlighted the NCAA's best plays, and yet none of them can get into a regular rotation on an NBA team. Regular rotation meaning player as a regular starter or even sixth or even seventh man. So my point is. I don't think college ball has very little to offer to augment natural talent and mental toughness. And it is still blind luck whether a player is lucky enough to get into a good college program. In my opinion, If it is legal for them to hold down a job and tried as an adult for the crimes they commit, then they should not be denied entry in to the NBA.

[benji]

Spencer Haywood challenged the rule the NBA had in place that a player could not join the NBA until four years after they graduated from high school under the Sherman Act. They didn't have to go to college or anything else, they just had to wait. The Sonics drafted him early, which they were not allowed to do under the draft rules in place, and joined him in the legal action.

The CBA doesn't "get around" it, because it is completely different. The NBA is not imposing a rule on the teams, the teams are agreeing to not draft anyone below the age and then placing it in the binding CBA they negotiate with the players.

[Bruce]

Thanks for clearing that up. .

So, a player that flunks out of school and is dirt poor, can simply bust tables at Mc-Ds for a couple of years and hone his basketball skills playing for change at the local park, and enlist for the NBA draft when his 20. Nice.

[---]

I remember watching the 2005 NCAA dunk contest that featured David Noel, James White, Rodney Carney and I think Ager also competed. These guys at that time were mostly either Juniors or Seniors. These were supposed to be the guys that highlighted the NCAA's best plays, and yet none of them can get into a regular rotation on an NBA team. Regular rotation meaning player as a regular starter or even sixth or even seventh man. So my point is. I don't think college ball has very little to offer to augment natural talent and mental toughness. And it is still blind luck whether a player is lucky enough to get into a good college program. In my opinion, If it is legal for them to hold down a job and tried as an adult for the crimes they commit, then they should not be denied entry in to the NBA.

I don't see how the dunk contest has anything to do with how much a college career prepares a guy for the league. James White and David Noel were considered long shots to become role players, Ager was on the bubble for the first round and didn't figure to have much of an NBA career, while Carney was the only of the four that looked like he could be a starter some day.

All these guys have so far filled their roles - James White is playing overseas, David Noel is hanging onto a roster spot, Maurice Ager is in and out of the D-League and now a New Jersey Net and Rodney Carney is a backup/spot starter for the 76ers.

I personally think the 19yo rule is great. College basketball is fantastic right now and unless your name is LeBron James, one year of college ball at the very least can't hurt.

Players come in more NBA ready with an easier transition, and college basketball get's even more exciting. A win-win situation.

Two years in college is overdoing it though.

[Bruce]

My point was simply that these guys are physically gifted to have competed in the dunk contest. Almost all spent 4 yrs in college. College seasoning did not seem to help any of them at becoming better at playing in the NBA.

Not allowing prospects to play because of their age is plain and simple discrimination to me. Because this is what the NBA has decided as being the best thing for them, when in fact the law already judges then as adults. Basing it also solely on age, does not guarantee that they did in fact pick up anything in college. And we can also list up players that did go to college, but, was still unable to cope with life in the NBA.

[---]

My point was simply that these guys are physically gifted to have competed in the dunk contest. Almost all spent 4 yrs in college. College seasoning did not seem to help any of them at becoming better at playing in the NBA.

I wouldn't say they got any worse, maybe none of these players were destined to be NBA all stars out of high school? 4 years of the highest level of college basketball in my opinion can only make a player better, barring injuries. Maybe they just reached their potential?

I think players should be able to enter the draft when they want, but unless they're extremely high level prospects - Dwight Howard, LeBron James, etc. a year of college will only do them good. I think a year of college beats a year on the end of an NBA bench.

That said, you can't discriminate against the lower level prospects, so this would never happen. There could be some kid who isn't a high level prospect but doesn't want to go to college because of a tough financial situation at home - he should be able to enter as well, even if it's not the best decision career-wise.

I think the one year rule is great, it can save alot of high school kids from going late in the second round and never getting a shot, then ending up somehwere in Europe. I'll take better, more NBA ready rookies + better college basketball over allowing big time HS players to come out a year early. We still get to see these kids in college and I think the positives outweigh the negatives with the 19yo rule.

[joejam999]

It could be worse. He could try and put teams all over the world....

[cyanide]

I wouldn't say they got any worse, maybe none of these players were destined to be NBA all stars out of high school? 4 years of the highest level of college basketball in my opinion can only make a player better, barring injuries. Maybe they just reached their potential?

Although I'm in favour of keeping the age limit to 19, that's a good point you brought up. If those guys spend all the years in college and graduate, try out the NBA, but does not make it, at least they have something to fall back on.

[Patr1ck]

Players will most likely choose the NBA draft rather then college, especially if they know they are going to be drafted. It's a fat paycheck. Even if you get no career in the nba, you get a nice payday and can go back and finish college.

So, by raising the age limit to 20, NBA prosepects must attend one and a half semesters of classes, rather then only one half of a semester, before they go to the NBA.

I like the idea because young players can't just "use" a college team for one year on their way to the nba. The obvious plus is that players will get more experience with organized ball.

[Andrew]

Some players probably could benefit from staying in college longer than just one year and having something to fall back on if a career in the NBA doesn't pan out is certainly another advantage and these are things that should be stressed to anyone who's considering going pro. The current minimum age seems to be working out alright so further change seems unnecessary in my opinion. I guess raising it to 20 might protect a few people from themselves but it's also denying others an opportunity.