This is coming into play as we discuss recruiting Billy Walker, OJ Mayo, Greg Oden, and any other top-notch player. So, it got moved for some reason....:ohwell: Here's one guy's take on what might happen. Sounds like bad news for the college game. Wouldn't be surprised to see a minimum of fifteen players go to the draft every year out of HS if this type of arrangement comes into effect.
Age minimum will have a maximum benefit
Sean Deveney
<!-- Meta Tag For Search --><!-- meta name="author" content="Sean Deveney"--><!-- meta name="source" content="SportingNews"--><!-- meta name="eventId" content=""--><!-- meta name="contentTypeCode" content="1"--><!-- meta name="editorContentCode" content="15"--><!-- meta name="blurb" content="Barring a breakdown, the 20-year-old age minimum will be a reality in the NBA's next collective bargaining agreement. That's good news for those who care about the league."--><!-- meta name="modDate" content="April 14, 2005 02:34:15 GMT"-->Posted: 7 days ago<script> // front-end hack to remove postedTime from Rumors page until a better way can be determined if (document.URL.indexOf("/name/FS/rumors") != -1) document.getElementById("postedTime").style.display = 'none'; </script>
..........The age minimum is not likely to be quite as simple as it sounds. College basketball junkies who think the rule change will send the country's best young talent back to the NCAA ranks will be disappointed. The NBA is looking out for itself with the age minimum, trying to protect the quality of play in the league — as it should.
The new proposal won't keep kids from turning pro and collecting legitimate paychecks (rather than those shady payments from college boosters and assistant coaches). That's because the league wants to tie the age minimum to an expansion of its developmental league, the NBDL, which will include 10 teams (up from six) next season. Eventually, the league would like to have 15 NBDL teams, with two NBA teams splitting each minor league roster.
The result probably would go like this: Players who want to enter the NBA from high school still can put in for the draft, but they will be required to go to the NBDL first. There they will collect their full rookie-scale salaries — a wrinkle that has made the proposal palatable for Hunter. NBA teams that own the players' rights can let those players develop in the minor league and bring them up when they are ready.
This is an exciting step. Fundamentals will improve as young players get better instruction and more game experience. But this is not going to send kids back to college. In fact, it could encourage more prep players to skip college.
Go back to our 18-year-old star, for example. If you're a G.M. considering drafting the kid, you're more likely to do so knowing you can send him to the NBDL without weighing down your roster or coaching staff. You still get all of his positives and potential, with much less risk.
And if more teams are willing to take chances on raw young players and pay them millions in the minors, then more of those raw young players will come to the NBA through the NBDL. The age minimum is not going to save the college game, nor will it take agents and sneaker companies out of high school basketball. It's simply going to make the NBA better.