Proposed NBA Age Limit - min 2 yrs

[jimotis4heisman]

people forget that wilt chamberlain left college early to play ball he was not eligible for the nba. he said ncaa bball lost its "enjoyment" and he wanted to earm money. he sold a story to LOOk mag for more than the avg nba salary of the time and then he played for the globetrotters and a resort in upstate ny.

i think you might see some influx to the euro leagues, i also think that will be short lived. a-the money isnt as good b-the marketing aspect (out of sight, out of mind) c-from experience with hockey euro leagues are whack, players often dont get paid, or dont get paid their contractual values, etc.

long story short i think 2 years is better for the ncaa and nba. heck id even push for 3 years like the nfl...

 

[LitlBuck]

New York Times

Brandon Jennings Sends Home a Warning From Europe
By RAY GLIER
Published: January 23, 2009

Perhaps white sails will one day appear on the horizon behind Brandon Jennings, a flotilla of high school basketball stars trailing him to Europe eager for a payday. But Jennings does not want anyone to get shipwrecked overseas just because he made the trip.

He issued that warning this week from Italy, where he is playing for Lottomatica Virtus Roma, a top professional team. He fears that top high school players may be seduced by visions of instant riches, fame and success in Spain, France, Italy, Greece or some other destination.

?I?ve gotten paid on time once this year,? Jennings said in an e-mail message. ?They treat me like I?m a little kid. They don?t see me as a man. If you get on a good team, you might not play a lot. Some nights you?ll play a lot; some nights you won?t play at all. That?s just how it is.?

Jennings, a 6-foot-2 point guard who was regarded as the nation?s best high school player at his position a year ago, signed a $1.2 million deal in salary and endorsements to head to Europe in August instead of staying in the United States to play college basketball. Some analysts suggested that other elite players would follow the same path because of the rules requiring prospects to be a year removed from high school before becoming eligible for the N.B.A. draft.

The deal for Jennings allowed his mother and his half brother to live with him in Italy, and he said it still made economic sense. Yet he said he wanted others to know about his experience.

?I don?t see too many kids doing it,? his e-mail message said. ?It?s tough man, I?ll tell you that. It can break you.?

More

 

[ScriptOhio]

Congressman urges NBA, players union to drop age minimum

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A lawmaker urged the NBA on Wednesday to repeal its requirement that players be at least 19 years old and a year out of high school before entering the league, calling the restriction unfair.
Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., sent identical letters to NBA commissioner David Stern and union leader Billy Hunter, asking that they scrap the requirement in the next collective bargaining agreement.
Cohen, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, called the requirement "an unfair restriction on the rights of these young men to pursue their intended career."
In an e-mail, NBA spokesman Tim Frank said, "We are looking forward to receiving, reviewing and responding to the congressman's letter, as we always do."
Stern has said he would be interested in raising the minimum age to 20 -- although he was happy the way the current rule was working. The current agreement runs through 2011.
"We anticipate that the age limitation issue will be front and center during collective bargaining negotiations and we look forward to the opportunity to revisit the change to the rule that was made in 2005," players' association spokesman Dan Wasserman said.
In a telephone interview, Cohen told The Associated Press that he'd consider both hearings and legislation if the requirement remains.
"I don't think it makes any sense. It didn't hurt Al Kaline to go straight to the Detroit Tigers," he said, referring to the slugger who broke into baseball at age 18. Cohen noted that athletes in other sports, such as baseball, tennis and golf, don't face such a restriction.
In the letter, Cohen said the requirement "does far more to serve the financial interests of the universities at which the students play than the educational interests of the students themselves."

Entire article: Congressman urges NBA, players union to drop age minimum - NBA - SI.com

 

[MaxBuck]

... Cohen said the requirement "does far more to serve the financial interests of the universities at which the students play than the educational interests of the students themselves."

That's not really the point. The rule really is geared toward promoting the NBA; the League gets more-mature players who have spent a minimum of one year gaining fans via their university affiliations. Kids out of high school provide neither sufficient maturity (except for the very rare few like LBJ, Kobe and Garnett) nor any substantial built-in fan interest (ditto).

I fail to see why a professional sports league should be prevented from implementing a rule that aims to support better profitability and sustainability.

 

[JJ88]

I Would love to see that players have to be two years out of high school. Colleges would have more to bulid on and NBA teams would get more mature players. It's a win-win.

 

[LitlBuck]

I still think the collegebaseball rule is the best one. It give the kids a chance to go professional right out of high school so it is a win-win for both sick kid and the professional team. However, once the kid enters college he must stay there for 3 years which is probably more of a win for the colleges because they don't have to worry about kids leaving early. Also, this might stop some of the cheating that it's going on with regards to kids being paid. I would hope that the kid who elect to go to college would be the one who would not take the money. I just think you have to give a kid the chance to pursue his dream if that's what he wants to do. He can always go to college if saying used to not work out gory professional right out of high school. I know that this might be the minority opinion but...:)

 

[BB73]

I think the 1-year rule is bad for the academic integrity of the Universities. They get guys like Derrick Rose at Memphis, who would otherwise not have gone to college. He apparently cheated on his SAT, and had a grade changed at Simeon HS, in order to be eligible for college. At Memphis, all he has to do is take a few hours of courses the first semester and get a 2.0 in order to stay eligible, and then he can blow off his second semester since he knows he's being drafted.

Guys like that aren't exactly model 'student-athletes'.

I've also always had a problem with a sports league agreeing with its current players to make an age rule that excludes outsiders, but not those making the agreement, from participating in the league based on age. If they tried to exclude athletes over 38 years of age, they'd lose that lawsuit in a heartbeat. But when they restrict it to those under 19, and justify it legally as part of the league's CBA with the players union, it's supposedly OK. Members of the union approve it because it increases the career length of those already in the union, while temporarily excluding those with the skills to play in the league solely based on age. In my thinking that shouldn't be legal.

I realize that in the majority of cases, it's probably better to make the young guys wait before they jump to the league. But it seems to me that the colleges are whoring themselves to accept some 1-year athletes of questionable academic abilities that don't belong in college. There's no viable minor league in basketball in this country, so guys have to play overseas if they want to start their basketball career righ after high school.

 

[tas2301]

I Would love to see that players have to be two years out of high school. Colleges would have more to bulid on and NBA teams would get more mature players. It's a win-win.

If a two year rule is ever implemented, I think you will just see a lot more of the top players heading to Europe for two years.

 

[naptownbuck]

I still think the collegebaseball rule is the best one. It give the kids a chance to go professional right out of high school so it is a win-win for both sick kid and the professional team. However, once the kid enters college he must stay there for 3 years which is probably more of a win for the colleges because they don't have to worry about kids leaving early.

Yah, this would be ideal scenario in my opinion. Let the kids jump from high school, but if they go to a university, they 'have' to stay for at least two years. I've never been a fan of a mandated age limit.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

IMHO it is no different from a company saying that you must have 5 years experience, to be qualified for a certain job...

A 2 year rule would be great for both college ball and NBA...

Obviously there are going to be exceptions to the rule...Guys like LBJ, kobe, etc...but if those two go to College they get great exposure, much like Kevin Durant did...If Durant goes to the NBA he could of struggled and never really know about for say 3 or 4 years in the league and no one really cares about him...Now after he went to college many care about him...same for Conley, Oden, Cook, etc...

Jennings is saying he made the wrong decision to go over sees and play, and it isn't like these players would be going to some place close, they are going overseas, where people are speaking different languages, and far away from family...

 

[LitlBuck]

Obviously there are going to be exceptions to the rule...Guys like LBJ, kobe, etc...but if those two go to College they get great exposure,

I have to disagree with you here. I think you have to give exceptions such as Lebron, kobe, and the others like them the opportunity to go professional right out of high school or we might see more players jumping to Europe or doing something else. Those guys were ready for the league right out of high school and there was no need for them to go to college. That is the type of situation where it just leads to academic fraud.

 

[Mike80]

That's not really the point. The rule really is geared toward promoting the NBA; the League gets more-mature players who have spent a minimum of one year gaining fans via their university affiliations. Kids out of high school provide neither sufficient maturity (except for the very rare few like LBJ, Kobe and Garnett) nor any substantial built-in fan interest (ditto).

I fail to see why a professional sports league should be prevented from implementing a rule that aims to support better profitability and sustainability.

In this economy, making profits is illegal. didn't you know? Hell we need a sports czar!!!

It's a fucking travesty that Congress is badgering a private sports venture, but then again, all of these sports people screwed the pooch when they accepted public money for their arenas.

 

[cincibuck]

I don't understand how anyone can dislike this rule...

College basketball will be much for fun to watch and you won't just be seeing a great player for one season and it won't be a rent a player type situation where a guy doesn't really have to go to class...

The NBA will be better off because they will have a bigger opportunity to scout these kids, and they will be much more mature in their game...

I can understand why some say that the other sports guys can pro earlier etc. but it is no different IMO than places of employment putting down guidelines for their new hires...

Why, in a free market society, is it OK to tell someone capable of playing pro anything that he/she must wait and go to school for one/two/three/four years first?

To be followed by, how is a draft fair?

To be followed by, how does it benefit colleges to prostitute themselves by providing professional sports with a minor league system?

This is a lose - lose agreement all the way around and it's interesting that the agreement is made between three pimps, Brand, Stern, the players association and without input from the HS recruiting classes of 2010 and beyond.

 

[cincibuck]

IMHO it is no different from a company saying that you must have 5 years experience, to be qualified for a certain job...

A) So if you're sales gerbil of the year three years running for Wally's Bufferknuckings and the competition comes knocking, check book open, you're going to insist on your right to stay with Wally?

B) You're sales gerbil of the year for three straight years and you want to move on, the competition is going to tell you you need to work for 2 more years?

C) You don't even have a GED, but you've proven you've got exceptional talent, talent at the one out of every 2 million level, you should be held back from being able to use that talent?

D) You don't suppose that those kinds of limits are set up to discourage people from applying and creating more work for your HR folks do you?

 

[Gatorubet]

Why, in a free market society, is it OK to tell someone capable of playing pro anything that he/she must wait and go to school for one/two/three/four years first?

To be followed by, how is a draft fair?

To be followed by, how does it benefit colleges to prostitute themselves by providing professional sports with a minor league system?

This is a lose - lose agreement all the way around and it's interesting that the agreement is made between three pimps, Brand, Stern, the players association and without input from the HS recruiting classes of 2010 and beyond.

Doctor lawyer, accountant, skilled union trades, etc., even if you possess the skills to do it without passing some test or spending the time as an apprentice or student, they still make you do something education/test wise before you are allowed to do the job - even if you can to it earlier and even if it is an economic detriment to make you wait.

With a 70% bankruptcy rate post NBA career, they should require a two year degree w/o liberal arts and focus on basic economics and business theory.