Draft to be limited to players 20+?

ranxerox,

It is not good for everyone. As a college fan I will love it. But the fact that they are making them choose college over a professional career, I do not like. They should be able to go pro. This is not football where the physical difference is too much.
 
Who was the kid that burned the Mavs badly? Josh Smith, I think his name was?

There is nothing stopping Cuban from not drafting early entry kids.
 
The major difference I see between rules like this and the minimum business requirements (BA or PhD) is that while the latter is a function of performance and training, the former is nothing but an arbitrary cutoff that has nothing to do with ability to perform the job.

If a phenom graduates HS at 15 and gets a BA at 18, he can be hired by any company that requires that BA. He's earned his chance by working hard and learning his stuff.

But an arbitrary age minimum -- above and beyond the agreed age of adulthood (18) -- is bs, because there's no way to overcome that with superior training/ability/practice/etc. There's no reason to force someone whose desire and ability would allow them to play professional sports to attend college. College should be primarily about academics, with sports teams available for those who desire both an education and extra training for the professional sports. When non-academic-types are forced into the classroom with no real desire to learn or earn a degree, that's bad for everyone: instructors who may feel pressured to give them a passing grade to maintain their eligibility, or dumb down the whole class so everyone can pass; fellow students who are victims of the grade inflation or lowered standards; and the athletes themselves, who may feel as though they are wasting their time.

Dumb, dumb, dumb. The motives behind this for all involved are purely about money and power interests, not what is best for the athletes or the other students in their classes.
 
First, I take issue with Mr. Orange's notion that college athletes, even those who had pro abilities right out of high school, have no desire for an education. That is an unfair assumption, at best. Just because Kevin Durant chose to become a multi-millionaire before finishing his degree doesn't mean he doesn't care about getting that degree. Mark my words, he will be one of the many former UT athletes who come back to school during their offseasons to work on their degrees.

Secondly, some of you are missing the point. You keep saying "college isn't for everyone" or "why should anyone be forced to go to college?" They aren't being forced to go to college. They just can't join the NBA until they're 20 (under the proposed rule). If it's really about not wanting to deal with classes or wanting a higher level of competition than they'd get by playing college ball, then go somewhere else to play for 2 years. If you don't want to do that, then take a damn scholarship at the school of your choice, and keep your mouth shut for 2 years, while someone else is paying to make you a better professional prospect.

The "justification" for this rule is that the NBA is a private enterprise. They can make whatever employment requirements they want, and as long as their associated labor union okays it, they don't have to explain themselves to anyone else.

This is good for college basketball, it's good for the NBA, and it is ultimately good for the 99% of NBA prospects who will not suffer a career-ending injury before ever making it to the NBA.
 
The benefit for the player comes in by branding and marketing and exposure.

A few people knew who Kevin Durant was nationally before he played at UT. After a year here, he was pretty much a household name (for anyone that was a sports fan anyway), allowing himself to sign big time endorsement deals.

LeBron's of the world (guys overexposed before the the age of 18) are few and far between. Most big stars in college use that rep to advance their pocketbook through shoe, car, beverage deals etc. The exposure certainly has some value.

I'm not saying this system is great for the players, just that it is not completely without value.
 
I'm not sure how in some of these posts, these young talented men get victim status. Until an alternative exists, they need the NBA as much as the NBA needs them. In a real sense they GET to play for organizations and institutions that have large fanbases, facilities, and provide the platform for these individuals to become mega-rich super stars. The owners and players of the NBA (though players have lesser ability than owners due to the circumstances of the NBA) have the right to exercise reasonable control of their organization. Although arbitrary, setting an age limit for players, whether I agree with it or not, seems reasonable to me. If they want it, its their organization, its reasonable, so be it. If they decide they don't like it later, they can change it in the future.

The arguments about how reasonable and tenable such a move by the NBA would be I have found interesting. The arguments that imply these young players would be victims because they would be forced to play in the NCAA or Europe and be denied the right to play in the NBA I have not found interesting.
 
Regardless of the argument about what is best for the player, the NBA players union isn't going to go for this without some kind of concession from the owners. This was a big sticking point in the last CBA. While the players union should be in favor of it, inasmuch as it would limit job competition for their current members, they really seem opposed to it. Either that, or they're just looking for more leverage against the owners, which clearly is in their best interest.
 
The NBA needs an age limit. Players over 35 shouldn't be allowed to play. There are too many older players who used to be good, but are now terrible, and teams are getting screwed by having to pay these guys multi-million dollar salaries.

Chris Webber, washed up but getting $19M
Juwan Howard, 1.1 points per game for over $8M from two teams
Darrell Armstrong, 2.5 points per game for $1.22M
Alonzo Mourning, 6.0 ppg, but perpetually injured for $2.76M
Robert Horry, 2.5 ppg on .319 FG% for $3.63M
Eric Piatkowski, 2.4 ppg for $1.25M
Darrick Martin, 1.6 ppg for $1.22M
Lindsey Hunter, 2.4 ppg for $2.25M
Aaron McKie, $7M and he hasn't even scored this season
Bobby Sura, $3.84M and hasn't played this season
Theo Ratliff, 4.3 ppg for $11.67M
Dallas is still paying 36-year-old Shawn Bradley over $6M this season!

Once you turn 35 you should have to retire!
 
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