About the dough
As much as David Stern likes to talk about the many successes of the NBA, there’s one little burr in the commissioner’s saddle: the age limit. Stern tried to get a minimum age of 20 when the NBA and the players union negotiated the previous collective bargaining agreement.
He missed by a year. He’ll try again when the new agreement is being negotiated, either in 2011 or in 2012. The operative question is, why bother? Haven’t we all learned by now that age is relative? And money is, well, not as relative?
The talk of extending the age limit for United States players has been going on for awhile; Stern has been stumping for it whenever he is asked about it. All the while, union chief Billy Hunter wonders what the big deal is; the younger kids who have entered the league recently are not a problem and he sees no reason to extend the age limit. In other words, if Stern really thinks this is necessary, something else is going to give.
But recently, Stern again made the case for a 20-year-old minimum to a different audience – the head men of FIBA in a session in Berlin.
Stern and deputy Adam Silver told the FIBA honchos, who included vice president George Vassilakopoulos, secretary general Patrick Baumann and secretary general emeritus Boris Stankovic, that they will push for the 20-year-old limit in talks for the next CBA. The current one expires at the conclusion of the 2010-2011 season. The NBA can extend it for another year if it exercises an option before Dec. 10, 2010.
Currently, a high schooler in the United States must be a year out of high school to be eligible for the NBA draft. He also must be at least 19 years old in the year in which he wants to be drafted. If Stern gets his way, a player would need to turn 20 in the year he was eligible to be drafted. Would Stern also insist on the player being two years out of high school as well? (The NCAA wouldn’t object.)
What the current age limit has accomplished is making the phrase “one and done” a part of the college basketball lexicon. In 2007, the first year of the new age limit, five of the first 10 picks (and three of the first four) were players who spent only one year in college. In 2008, the number of one-and-doners jumped to five of the first seven (including the top three) and seven of the first 12.
Also in 2008, a U.S. high school player, Brandon Jennings out of powerhouse Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., is playing professionally in Italy for Pallacanestro Virtus Roma rather than for a college team. He, too, will be eligible to be drafted in 2009 and it remains to be seen if he becomes an aberration or a trend-setter.
“I can tell you this,’’ said longtime high school advisor and shoe rep Sonny Vaccaro, who helped engineer the Jennings move, “I’ve had numerous conversations with parents of kids who are now in high school and they are seriously considering doing what Brandon Jennings did because of not being able to work in America. In my mind, it’s a very selfish mindset to do what David Stern is trying to do.”
Currently, an international player must simply be 19 – there is no high school provision – to declare for the draft. If he does not do so in that year, or at 20 or 21, he automatically becomes draft eligible at the age of 22. That was the case last year with Tiago Splitter, who for years put his name into the draft and then withdrew it. But he turns 22 in 2008, so he was eligible to be drafted and the Spurs took him. Splitter decided to remain in Europe anyway.
If Stern really wants to stop the younger kids from coming into the NBA at such a callow and tender age, there is another way he might go about it. He can revisit the whole concept of guaranteed contracts for rookies. It might not stop the influx of younger players, but it might make a kid think twice.
Back in 1995, when Kevin Garnett was thinking of applying for the draft out of Farragut Academy in Chicago, he called Vaccaro for advice. Vaccaro said, simply, “even if it doesn’t work out, David Stern is guaranteeing you three years of salary. How can you say no to that?”
How could anyone say no to $5 million, which is what Garnett was guaranteed.
Stern is still guaranteeing money to the untried, although now it’s only two years with a team option for a third. It’s ridiculous money for someone who has never proven himself in the league, starting with the more than $4.8 million-per that Derrick Rose will get from the Bulls this season.
“Hasn’t David Stern figured it out yet that it’s not about the age, it’s about the money? He has all these lawyers working for him and he still hasn’t figured that out yet,’’ Vaccaro said.
How could Stern find a way to not make it so attractive for these kids to come out by way of reconfiguring the salary structure? There are any number of options, ranging from making all rookie contracts non-guaranteed to grading them based on the number of years a player has stayed in college. Or, simply by age. A 22-year-old rookie would get more than a 21-year-old rookie, etc.
Would the union go along? Who knows? But the union also has to be concerned about players at the other end as well, and, with a redistribution of the wealth, it might be willing to at least consider a change.
But raising the age limit – and doing nothing to guaranteed deals – is only going to mean that instead of a lot of one-and-doners, there will now be a lot of two-and-doners. International players would simply stay with their team (or move to another) and wait for the proper time, which many of them already do.
Stern wanted NBA scouts out of high school gyms and he succeeded. If he’s really serious about making the NBA “older,” the best way to go about that might be through the wallet, not the birth certificate.
Zander Said,
October 26, 2008 @ 3:33 pm
1 year of college is a joke. It doesn’t really accomplish anything.
I like the idea this article has, or the idea it gave me, because it never really says it. Make “one and done” players have non guaranteed deals. Make them earn those millions of dollars instead of just collecting them. Most of the one and done players drafted early would easily still earn their salary. What it would stop are the late 1st rounders and early 2nd rounders from declaring from the draft, who are only in the draft for the money.
dj hott Said,
October 26, 2008 @ 8:38 pm
carmelo needed one year
mike beasley needed one year to shatter records
durant needed one year
rose dominated every top pg in college in the tourney
would college be more exciting with 2 years, yes, could u argue, it is deserving, football has 3years
if a boy out of highschool can be called upon to defend his country at war at 18- for $40,000 or death
why cant a grown man with size, stats and potential- decide- i want to be a millionaire instead of studying chemistry-
its a rough world, whos to say that college kids school gets bombed or their is a shooting there and he is hit-
4million dollars is enough to make any mom happy paid and proud
but im with whatever rule they pick basketball is hott right now
who have been better with time maybe
1.kwame brown
2.nbi ere
3.leon smith
4.ronnie fields
5.omar cook
6.josh mcroberts
7.tyrus thomas
8.sirvalant brown etc
9.dejaun wagner
10.lenny cooke
11who made it big, all had tremendous size and athletism
1.kobe-6′7guard with handles nba dad
2.tmac 6′8 1/2 guard with handles
3.lebron-6′9 268 plays 4position 3rd best player in 20 years already-1.jordan 2.kobe 3.lbj
4.amare-6′10- 40inch vertical with a bigmans pg in nash
5.garnett 7′0 1/2 dunker intemidater 3-5 position
6.dhoward-baby shaq- 15rebs a game is more than shaq ever
7.carmelo 6′8 240-1year i ring 22pts 10rebs at sf
8.k.durant 6′10 2g-4 position- 26ppg 12 rebs 1 year
.m.beasley 6′9 pf-sf 25pts 12rebs i year
go back to skool after uve made millions-plus u can concentrate and will make better grades without bball hogging da time, and messin with the college chicks- with millions a dollars ud been done had a few hundred, or thousand, and all their in life that you haved achieved is getting your degree.
u can be 78 and finish school nba is right now
go to the nba and if u were really retarded in hs and college
give a professor a few thousand and see if you dont pass, lol
SCHOOL IS ALLWAYS FIRST THE END
STANDING OVATION
bigmurph1985 Said,
October 27, 2008 @ 8:23 am
it’s all about the money, of course David Stern is going to say it is about being immature and not ready to handle the game. By saying that he is trying to say it is all about money would implicate that the NBA is struggling to sell tickets in the US in places like Charlotte and Atlanta. He has to save face especially in this economy and the union will not budge on guarantee contracts so Mr. Stern is trying to save the league from Allan Houston, Michael Finley, Juwuan Howard’s contracts, but has to do it in another way.
DBennett Said,
October 27, 2008 @ 10:00 am
I think the real issue here for the NBA and its owners are maximum level contracts.
Let’s take a Tim Duncan for example. He came out of college when he was 22. In the current league, a team could keep him under contract for 4 years. So at 26, he would receive a max contract until 32. Usually, max contracts don’t go pass age 35. So the owners only pay 9 years of max contracts to the best players.
Now, take Lebron James as an example. His rookie contract was over at 22! He’ll be eligible to make max money for at least 13 years and probably more for him. Kevin Garnett type would do the same. The high school jump ends up costing some owners a hundred odd million dollars. Add to the fact that college players are more complete in their overall game, they are closer to being marketable from the get go. Kobe would have been ready to be a superstar at 21 if he had to go to college. Then would have been extremely cheap for 4 years for being a very marketable player.
Its all money motivated. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s the truth.
Paul Said,
October 27, 2008 @ 10:13 am
I would love to know where dj hott obtained his height-weight listings for LeBron and Carmelo. LBJ 6′9, 268? Melo 6′8, 240? I don’t think so. Consider this: Rockets rookie PF Joey Dorsey is 6′9, 260, and he’s bigger than LeBron.
I have an idea that would prove to be a fantastic solution to the NBA age limit. Since the big x-factor here is money, let’s do it the right way. Amy player who spends a minimum of 3 years in college gets a guaranteed contract, if drafted in the 1st Round.
Any player with 2 years or less of college basketball should be required to receive a non-guaranteed contract, whether that player is picked 1st overall or 30th overall.
Guys like Kwame Brown and Ndudi Ebi wouldn’t be millionaires today if such a provision existed. That works out beautifully for everyone involved. The non-guaranteed rookie with a ton of hype has to work his behind off to ensure that he someday gets a guaranteed contract.
money grubber Said,
October 27, 2008 @ 10:40 am
Let’s face the facts. this has always been and will always be about money. nba people were freaked out because some of their owners were handing out guaranteed millions to guys who would never play any meaningful minutes in the league and the owners who were mad at the owners that handed out those ridiculous contracts, were so afraid of being “scooped” that they handed out bigger guaranteed contracts.
i say, if they’re dumb enough to give these guys this much money, let them. who are we or anyone to tell someone they don’t have the right to work at 18? I say “way to go” brandon jennings. i hope ricardo sidney and lance stephenson do the same.
if the nba is too lazy to scout these guys properly and too cheap to do the legwork, tough.
when it costs me upwards of $250 for a family of four to see a lakers game from the very last row at the top of staples center, where the seats come with there own parachute, oxygen tank and nosebleed towels, i know there’s money to do the scouting.
“guarantee” that’s a word that start a whole ‘nother topic (starbury, koncak, carter, etc.).
nahlij1 Said,
October 27, 2008 @ 11:00 am
Paul, weight is relative and is never distributed the same in everyone. Lebron himself has said that THAT is HIS height and weight. If you believe what their “cards” say, you are sadly mistaken. Figure this, Kobe and Lamar Odom are the same height on the court, so either Odom is really 6′7″ or Kobe is really 6″10……KG is really around 7′1″.
BetterThanYou Said,
October 27, 2008 @ 12:11 pm
Because of the draft and the non-association of the NBA and NBA clubs with junior basketball, this is what happens.
In the rest of the world, you come up through your club system, with the end goal being to play with the senior team in the top league in your area. You have multiple levels and places to grow and play at whatever your level happens to be and also opportunities to play and train with the levels above you.
if you are special you get to the top level faster - see where Ricky Rubio is playing today. If you are a slow developer you are in the system longer and you ma be much older when you get to the top level - but if you have it, you will eventually make it. Unlike in the college system where you have until you are roughly 22 to make it.
Either way - when you make the top level you have shown that you can produce at the levels below you and you have mixed in with the levels above you already.
The USA system does not have any of this in any meaningful way. NBA is separate from NCAA which is separate from High School which is separate from AAU and other basketball and also USA Basketball.
There is two ways to go about this - and Stern has chosen one that he believes he may be able to work with easier. One extra year in college or in maturity can go a long, long way in ensuring you are minimizing your risk of giving a few million bucks to someone who wont work out. It is not perfect however, but the longer you can hold off doing, hopefully the more likely it is the decision in a draft and contract are justified. Several ‘would have been drafted’ prep-stars didn’t come out after their freshman seasons because their draft stock dropped - and this is exactly what Stern is looking for.
The other way is a massive revamping and expansion of the D-League system, and allowing players to be drafted cheaply and spend as long as needed at this level. Allow NBA teams to carry squads of 30+ players including full D-League squads - basically a proper minor league system. Including allowing trading players out of this system and bringing them up and down at will and as needed.That is a LOT of work and money, but there is truly no reason it wouldn’t work and also it may damage NCAA basketball if it lets teams go bak to drafting younger players.
Just my 2c
former_baller38 Said,
October 27, 2008 @ 1:03 pm
I agree, this about money, and the best solution is to stagger the way you can enter the draft. Make the first 6 spots in the draft exclusive to players with a minimum of 2 years college or a minimum age of 20. Pick 7-13 you are eligible for after 1 year of college, or minimum of 19 years old. High schoolers can’t be drafted in the top 13. This solve a number of problems, if you want to draft a future talent, you have to get beter today. bad teams drafting players that aren’t ready only keeps them bad.
Andy Said,
October 27, 2008 @ 3:08 pm
There shouldnt be an age limit
It is common for people to be professional and make millions at a young age in baseball, hockey, tennis, and soccer.
I cant think of any other profession that doesnt allow you to work for them if you’re an adult, you have the required skills, you want them, and they want you.
money grubber Said,
October 27, 2008 @ 3:41 pm
Me again,
the prob i see with what former_baller38 Said says is that in most drafts, the best player or players go to the the 14-17 draft picks thus the worst teams in the league (clippers) stay the worst, ok my example (clippers) was a terrible one, but the idea of the draft being structured the way it is , was to increase parody and give teams like Milwaukee when they drafted lew alcindor, the chance to compete with teams already at the top. (granted there is no accounting for poor management (clippers)).
and i can’t see the NBA paying for an expanded d-league. i agree it would be a tremendous improvement over what we have now, but there’s too much money against the idea (ncaa, nba).
i would like to see something akin to what some soccer leagues do. i agree expand the rosters and expand the d-league, but also take the bottom three teams of the nba and send them down to the d-league and make them earn their way back into the league. the top three d-league teams can join the league. that would stop the tanking of games at the end of the season for draft picks ’cause d-league means an end to season tickets and an end to tv money.
LeFlume Said,
October 27, 2008 @ 9:03 pm
I think David Stern has done a tremendous job as a commissioner for the NBA. He have cleaned up and NBA has never been more healthy than it is today. They are doing an awesome job with the NBA Care foundation and read to achieve program. NFL commissioner Roger Goddell could learn a lot from David Stern. However, I’m totally against his idea of an age limit. This is America for crying out loud, since when are Americans forbidden to get a job straight out of high school?
However, I do think the owners and the GM should pay any high school kid minimum wage. No matter when he is drafted or how great he is. That’s how it works in the real world. It’s impossible to get a job without a college degree unless you are willing to work for minimum wage with no benefits. Welcome to the real world kids, The world that most of your fans are living in.
NBA should do what most companies out in the real world does. Value and reward a college graduate. 4 Years of Basketball education must be worth something. A College graduate are more suited to represent the franchise and have learned to take responsibility. With so many of the court duties in the NBA today I think a college kid has more to offer than a kid straight out of high school.
tp Said,
October 28, 2008 @ 7:32 am
The problem is, of course, that college kids fail in a higher percentage than high school kids. Which is only logical: the bigger the prospect, the sooner he is drafted.
I don’t think the NBA could go back to a system based in college experience, as any attempt to do so would be torn down in court.
Also, I think Stern is also interested in keeping kids in college so that they can build a name for themselves that is passed on to the NBA.
Barney Said,
October 30, 2008 @ 9:17 am
I think people are right when they say it is all about money. The longer players stay in college the lower an NBA’s teams training costs are going to be. The college game is a great farm system that costs the NBA very little money.
The college game also enhances a player’s fan base by the time he comes into the NBA. The NCAA creates a player’s national identity and gives him exposure more so than high school or AAU. Some college fans will follow players and their teams. I followed Kansas City Kings because Phil Ford played for them.. Yes that does date me.
Lastly it lowers the risk in the draft process. Teams can evaluate players as they are playing against better competition than in high school. Agents will hide their HS players not puttng them in competive situations before the draft making it difficult for a team to evaulate his talent, skills and readiness.
Yes it is about money but few of you are seeing it from David Stern’s angle.
Chowder Said,
October 30, 2008 @ 5:03 pm
I think staying in college helps everyone involved: the player, the NBA, and the colleges. Though, I still don’t believe we can tell an 18 year-old he can’t work at a job he is being offered. If an 18 year-old girl can work in porno, an 18 year-old boy should be allowed to played professional basketball. What I never understood is why does the players association want no age limit? Wouldn’t they want as little competition for jobs as possible, thus providing them with their own job security.
Jay Said,
November 15, 2008 @ 12:48 pm
College is not for everyone. The student-athlete is a farce when it comes to many athletic programs. Some of the guys actually attend class and try to take advantage of their educational opportunities. On the other hand, a lot of the guys just coast through the athlete friendly professors and reap the benefits until they are eligible for the draft. I don’t blame then if it’s a viable option but it’s ridiculous. The bottom line is the boosters get their egos stroked and the school rakes in the cash.
Stern needs to allow guys to enter the league and stop being so paternalistic. These schools are wasting valuable scholarship opportunities. You shouldn’t short change legitimate student-athletes that are in school to get an ordinary job for essentially a professional sports draft boarding school.