The NBA 1-year rule

[moonpie23]

i posted about this in the USC thread, but it really needs a thread of it's own.

Imagine what the college BB landscape would have been like the past 5 years without the rule...


I feel that the rule is wrong. It's in because the NBA can't show a sliver of self restraint in dealing with young talent. GM's and Team owners fell victim to the same kind of hype that record labels fall for "the hot new band".

wouldn't it be better if they just had the kids go to the D-league instead of trashing the college scene? get a year of "paid professional basketball" under their belts before the draft?

[FerryFor50]

i posted about this in the USC thread, but it really needs a thread of it's own.

Imagine what the college BB landscape would have been like the past 5 years without the rule...


I feel that the rule is wrong. It's in because the NBA can't show a sliver of self restraint in dealing with young talent. GM's and Team owners fell victim to the same kind of hype that record labels fall for "the hot new band".

wouldn't it be better if they just had the kids go to the D-league instead of trashing the college scene? get a year of "paid professional basketball" under their belts before the draft?

Better yet, do what Brandon Jennings did... play for a year or two overseas. Turned out well for him so far...

[superdave]

I really like the idea of a D league where the NBA subsidizes it and pays players on a salary scale ($50k plus per diem for high schoolers, $60k for 2nd year etc). They could also have mandatory weekly sessions on personal finances, time management, legal contracts. These guys could then enter the NBA draft after 2 years.

I think this is infinitely better than either plopping these guys straight on an NBA roster when they are so immature, or allowing them to OJ Mayo an entire basketball program.

Also, a great thing to consider is what I think Dean smith has proposed - a panel of experts to review players cases and decide if they are ready for the NBA. This could apply to players coming out of high school who think they are ready for the NBA right away and have no business in the D league (LeBron).

[moonpie23]

Ia panel of experts to review players cases and decide if they are ready for the NBA. This could apply to players coming out of high school who think they are ready for the NBA right away and have no business in the D league (LeBron).

that might be too easy to influence. A straight out rule would be more cut and dried.


the nba benefits from the college BB situation to introduce "stars" to television audiences before they ever make it to the league. playing overseas won't allow them to develop that "star power".

david stern = no dummy

[JasonEvans]

We need a 2 or 3 year college committment rule, like baseball has. If you want to come directly from high school, feel free but if you come up short then you have to play in the DLeague or overseas. If you go to college, you stay in college until your junior year. Football does it this way too (though without the high school to pro option).

College basketball is the only sport that encourages kids to come to school for one season. All the others require a more lengthy stay in college (and a meaningful educational experience) or tell kids, "if you don't care about college, do something else."

Sigh. Nothing is going to change any time soon anyway. Sad.

--Jason "USC is a victim and they won't be the last -- why would Mayo not take money?" Evans

[MChambers]

We need a 2 or 3 year college committment rule, like baseball has. If you want to come directly from high school, feel free but if you come up short then you have to play in the DLeague or overseas. If you go to college, you stay in college until your junior year. Football does it this way too (though without the high school to pro option).

College basketball is the only sport that encourages kids to come to school for one season. All the others require a more lengthy stay in college (and a meaningful educational experience) or tell kids, "if you don't care about college, do something else."

Sigh. Nothing is going to change any time soon anyway. Sad.

--Jason "USC is a victim and they won't be the last -- why would Mayo not take money?" Evans

You also need to give the kids who go to college a partial break on the rookie salary cap, or very few of the talented players will see a reason to go to college. Maybe reduce the cap's life by two years if you spend three in college?

[JasonEvans]

You also need to give the kids who go to college a partial break on the rookie salary cap, or very few of the talented players will see a reason to go to college. Maybe reduce the cap's life by two years if you spend three in college?

Actually, I have no problem with this. I see no need to incentivize kids to go to college. If their interest in the college experience is guided more by money than other factors then I hardly see this as fixing the system.

Look, I've got no problem if the top 25 kids in high school every year opt to make themselves pros in the NBA or elsewhere. My main desire is that the kids who come to college to play basketball be kids who are interested in actually having a college experience.

-Jason "college hoops will survive just fine without 15 or so kids who have no interest in college" Evans

[Turtleboy]

--Jason "USC is a victim and they won't be the last -- why would Mayo not take money?" Evans

Because he has a shred of personal integrity?

[JasonEvans]

Because he has a shred of personal integrity?

If Mayo could post to this board I am sure he would post the following --



--Jason "Oolong lives!!" Evans

[Turtleboy]

If Mayo could post to this board I am sure he would post the following --



--Jason "Oolong lives!!" Evans

The reason a person would have for not taking money that would cause so much damage to a team and a program is that person has personal integrity. What's so hard to understand about that?

[wilko]

Money talks..

In order to help control the costs of rookies... if the NBA had a system for valuation of rookies that looked at yrs spent in college, degrees earned and D-league experience as part of the compensation equation. I think that would help.

An owner would like it because they dont have to shell out gobs of cash on an unproven commodity. Veterans would benefit because those most deserving can grab more $ and those just hanging around but not superstars might have thier shelf life extended a yr or 3.

College isnt for everyone. I'd like to see the NCAA work more closely with the D-League..

If a player goes from HS-> D-League -> NBA, God bless and good luck... but for those that cant do that... but want a taste of fame and glory... maybe the 1st real cash to call their own, out from under the parents ...

How about this optional path to compliment HS -> College..

HS -> D-League.. then either :
D-League -> College (yes exend ameture status to cover D-league)
D-League -> Overseas

[Tim1515]

Without the NBA rule Cal is not coaching UK right now. Bob Huggins is not at WV. Texas isn't quite the power program they are right now. UCLA would not have attended 3 straight final fours.

This NBA rule is breeding a new form of coach and program that is not good for college basketball IMO. One kid like Oden makes OSU a hotbed for bigmen even though he would've been the #1 pick out of high school. Cal is now the master with PGs even though both Rose and Wall are/were top 5 picks before college.

It is a terrible rule for Duke also since recruiting these players is no way to build a legit winner year after year but without recruiting them makes it that much more difficult to make a final four.

[KyDevilinIL]

Exacerbating this problem is that the two primary parties – the NCAA and the NBA – are perhaps the two lamest major sports organizations on Earth. Hoping for these folks to find some middle ground that makes sense is a waste of time.

The NCAA's issues are pretty well documented; the NBA has some serious flaws that, to me at least, appear to be barrelling straight for a significant disaster. The Gilbert Arenas is one thing, Tim Donaghy is another, but on smaller levels the NBA is almost out of control on a nightly basis. The LeBron vs. Joakim Noah garbage is a good example. It's just stupid, undisciplined and unprofessional nonsense. It happens all the time, but no one notices unless it involves LeBron or Kobe.

Neither the NCAA nor the NBA can adequately police itself, much less work with another entity to reach an agreement that benefits both sides - not to mention the students and athletes involved. The one-year thing is wreaking havoc on both sides. But the NBA doesn't care, the NCAA can't do anything about it and the only folks who seem bothered are college basketball fans and the honest coaches.

[JasonEvans]

The reason a person would have for not taking money that would cause so much damage to a team and a program is that person has personal integrity. What's so hard to understand about that?

Oh, I understood it. I meant that OJ Mayo would not understand it because all that matters to OJ is OJ.

-Jason "sorry for confusion" Evans

[dolver]

Or allow college kids to do endorsement deals. Sure there would have to be regulations on it, but I have never understood, in principle, why a legal adult isn't allowed to make money this way.

[Underdog5]

How about this optional path to compliment HS -> College..

HS -> D-League.. then either :
D-League -> College (yes exend ameture status to cover D-league)
D-League -> Overseas

Maybe the NCAA/colleges could collaborate with the NBA/D-League to provide a better alternative similar to a paid summer internship where kids could get exposure and "real" world development (with better coaches against better talent), and scouts could evaluate skill and behavior in a smaller and less expensive context. The current alternative ("AAU corruption and handlers") is likely where the problems start.

[cruxer]

The one and done rule is simply an anti-free market tool the NBA insisted on so that their young draftees could be #1 better proven against better competition and #2 marketed for free (from the NBA perspective) for a year prior to entering "the league." Why the NCAA has been foolish enough to go along with this without kicking and screaming is beyond me. Oh wait. On second thought, it's not beyond me. The NCAA is made up of grown folks who make tons of money on the backs of kids, and even the 1-and-doners enhance the bottom line.

Why should an 18-yr-old kid who has a marketable skill be denied the right to pursue and be paid for it? When I was in school at the beginning of the .com bubble, some freshman kid left to go to Silicon Valley to make less than $100k a year. Everyone thought he was a genius. Of course none of us know what he's up to now, but no one cares. That's the beauty of the market. He either made it or he didn't. The company who hired him either got it's money's worth or it didn't.

I'm not about to criticize OJ Mayo from recognizing, apparently very early on, that he had a very lucrative skill and that he needed to maximize his revenue from that skill. In any other endeavor we'd call that enterprising. The NBA/NCAA are to blame for the charade that made him spend a year in school lying about his true intentions. Only in college athletics do we all think it's okay for Tim Floyd to make millions from OJ Mayo's skills, but not OJ Mayo.

</rant>

[Jarhead]

The one and done rule is simply an anti-free market tool the NBA insisted on so that their young draftees could be #1 better proven against better competition and #2 marketed for free (from the NBA perspective) for a year prior to entering "the league." Why the NCAA has been foolish enough to go along with this without kicking and screaming is beyond me. Oh wait. On second thought, it's not beyond me. The NCAA is made up of grown folks who make tons of money on the backs of kids, and even the 1-and-doners enhance the bottom line.

Why should an 18-yr-old kid who has a marketable skill be denied the right to pursue and be paid for it? When I was in school at the beginning of the .com bubble, some freshman kid left to go to Silicon Valley to make less than $100k a year. Everyone thought he was a genius. Of course none of us know what he's up to now, but no one cares. That's the beauty of the market. He either made it or he didn't. The company who hired him either got it's money's worth or it didn't.

I'm not about to criticize OJ Mayo from recognizing, apparently very early on, that he had a very lucrative skill and that he needed to maximize his revenue from that skill. In any other endeavor we'd call that enterprising. The NBA/NCAA are to blame for the charade that made him spend a year in school lying about his true intentions. Only in college athletics do we all think it's okay for Tim Floyd to make millions from OJ Mayo's skills, but not OJ Mayo.

</rant>

I think I remember that kid who bolted for the Silicon Valley. I think he is on the Geek Squad roster for Best Buy.

[cruxer]

I think I remember that kid who bolted for the Silicon Valley. I think he is on the Geek Squad roster for Best Buy.

LOL I think you're right. I recognized his pic from that article about the Geek Squadder who hid the camera in his customer's bathroom!

-c

[Dukeface88]

The one and done rule is simply an anti-free market tool the NBA insisted on so that their young draftees could be #1 better proven against better competition and #2 marketed for free (from the NBA perspective) for a year prior to entering "the league." Why the NCAA has been foolish enough to go along with this without kicking and screaming is beyond me. Oh wait. On second thought, it's not beyond me. The NCAA is made up of grown folks who make tons of money on the backs of kids, and even the 1-and-doners enhance the bottom line.

Why should an 18-yr-old kid who has a marketable skill be denied the right to pursue and be paid for it? When I was in school at the beginning of the .com bubble, some freshman kid left to go to Silicon Valley to make less than $100k a year. Everyone thought he was a genius. Of course none of us know what he's up to now, but no one cares. That's the beauty of the market. He either made it or he didn't. The company who hired him either got it's money's worth or it didn't.

I'm not about to criticize OJ Mayo from recognizing, apparently very early on, that he had a very lucrative skill and that he needed to maximize his revenue from that skill. In any other endeavor we'd call that enterprising. The NBA/NCAA are to blame for the charade that made him spend a year in school lying about his true intentions. Only in college athletics do we all think it's okay for Tim Floyd to make millions from OJ Mayo's skills, but not OJ Mayo.

</rant>

Bernie Madoff had some pretty lucrative skills too. That doesn't mean that his method of using them should be condoned. Mayo should have waited for his millions just like everyone else in his line of work is supposed to, and if he did not, he's the one that should be punished for it. The NCAA contracts need to structured to allow the NCAA to fine violators even after they're no longer involved at a program.

Having said that, I would agree that the NCAA is pretty hypocritical when it comes to liscensing and endorsements. These kids should at least get a percentage of the merchandising money.