NBA Commissioner David Stern wants increase in age limit for Draft – NBA Update
The NBA Commissioner David Stern has once again voiced his concern regarding the age limit set for the NBA Draft. The Commissioner believes that the limit is too low, and it should be increased by at least a year.
"We would love to add a year, but that's not something that the players' association has been willing to agree to," Stern said Tuesday.
The current age limit for players entering the NBA is 19 years with at least one year in college. The NBA and the players discussed this issue at length during the NBA lockout, but the owners decided to focus more on financial gains when push came to shove,
leaving issues like the age limit lingering on.
The National Basketball Players Association doesn’t want an increase in the age limit. Although they have agreed to form a committee to discuss the matter with the NBA, it is very unlikely that they will concede any ground.
At the most, the players could come to terms if they were getting something valuable in return, which the NBA is not willing to provide.
For the NBA players, it is a matter of the financial well being. The players who play at school or college cannot make earning off the game; that only happens when they turn pro and enter the NBA. If they had to wait for another year to enter the draft,
they would lose another year worth of earning.
On the other hand, the league and NBA franchises would like for the players to play more at a higher level. That gives them a better idea of a player’s strength and weaknesses and scouting becomes less of an obstacle.
"That's not our rule," Stern reasoned, about the 1 year in college rule. "Our rule is that they won't be eligible for the draft until they're 19. They can play in Europe, they can play in the D-League, they can go to college. This is a not a social program,
this is a business rule for us. The NFL has a rule which requires three years of college”
Critics argue that the NBA wants to get a sure shot product, in form of a player who has multiple years of high level basketball under his belt. The trouble is that the players are basically losing money, and risking injury while playing for college teams
or in the D-league.
The development of a player can continue in the NBA, hence players want to get in as early as they can and cash in. If the NBA is serious about increasing the age limit, they would have to consider offering young players sizeable financial rewards in return.
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