The league plans on discussing the current one-and-done rule with the NBA Players Association over the next year with the hope of raising the minimum age for draft-eligible players from 19 to 20, Greg Logan of Newsday relays.
“This year, the projection is that we’re going to have 20 one-and-done players coming and actually being drafted. When we first changed the minimum age from 18 to 19, the following year in 2006, we had two one-and-done players. So my sense is that it’s not working for anyone,” Silver said.
Silver added that teams believe players coming to the professional ranks from college after just one season aren’t as well-prepared as they should be. The league and the union agreed to table this issue in order to finalize the CBA this past winter.
Silver also addressed Phil Jackson‘s comments about Carmelo Anthony. Jackson previously said Anthony, who holds a no-trade clause, may be “better off somewhere else.” The players union took exception with the Zen Master’s statement, but Silver said no punishment for the Knicks executive is forthcoming.
“We did not consider disciplining Phil Jackson for those comments about potentially trading Carmelo,” Silver said. “The view of the league is that it’s not reciprocal. Players can’t trade themselves. Teams can trade players. So there’s never been a history of fining a team or disciplining a team executive for talking about trading a player.”
The commissioner also spoke about several other issues, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com passes along. Here are more highlights from his press conference:
- Silver addressed the NBA’s resting issue, calling for owners to be more involved in the team’s decision to rest players. Silver recognized that the league needs to reduce the amount of back-to-back and added that playing less than 82 games will not be considered. “It’s not 82 games, it’s not the length of the season, it’s the time between the games and that there’s a direct correlation between fatigue and injury on the part of the players,” Silver said.
- The commissioner acknowledged that the league has a tanking issue and suggested that changes could be on the horizon. “We’re not at the point where we’re going to have relegation to the Gatorade [Development] League and the way they do in Europe [with soccer],” Silver said. “That would stop it, but we’re not prepared to do that. But I think there’s more we can do to disincentivize teams from that behavior.”
- The league currently has no plans for expansion. “From my standpoint, for the league, you want ultimately a league where 30 teams are in a position where they can ultimately compete for championships and also be economically viable,” Silver said. “From an economic standpoint, we are doing better than we did historically, but we’re still not at a point where we have 30 teams that are profitable. … I also have to look at the potential for dilution of the existing talent we have before we expand. I have no doubt at some point we’ll turn back to it, but at least in my last discussions with our owners on this, most of them said let’s keep focusing on the health of these 30 teams and the quality of the competition. When we feel we’re in a better place with the 30 teams we have, maybe at that point we can look to expand.”
Players can’t trade themselves. Teams can trade players. So there’s never been a history of fining a team or disciplining a team executive for talking about trading a player.”
Adam Silver is the best commissioner is sports. He is exactly right.
I’m not sure how much realistic competition Silver has for that title.
I think the Jackson comment is avoiding the main point of the PA, which is that Anthony has a no trade clause. If a player has that, should he not gain the power of not having a team talk about trading him? If players are not allowed to be talking to media about being traded to other teams when they have no power to do so, why should teams be allowed when they do not have the power to do so?
I believe Phil’s comments were truthful regarding the situation – the Knicks can’t move forward with Melo on the roster. The irony is that Phil was the idiot who offered Melo the extension with the no-trade clause. Talk about actions having consequences.
But they can release him or ask him to waive it. So talking about him being better off elsewhere is still something in Jackson’s control.
That doesn’t mean it’s still not a tacky, ill-advised comment, of course.
With the way the talent pool is right now, and the parity we’re starting to see more of in th regular season, I agree that now is definitely not the time for expansion. But, in like 7 years from now, I think it becomes a little more of a real possibility as the talent pool continues to grow, and it continues to be harder than ever to be in the NBA. By then, I’d expect every team would have a d-league team that can be used like more of a true minor league. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see 2 more teams late in the next decade
Relegation is sort of an interesting idea, but I’m not sure it would ever work. Mainly because most of the NBA teams own their D-League franchise, so flip-flopping them would really not accomplish much. But it would also severely hurt attendance if you were to lose a team in Philadelphia and replace it with Delaware or Erie.
That’s not really how it works. The way it would work is the bottom 7-10 teams get demoted so you essentially have a 20 team league. Then the teams who improve would trade spots with teams who suck. So in today’s NBA, teams like Philly and Brooklyn would already be in the lower league. Teams can still have their own D-league teams.
That is even more ridiculous. That would create a 20 team league and a 10 team league that plays for no reason other than to get back to the 20 team league.
I think it’s just not going to work the way our leagues are set up here, and the solid line between the top level and lower levels in our sports here.
If any of our pro sports had an equitable financial system where all of the teams are on the same footing it would make more sense to me.
Silver needs to get Dolan in a room and force a real president/Gm on him like Stern did with Donnie Walsh. the Knicks under Jackson are pathetic with no hope insight. their aging star is untradable because of the no-trade that Phil gave him. the best player is already pissed because he cant stand losing and the cupboards are bare. they need a complete rebuild and Jackson cannot be a part of it!!!!
The one and done rule stinks. But the only rule worse? When it used to be ok to go straight from high school. I get that players want that paycheck. But you have to develop. Even after 1 year of college you are still a boy, not a man.
Look to the NFL. What’s their policy? 3 years removed from high school I believe. Make that the rule. Forget what the players want, do what is best for everyone.
Also, make a separate draft for international players and to stop this player stashing nonsense.
Comparing the NFL and NBA rule I think is difficult. Some players are physically ready for the NBA at 19-20 years old. Very rarely is there a college football player physically ready at that age.
So I’m assuming you’re all for guys not getting paid too, like how it is in the NFL in a 16 billion industry…
Nobody should tell someone when they should or shouldn’t try to make a living in something people want to pay them for. Are there times when people leave school too early? Absolutely. But, maybe teams should pass on those guys in the draft, if they don’t want to develop them. There are also plenty of other avenues to getting paid in basketball, besides the NBA, which is always an option. They also have the new rule of being able to test the draft process and go back to school, which is a good addition and helps with this age and readiness question. Honestly, I’d prefer them be allowed to come out of high school if they’re ready, but the idea of getting rid of that is so there isn’t so much scouting in high school gyms, while there are kids there. Ultimately, it’s up to the players to decide what their priorities are, and you still see some good young players stay in school for more than a year
…..also, you know the draft and stash thing is b/c there are only 15 roster spots in the NBA (17 starting next year with the new 2 way contracts)? It’s so you don’t have to add a guy to your roster if there isn’t enough cap room or enough spots. A lot of those guys are better off staying in Europe or wherever to develop for awhile
If the NBA wants to have a minimum age limit, that’s totally up to the NBA. But there’s no rule players have to go to college. They can play overseas in most leagues at 18.
That’s part of my point. I could see more guys start their careers overseas to make some money, the same way we’ve seen a few guys do it recently. And that’s totally fine if that’s what they choose to do.
NBA owners don’t care if guys complete a college education. They just want them to grow some maturity before the owners write millions to them. Let them prove their mettle a little longer and then start the rookie scale contracts. Also, too many are near useless for first couple years as they develop physically as well as understanding finer points of the game.