Rumor Alert: NCAA and NBA Agree to New 20-Year Age Limit for NBA Draft Eligibility

There will be a press conference tomorrow which NCAA and NBA will announce a change to the NBA's draft eligibility policy. NBA commish David Stern and NCAA president Myles Brand will conduct the news conference.

Brand hinted Thursday the NCAA and NBA had worked out a deal to create a 20-year-old age limit, which would keep the best players in college for a minimum of two years.

The NBA adopted a 19-year-old age limit in its collective bargaining agreement with the players' association in 2006, which prevented high school players from jumping directly to the NBA.

This would essentially eliminate those "one-and-done" guys like Greg Oden, Kevin Durant and Brandan Wright from last year.

I love the rule because I think it is in the best interest of both the NBA and NCAA. The NBA will get a more experienced and skilled player (for every Kevin Durant, there are dozens of Brandan Wright's not playing) and the NCAA gets to keep its stars a bit longer. Imagine if Texas still had Durant or Ohio State had Oden? Would UNC been exposed by Kansas like that if Wright had still been around?

The rule change really doesn't effect anyone currently. The rule most likely won't come into effect until the 2011 or 2012 draft, so the one-and-done guys (like Eric Gordon, Derrick Rose, Kevin Love, OJ Mayo and Michael Beasley) can still come out and declare for the draft. It won't make guys jump ship early (like when the 19-year old rule went in) because those guys that were going to stay for their sophomore year can still become draft eligible as planned.

Please spare me the "if they can play, they should be in the draft" comments because the NFL and NCAA has the same kind of agreement and it isn't anyone's right to play in the NBA. If you want a pro job playing basketball, go to the CBA or Europe.

It will help the health of college basketball because (a) the top programs know they'll have guys for at least two years and can recruit accordingly and (b) that means there will be better talent trickling down to the mid-majors.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

4-06-2008 @ 6:04PM

atlanta said...

I think these NCAA/NBA/NFL rules are kind of silly.

Why do these athletes have to put on this act of wanting to be "just kids" for a year when each one of them knows they will jump ship at the end of the season. If they say they are jumping to the NBA during the season, they are villainized as the bad guys who are destroying college basketball. If they don't say anything, the media assumes they can write all these stories about how special a freshman the kid is and how he is having the time of his life at ____ university/college. Why would he ever want to go pro?

Furthermore, it comes down to the scouts. If a scout sees potential but the team he (or she!) works for needs help right now, he will recommend the team pass on the prospect. And that's the way it is. These kids have all the information in the world and if they get the general vibe that they need work and won't go very high in the draft, they can go to college an hone their skills. If scouts/management people think they are ready and just need some refinement in the pros, why hold them back?

Lastly, a lot of these kids are not very wealthy and may need money um, now sooner than later. If I were a gifted mechanic, would I be forced to go to a school for two years before I could start making money? No. But apparently these athletes have to be held to this standard.

Kinda dumb.

4-06-2008 @ 6:16PM

Miss Gossip said...

Sportz -- I'll agree with you the day the NCAA starts paying these kids for what amounts to be a full-time job. And don't tell me that they are being paid by getting free educations. Let's be real, no serious athlete is actually learning anything in school with how hard they have to work for their team.

You're right that they could go play overseas if they just want to make money, but the disincentive there is that they might not make as much when they come back and try for the NBA at age 20.

4-06-2008 @ 6:51PM

JAlper said...

I've always been of the mind that the MLB model would work well for the NBA. Use the D-League to actually develop players within the framework of the organization. Some players would opt for the college route, just as they do in baseball, and some would go to the minors straightaway. Everyone is progressing that way, instead of sitting on a bench as a rookie or a freshman, and it would certainly give colleges players who would be more committed to that game.

4-06-2008 @ 6:55PM

Sportz Assassin said...

Like any other job in life, there are criteria they employers hold to give you a job. This is the NBA's criteria and their right to have that. No one says these kids HAVE to go to college. If they want to play basketball for money and they are 19 years old ... there are places they can go. Sure, it isn't as much as NBA money ... but that's what they have to do.

There are jobs out there that require experience, a college degree, internship or any number of other conditions. The NBA has the right to say they want a certain player with a certain experience to play in their league. It protects their product by bringing in NBA-readier players and better name recognition.

BTW, I do agree that college athletes should get some sort of pay. The pimp and ho show that goes on there is ridiculous.

-Sportz

4-06-2008 @ 6:59PM

VancouverHoops said...

I actually think these rules have nothing to do with the good of the players and are about economics. The NBA just doesn't want to pay 18-year olds to develop while they don't contribute to the team. Moreover, these early years count against the players free agent eligibility so the teams get fewer cheap years of labour before the players are able to dictate terms.

Contrast this with European soccer which remains the one professional sport run in a open, capitalistic way. Players are signed by the big teams very early and begin to play for them when their skills and physical abilities merit. For some that can be as young as 17 (Pele, Rooney, etc), for others, that it not until they are in their 20s.

North American pro sports are cartels run in way which require vast anti-trust exemptions from government, and this age-discrimination is just more evidence of that. If you can join the army and die for your country at 18, I think you're ready for the NBA and NFL drafts.

4-06-2008 @ 7:00PM

Atlanta,

You have a point that it comes to scouting (I mean, there are college seniors that become busts too) but the monetary dynamic of the rookie contracts is huge. If you draft a JJ Hickson, you may wait a few years before he becomes a productive NBA player. He may be 24-yrs old at the time, which is still young and means he could have a hell of a career.

The problem is that the NBA team has spent millions to have him develop a NBA body and NBA game ... and when he does, he's ready to cash in somewhere else. With the salary cap structure the way it is, this kills you and wastes more talent than it cultivates.

4-06-2008 @ 7:05PM

Excellent comment, Vancouver!

I always say this when people bring the "army" comment in, though.

The way it's set up, you can die for your country at 18 years old ... but they won't let you run it. I know that being a President and NBA player are worlds apart in importance, but the same blanket argument must be applied.

4-06-2008 @ 7:09PM

I agree with Josh the most and have for a long time on this subject.

The NBA needs the D-league to be functional to the point that it gives these kids a place to become NBA players. The problem is that the rookie pay scale (which I think should shave a ton of money off) won't allow it. The Warriors aren't paying Brandan Wright $2.5M to play in the D-league.

The D-League needs to extend out to what the Lakers have done with the LA D-Fenders. Their own team filled with their own players that they can call up at any time.

The issue is here: Is the D-league making any money? Probably not. That's why the system won't work like MLB's farm system.

4-06-2008 @ 9:31PM

LB said...

This is a wasted post because there can't be an agreement without the players association. They aren't going to agree to that without getting something in return. I think 20 would be great but they should also allow players to petition to get in earlier so a player like Lebron wouldn't have to wait. A player should also be able to join the D league and make a good wage.

4-06-2008 @ 10:54PM

Football Dude said...

Excellent rule! I truely believe that this will help both leagues. talk4tix.com

4-06-2008 @ 11:03PM

Tommy said...

Personally, I think the NBA needs to further develop a minor league system for players who aren't physically developed enough, and are not skilled enough to play in the NBA, and who also don't want to go to college. The minor league system also has to become more refined to the point of becoming a viable alternative to college. Besides, it wouldn;t hurt the NBA to have another consistent stream from which they can acquire skilled and talented players.

4-07-2008 @ 1:38AM

Dave said...

Aristotle you're not, but at least you tried I suppose. I'm not the world's biggest fan of the commonly heard NBA player/Army recruit comparison, but that argument holds much more relevance and weight than your NBA player/President comparison which is just plain silly, and no, there's no magical "blanket argument" forcing one to accept such specious nonsense (I could explain to you why that doesn't hold the water you think it does, but you would just disagree and still not really understand so I'm not going to waste the keystrokes). In depth philosophy is for truly intelligent people, so do yourself a favor and stick to sports blogs that are devoid of such material.

4-07-2008 @ 3:51AM

Freezer said...

I think Stern could placate both sides of the debate by adopting MLB's eligibility rules: You can come out straight out of HS, but if you don't, you're ineligible to come out until your Junior year. Seriously - who would fight a rule like that?

4-07-2008 @ 5:31PM

ruppunc said...

I think a kid should stay in school all four years. Earn a degree. Something to fall back on. A kid signs a letter of intent(contract) if he leaves, he has broken a contract. The only way a kid should be able to leave is if the coach leaves.

4-13-2008 @ 4:29PM

Julian said...

"If you want a pro job playing basketball, go to the CBA or Europe."

Come on Sportz Assassin, aren't you ignoring that the NBA has a monopoly in the United States on top tier basketball talent? You've essentially got a situation where there is only one buyer of top tier basketball talent in the United States. By putting these restrictions up the NBA is essentially boycotting the services of players under 20. Quoting from the Spencer Haywood decision:
"The harm resulting from a "primary" boycott such as this is threefold. First, the victim of the boycott is injured by being excluded from the market he seeks to enter. Second, competition in the market in which the victim attempts to sell his services is injured. Third, by pooling their economic power, the individual members of the NBA have, in effect, established their own private government."

I don't see the way this holds up in court. (Or the current rules if someone challenges them)