Once again, the controversial subject of one and dones has made its way to the NBA’s discussion table.
New NBA Commissioner Adam Silver once again began lobbying to increase the age of the draft eligibility at a Board of Governors meeting.
Silver even brought in NCAA president Mark Emmert to support his position.
Silver said the NCAA should be part of the decision making process when the NBA and the Players’ Association discuss the idea of raising league’s draft eligibility age from 19-years old or one year removed from his high school graduating class to 20 years of age. No decisions will be made until at least this summer, if then at all, because of the current labor agreement between the NBA and the Players’ Association. As an incentive for players to stay an extra year, Silver suggested closing the gap between what a scholarship covers and what it costs to go to college with a stipend. But he stopped short of suggesting there would be a financial incentive to stay.
On the surface, it sounds like a good idea in terms of helping college prospects make a smooth transition to the NBA while making the college experience more meaningful and prevent their stars from being labeled temporary employees. The one-and-done rule was set into motion in 2006, three years after LeBron James entered the league as a none and done out of high school. While some high school prospects like James, Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant were huge successes, others were disappointments, prompting the NBA to push the age limit back.
Many college coaches from elite programs still don’t like the rule for obvious reasons, especially this season when six of the top eight picks– guard Andrew Wiggins, forward Jabari Parker of Duke, forward James Randle of Kentucky, center Joel Embiid of Kentucky, forward Aaron Gordon of Arizona and forward Noel Vonleh of Indiana– should be one and dones, along with guard Dante Exxum, an Australian prodigy who graduated high school in November; and sophomore point guard Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State.
In addition, three other freshmen– forward James Young of Kentucky, point guard Tyler Ennis of Syracuse and guard Zach LaVine– should be first round picks along with a possible fourth– point guard Andrew Harrison or his twin brother, guard Aaron of Kentucky.
Even John Calipari of Kentucky, who has sent 13 one and dones to the league since his days at Memphis and started five freshmen in this year’s NCAA championship game, would to see the rule revised to two and through. Calipari says he is simply complying with existing rules and that the players who do leave for the league after one season are simply pursuing their dreams.
“Every player that I’ve recruited, and they will tell you, I say the same thing: ‘Don’t plan on coming to school for one year. You make a huge mistake,'” Calipari said. “But if after one year, you have options, that will be up to you and your family.”
By contrast, there are only five fourth year seniors– power forward Doug McDermott of Creighton, power forward Adreian Payne of Michigan State, forward Cleanthony Early of Wichita State, point guard Shabazz Napier of UConn and point guard Deonte Burton of Nevada– who should be selected in the first round, with the last four of those relegated to the 20’s.
One thing the NBA Players Association should study before they act is the amount of one and dones who have made an impact in the league since the rule was implemented. According to a study done by Sports Illustrated, there have been 60 one and dones between 2006 through 2013. Of that group, according to SI, there have been 14 impact players– Anthony Davis, Andre Drummond, Brad Beal, Kyrie Irving, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, Lance Stephenson, DeMar DeRozen, Jrue Holiday, Derrick Rose, Kevin Love, Kevin Durant and and Mike Conley, Jr.– who became stars and only seven— Javaris Crittenton, Tiny Gallon, Daniel Orton, Hassan Whiteside, Josh Selby, Grant Jertt and Ricky Ledo — who were determined to be deemed flops. At last half of the players on the list were listed as rotation players.
By the same token, last year’s NBA draft produced no players who made an immediate impact and is already being considered the worst of the one and done drafts.
With that in mind, the NBA may be more open to reassessment than anytime in recent history. The league is paying first-round picks guaranteed millions, and with that kind of investment, teams want more opportunities to evaluate players instead of relying on a brief snap shots. The more looks they get, the more confident they are in making significant decisions in the draft and the less owners will have to pay for prospects who need development work.
“Ideally we want our teams in a position to have more information about these young men before they come into the league, and from a developmental standpoint we would like them to have more opportunity for them to develop before they come into the league,” Silver said.
Silver does not anticipate that happening for the 2015 draft but said that rule change can be amended to the current collective bargaining agreement without the current CBA expiring.
The NBPA is searching for a new executive director and have had informal discussions with acting director Ron Klempner and President Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers. “But until they finish their process, we’re not going to be able to sit down into more of a normal negotiating mode,” Silver said. “So we’re ready to go. We’ve been thinking about this issue for a long time, as you know.”
What the NBA should be thinking about is a shift to the baseball model that allows gifted prodigies like James to declare right out of high school but forces they to remain amateurs for three years if they sign with a college or participate in the developmental league. It would be their choice.
“I like the baseball rule,” Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said. “I like, ‘Draft ’em out of high school or leave ’em go until after their junior year.’ I also think the NBA and NFL need to have some legitimate developmental program to allow people who don’t want to go to college to go develop their skills.”
