NBA commissioner: One-and-done system ‘not working for anyone’

By Staff     Jun 2, 2017

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NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, left, congratulates Andrew Wiggins of Kansas who was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers as the number one pick in the 2014 NBA draft, Thursday, June 26, 2014, in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

The days of NBA commissioner Adam Silver shaking the hands of one-and-done draftees from Kansas, such as Andrew Wiggins, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Josh Jackson, could be over in the not-too-distant future.

Since 2006, the league has not allowed players to enter the NBA Draft directly out of high school, meaning most of America’s elite basketball prospects end up playing at least one season of college basketball. But Silver said during a press conference at the NBA Finals he — and many others impacted by the current structure — would like to put a “better system” in place.

The topic of the league’s current age requirement — 19 years old and one year removed from high school graduation — came up, Silver pointed out, during the latest collective bargaining negotiations. The NBA’s formal position, Silver stated, is in favor of raising the minimum age to 20. The NBA’s players association wants it lowered to 18, allowing the most coveted rookies to maximize their career earning potential.

The NBA’s owners and players tabled the issue when the sides last got together. Silver said in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday further study on the matter is needed.

> “This year the projection is that
> we’re going to have 20 one-and-done
> players coming, actually being drafted
> this year. When we first changed the
> minimum age from 18 to 19, the
> following year in 2006 we had two
> one-and-done players,” Silver began.
> “So my sense is it’s not working for
> anyone. It’s not working certainly
> from the college coaches and athletic
> directors I hear from. They’re not
> happy with the current system.”

From the NBA’s perspective, its leader said franchises aren’t happy about the present one-and-done format, either. Silver related the feeling among organizations that the youngest incoming rookies aren’t arriving with the training teams expect to see out of top picks.

What’s more, Silver said veteran players have voiced their concerns that rookies often don’t enter the league game-ready, the way some of them did out of college.

> “And we’re also seeing a dichotomy in
> terms of the international players,”
> he added. “They’re coming in, when
> they come in at 19, many of them have
> been professional for up to three
> years before they come into the league
> and have a very different experience
> than what we’re seeing from American
> players coming through our college
> programs.”

With all sides apparently unsatisfied, Silver plans to get together with the interested parties — “whether it be the colleges, the, of course, our union, agents, lots of points of view out there, and see if we can come up with a better system,” he said.

Asked for a timetable regarding said age-requirement discussions, the commissioner anticipated they would take place over the course of the coming year.

> “To be honest, I’m not standing here
> today saying I have the perfect
> solution,” Silver admitted.

The issue is far from resolved, but it appears Bill Self and other top college coaches might one day have either the benefit of keeping top prospects such as Wiggins and Jackson for two seasons — or return to the days of not recruiting the NBA-bound LeBron James and Kobe Bryant types.

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