From my perspective, it would be very dumb for the NBA to remove the one year rule because it is very valuable to them to force kids to play versus higher level comp as much as possible. Removing the rule is how Kwame Brown gets drafted #1 and ruins the Wizards for years.
From the NBA’s perspective, their best case scenario is probably keeping the one year rule but also having the G League be a viable option for stars to go to and making it a product that people will actually want to watch. So they can make money off the G League and get an even better scout on these players by maximizing the competition and putting them in NBA systems.
I mean, the last two years, the consensus HS scouting rankings and the NBA Draft Board have been nearly identical. There isn’t much evidence that the NBA cares that much about college performance, unless you’re Tre Duvall.
I’m not clear why this would preclude them from going to college? I mean, unless we’re ready to argue that Kwame Brown’s 1 college season (or pick your high-school to pro bust) would have bust him out of the draft (given his 10 year NBA career, unlikely), I’m not sure what the benefit of “One year of college followed by failed NBA career” is over “failed NBA career, then college”.
It doesn’t make a huge difference in evaluation, but it does make some difference. Enough for NBA Execs to stick with it. Even just examples like Trevon Duvall, Kwame, and probably some others. Someone like KD moved up from his freshman year.
I see your point. What you are saying makes the most sense the more we are dealing with lottery pick type guys. Anybody who is considered top ten their Senior year of high school would probably be ok no matter what. I am just talking about a certain class of player, which is admittedly, going to be pretty rare: The player who gets their 125k and does not make the NBA. I think that is an infinitely worse situation than assuming you are one and done, going to college, realizing the NBA would not draft you, and then returning for your sophmore year. I wonder if Matthews, for example would have gone the 125k route if given the opportunity? I think it would have been a huge mistake if he had that opportunity and took it…
That’s only assuming that Kwame played well enough in college to still go #1. But for the Wizards, they may have seen that he wouldn’t be a franchise changing talent and taken someone else with the first pick if they had a chance to watch him against college competition first.
Someone would have taken him anyways, and his career trajectory probably would’ve been the same but it’s a lot easier to stomach a bust out of a 15th pick than a #1 overall pick.
Maybe NBA can hold a one-round draft for above 17 but before they goes to college, which has a different scale for salary etc. Anyone who does not want to sign can wait and enter the main draft two-years after.
It’s obviously not all about Kwame Brown, but I think his implosion had a ton to do with the environment he was put in.
However, it’s probably useful to remember that with the exception of Anthony Bennett, who is a black swan, even #1 “busts” like Shawn Bradley or Michael Olowokandi or, yes, Kwame Brown, still play for a long time.
If their is anyone in this story to be concerned about, it is the kids who go pro who should not. That still happens now - they just have 4 months of college under their belt.
Maybe those kids at least get $125k and a g league slot?
If the NCAA would grow a pair and allow players to profit off of their likeness it would be quite the “best of both worlds” scenario for players and NBA franchises. It also fixes the issue of tiny schools without enough money being forced to pay and sets up the free market to auto decide how much a player should get so there’s no controversy there.
I think it will get to that. It’s simply an option with potential to market players a little more. Like it’s been mentioned before, it makes sense to get more “exposure” by playing college hoops but players can get endorsements.
is why the new rules to allow top prospects into the D-league may pull some of these kids. Salaries won’t matter as much as possible endorsements. Bazley, who reportedly struggled against top high school age competition at the summer camps and then decided to forego the D-League for fear of “not being ready” is guaranteed 1 million dollars - a year before even playing a professional game.
Maybe, but Bazley is going this route without the G-League. Would he be in the GL if the salary was 125K and not 50k? He still might be worried about how he’d look against desperate, older GL players. Or maybe more young guys will try this – taking a year off to train with sponsorship from a shoe company or agent or who knows…
Yeah, I just think if Bazley- who I would consider a good prospect, but still a 2nd tier prospect - can pull a Million from one endorsement, then top prospects like Barrett and Williamson, who are more equipped (physically and skill wise) to play against G Leaguers, have to consider it. I still think it comes down to family situation and what the player is hoping to get from a college experience, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the top prospects take a look at 2-3 million guaranteed from endorsements and a 125K salary and have to think long and hard about it.