I'm pretty sure the NBA has been having the best ratings ever the past few seasons. People who enjoy watching skilled basketball watch the NBA.
David Stern wants to raise the NBA age minimum by 1 year.
- Thread starter thejumper5
- Start date
I'm pretty sure the NBA has been having the best ratings ever the past few seasons. People who enjoy watching skilled basketball watch the NBA.
deanvogs
Well-Known Member
DuffMan
Well-Known Member
They wouldn't need to be sold. making them wait two years out of hs doesn't reduce player numbers or salaries. in fact you could argue making players wait is a good thing for the leagues veterans. they control the unions.
I wonder when the PGA or the Tennis professional tour organization will institute a mandatory requirement for staying in college x number of years. Maybe Tiger needed to get his degree at Stanford before he was mature enough for the PGA?
Bottom line: no league/organization should limit the opportunities of exceptional athletes, whether they are black and play b-ball, russian and play tennis or from the Dominican and play baseball. I couldn't even watch Kentucky in the tourny, b/c it was a farce of a college team...they didn't attend a class between them, I'm guessing.
Bottom line: no league/organization should limit the opportunities of exceptional athletes, whether they are black and play b-ball, russian and play tennis or from the Dominican and play baseball. I couldn't even watch Kentucky in the tourny, b/c it was a farce of a college team...they didn't attend a class between them, I'm guessing.
SpiderRico
Well-Known Member
What?! It's THEIR league/organization. If they want to put a requirement as to when an employee is eligible, they have every right to do that. No one is limiting "opportunities".....they would simply be setting eligibility requirements as is the right of every employer in this country. As long as the requirements aren't discriminitory and are requirements that make sense for the job, then they have every right to do that.
And by the way, the requirements aren't for x number of years of college, it's for x years removed from high school.
Good post...Bill Gates didn't need x number of college years to be successful either. Gifted individuals do not need pre-determined societal limitations...in fact, is this NBA some sort of socialist organization? Next, they will say I cannot watch porn...wait.
SpiderRico
Well-Known Member
Once again, you show your ignorance. The requirements wouldn't be for x number of years of college, it would be for x number of years after high school. Bill Gates was still 2 years removed from high school when he quit Harvard.
Socialist organization? No, socialist would be having an outside entity (gov't or otherwise) telling a private organization how they should hire and what their requirements should be. The great thing about living in this country is we give private employers the right to set their own hiring standards as long as they don't discriminate.
My goodness!
Ignorant private organization that institutes a rule encouraging the best in their profession to go elsewhere...
Oh, and the "great thing" you listed..."as long as they don't discriminate" is a rule instituted by the federal govt on employers. That meets your definition of socialism. Are you sure you have a good grasp of socialism?
TritonHawkeye
Well-Known Member
In all due respect, minimum age requirements are not something that are new to our society. There are requirements on minimum age from starting elementary education, movie viewership, driving, voting, drinking, military or running for public office.
Enforcing a minimum age requirement on professional sports would not be unprecedented and in most cases is the norm. I think there is a strong argument to be made on moving the minimum age of professional sports to something closer to 21. Unlike the military there is not the structure for the young adult in the NBA or NFL outside of their time playing. These young adults are surrounded by men, many of whom could be of not the best influence. There is a strong case to say that a 16, 17, 18 or even 19 year old is not qualified to deal with adult pressures and situations the same as someone in their early 20’s.
trj
Well-Known Member
Very good thread. It is nice to see an NBA discussion on here without someone interjecting with, "the league is full of thugs"," haven't watched since Jordan", "don't play defense" etc., etc. Those few that did put up strong arguments on why they feel the way they do.
I am all for a two year requirement, 3-yr requirement whatever it takes to make the game of basketball better. The NCAA tournament is compelling because what is at stake, but these games have not been very well played for a decade or so. No, I am not the "watch women's basketball because they are fundamentally better" guy because I enjoy the game being played above the rim. That being said it is frustrating watching these kids play without knowing what to do, how to play, getting by strictly on athleticism. Equally frustrating is watching these kids with potential crash and burn in the NBA because they lack guidance on and off the court.
Boss got killed in this thread, but I do not think he is completely wrong on this. People who disagreed with boss are not wrong either, discussion about about race has become literally and figuratively black and white. There seems to be no middle ground, no gray area, it is racist or it is not. I think the two year requirement has a lot of gray area.
I am all for a two year requirement, 3-yr requirement whatever it takes to make the game of basketball better. The NCAA tournament is compelling because what is at stake, but these games have not been very well played for a decade or so. No, I am not the "watch women's basketball because they are fundamentally better" guy because I enjoy the game being played above the rim. That being said it is frustrating watching these kids play without knowing what to do, how to play, getting by strictly on athleticism. Equally frustrating is watching these kids with potential crash and burn in the NBA because they lack guidance on and off the court.
Boss got killed in this thread, but I do not think he is completely wrong on this. People who disagreed with boss are not wrong either, discussion about about race has become literally and figuratively black and white. There seems to be no middle ground, no gray area, it is racist or it is not. I think the two year requirement has a lot of gray area.
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Guess we just see it very different. The NBA tried to push this during the latest CBA but the players wouldn't agree to it. The only thing the players agreed to was to form a committee to discuss it in the future.
If they didn't need to be sold on it you would think they would have just agreed to it last winter.
Veterns do control the union but they were once rookies coming into the league too. And yes the union will always have things in place to protect players with many years in the league. However, you get to that high number of years in the league a lot faster if you're not spending 2-3 years in college.
Do you honestly think that the NBA's elite such as Kobe, Lebron, Howard, Rose, Paul, Wade, & Durant are going to support an age minimum when only one current elite player spent more than one year in college? They're not union higher-ups but when the spoke up last winter, the NBA and the player reps listened.
sportstalent
Well-Known Member
Just a couple of random thoughts here. Increasing the requirement gets agents further away from kids, remember they are kids. It also takes some of the family arguments and parents pushing their kids to get to the NBA so soon out of the equation.
There are players that are gifted enough to get to the NBA without college, but they are few and far between. The kids jumping to high school is what has eroded the NBA and driven me away until recently. There were too many kids going that weren't ready, but they had so much "potential" that they were drafted so high. Far too many failures compared to successes.
For every Kobe Bryant there are three Martell Webster's out there. For every Kevin Garnett there are three Kwame Brown's out there. It was a terrible thought then and it is still a terrible thought for basketball. The few that have became elite compared to those that were even contributors is not comparable.
In my opinion, this would help both in the end.
My last question: How many players on the original "Dream Team" played less than two years of college ball?
There are players that are gifted enough to get to the NBA without college, but they are few and far between. The kids jumping to high school is what has eroded the NBA and driven me away until recently. There were too many kids going that weren't ready, but they had so much "potential" that they were drafted so high. Far too many failures compared to successes.
For every Kobe Bryant there are three Martell Webster's out there. For every Kevin Garnett there are three Kwame Brown's out there. It was a terrible thought then and it is still a terrible thought for basketball. The few that have became elite compared to those that were even contributors is not comparable.
In my opinion, this would help both in the end.
My last question: How many players on the original "Dream Team" played less than two years of college ball?
Why does it matter how long the Dream Team played in college? That was a different era.
bighawkeyedaddy
Well-Known Member
If you are 18 you are old enough to sign a contract, be done with it at that. Someone can die in battle at that age but aren't mature enough to play in the NBA? If you think you can hack it and you leave early and can't, tough crap, that is life. If you don't make it, tough luck, that was your decision. That is what the rest of us face in this world.
SamsonHawk515
Well-Known Member
Obama = Stern = Socialism. This is a democracy we live in people you should be able to choose your own destiny at any age in life. If a player is good enough for the NBA at any age they should be able to begin their career. An age requirement for any sport is a joke. USA #1
you are right no reason for anyone to go to college. if you are a capable teacher out of hs then just give them a job instead of having them get a degree first.
the nba, nfl, mlb, all of them are employers and as such can set prerequisite things their employees need to work for them just like any other employer. in fact with the amount of money these pros make they probably should have a degree so they know not to **** it all away.
yes, the skill sets for teachers and professional athletes are so similar.
obviously you dont get the point as you are focusing on the wrong information. i could use any job: plumber, doctor, etc. the point is the employer can choose what you must have to be eligible for the job. some places want more. you can look at the nba as saying they want 1 or 2 or whatever yrs of internship at a college or overseas league before you can apply.
GhostofBTT
Banned
There is even an age requirement to be in Congress. Of course, that is absurd, because the only thing you need to be elected to Congress is a child-like mind.
sportstalent
Well-Known Member
If I have to explain it to you then you have already missed the point.
Here is a short/simple explanation though:
When you look at that team, there will never be another team like that assembled. Take look at how many of those players were/are either elite and/or HOF'ers.
The NBA began to crumble after the olympic team in 2000. When the high schoolers and unproven foreign players began to dominate the draft, this started earlier, but around that time. There wern't too many stars taken when this began. You have more exceptions rather than rules. The last few years as the players have started to attend college have made the game better, the talent is deeper as they have developed or not.
Think about a player like Savlik Randolph, who would have been a high pick out of high school, but goes to Duke, is not worth they hype, still leaves anyway and is a nobody and I don't remember if he was even drafted.
It just makes sense to see these kids, again kids, against real competition not high school kids to get a better feel for who they are. Again, not all players are Kobe/LeBron/Garnett as they are on a whole different level to begin with.
Say what you want, but the erosion of the NBA coinceded with losing in the Olympics, high schoolers and foreign players dominating the draft. When people talk about how the rest of the world caught up with the USA, it is a farce. The USA fooled everyone by thinking the NBA was the deepest and most elite league in the world. It simply was not the case, but it is beginnig to change again and will do more if kids go to college for longer periods of time, or don't enter the NBA and become lottery picks when they clearly aren't ready or proven.
