The NBA Draft is here and while most Syracuse Orange fans are excited to see where Tyler Lydon lands, there’s the group who believes he’s just another player leaving college too soon. Well if NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is serious about revisiting the current age rule, that latter group needs to be prepared for even more disappointment.
It sounds like Silver is willing to push to allow high school players to enter the draft. One reason why is the continuing growth of the G League (the former D League). With the news that the Washington Wizards will have their own affiliate in 18-19, it means 27 NBA teams now have affiliates. This is big because now teams can develop young players under their own coaches and systems, while also giving them meaningful game experience. Former Orange Chris McCullough was a good example of this while he was with the Brooklyn Nets last year. McCullough would work out with Brooklyn, even if most of his game experience came with the Long Island Nets.
We know the NBA Players Association is on board with the rule change, but the big question remaining is what happens to those who go to college. I think we’d see a modified MLB rule, which means players who start in college would then have to wait two years, instead of three like baseball, to be eligible for the NBA Draft. I don’t know if this is the best way to go about this because it is still restricting the players, but it seems like a compromise that all parties can agree upon. Years ago, the NBA might not have cared about what NCAA coaches wanted, but with the work of Jim Boeheim and Coach K with USA Basketball (and Coach K’s support of allowing HS players into the Draft), I suspect Silver and the players want to maintain a good working relationship. It might not be the perfect solution, but it is best for those HS players who just want to be basketball players.
If this change happens, Syracuse fans can switch from stressing about “one and done” players to stressing over “commit and declare” players instead. We know that the Orange have built up a nice run of 1st round picks recently, a run which would have looked different without the age rule. I suspect that McCullough and Dion Waiters would have been likely to jump straight from high school to the pros. Last summer’s sweating over Taurean Thompson’s commitment would have been even more intriguing had the NBA Draft been an available option for him.
So, if you’re one of the “stay in school” crowd, you should probably start preparing for the day when a committed recruit spurns the Orange for development in the G-League. The good news for you is that when players do make it to the Carrier Dome, you can relax for one season knowing they’ll be back for a second year. In the end, college basketball will survive and athletes will get the power to make the decision which works best for them.
What are your thoughts about the NBA age rule being changed? Do you think a two-year college requirement is too much, not enough, or just the right amount?