03 June, 2017
The one-and-done rule has been one of the biggest travesties in sports, a well-intended but misguided piece of legislation that has nearly single-handedly destroyed college basketball and made a mockery of our higher education system. "It's one or the other". They're not happy with the current system.
"I have no doubt at some point we'll turn back to it, but at least in my last discussions with our owners on this, majority said let's keep focusing on the health of these 30 teams and the quality of the competition", he said.
"It drives me insane", Silver said at his press conference prior to Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
Silver, who reiterated that part of the league's new collective bargaining agreement was created to incentivize players to re-sign with their own teams, sees it differently. Players need to be 19 years old or one year out of high school before being eligible for the NBA Draft.
Silver acknowledged there is benefit to sitting out players to get a better look at younger players.
"It's a sad state of affairs", Silver said.
When asked about how he felt about the NBA's two biggest problems, bad teams tanking and star players resting, commissioner Silver responded like he probably should have, "it drives me insane". "This year, the projection is that we're going to have 20 one-and-done players coming and actually being drafted".
Silver's comments won't surprise anyone who's watched the Ben Simmons' documentary "One and Done".
One one hand, players resting during the season both decreases the chance of injury and increases the quality of play.
Simmons didn't belong in college.
Acknowledging the failure of the age minimum is the first step here, and it's a revelation that the National Basketball Association commissioner has reached that point.
It will be interesting where Adam Silver goes with this and it is a good thing he said something about the issue. His entire tenure at LSU lasted less than 10 months. "I think it's, first of all, a little unfair to him to blame him for the lack of so-called competitive balance at the moment in the league", Silver said Wednesday on ESPN's Mike & Mike.
Silver also tried to put the rest issue into better historical context - guys were rested in the past, they were just listed as out with a sore ankle/back/whatever.
"In essence, it's a half-and-done, in a way".
With a solid core led by three senior guards and some much-needed frontcourt help on the way, Hurley opted to sign three transfers who will have to sit out a season instead of finding graduate transfers who could play right away. It works fine for baseball, and the sport at the collegiate level is becoming more popular every year.
"One of the ways we're going to solve the problem is we agreed with the union to add a week to the regular season for next year", Silver said, referring to the recent CBA negotiations.
"I think it's one of those issues that we need to come together and study". "And as I've said before, I don't think we should just focus on 18 to 19, I think we got to look younger, at the whole AAU system".