EVERY job has a learning curve. In EVERY job, experience makes you a better employee. EVERY employer expects to lose money on EVERY new employee. I don't understand how this is a difficult concept to accept when it comes to NBA rookies. Whether they are 18, 19, or 20 EVERY player needs time to develop. Raising the age limit isn't going to change that. I don't think it's debatable where players develop faster and more efficiently because the NBA rules are different than college, the NBA actually offers them more playing time (82+ games vs 35+) and more practice time (no classes) against better competition with better coaching. All of youse who support this do it selfishly because you don't want to see a young player developing (or not developing) on the bench, taking up a roster spot, and cap space. Why should it bother you? It's a gamble your team took and you must take with them. And this fundamentals and teamwork talk? That's trash. You sound like someone who defending the NCAA game against the NBA, talking about how they hate watching the NBA and would prefer to watch the NCAA. How did a young Lebron did what he did without fundamentals? Is it possible that he already had them and that they developed further in the NBA? The only people age limits help are the NBA owners and the NCAA. The first save money on the players and the second make money off the players. Is there any point in discussing anything else when that is a fact?
SamAmicoFSO Sam Amico A certain sports network is trying to paint end of NBA lockout as player victory, per orders from management. But owners won. In landslide. SamAmicoFSO Sam Amico NBA GM says he felt coverage of lockout slanted strongly toward players. "I like most NBA writers. But labor law is not your strong point."
What are you talking about? Who says it isn't about money? The point is that why pay a 19 year old kid to develop in the nba while getting paid a hefty chunk of change, when all you are doing is helping him get to the BIG money faster. That makes sense for the kid, sure, but it doesn't HELP the nba one iota. It also doesn't help the franchise who drafted the player because they are less developed than they would be had the had two seasons of college basketball. It's also esoteric to assume the nba is a better place to develop than college. You can't quantify that one way or the other.
And fans. If a team drafts Kobe at 18, the fans get a fairly crappy player who can then leave just as he's becoming great at age 22 if he wants. If they draft Kobe at 21, they get a more developed player that can contribute immediately and get him to age 26 at minimum. The worst thing for fans of a crappy team is to have to draft a player that needs to be developed and then know they are going to suck for yet another year. But teams have to do it if high schoolers can go to the NBA because they don't want to miss on the next superstar.
I hope the two-year rule is true. Not that I don't spend a crazy amount of time watching NBA basketball already, but college basketball would be a more compelling product to watch. I'd have to make additional time for it.
Lebron is gifted physically, but doesn't have the skills and dedication to the game that greats such as MJ, Tim Duncan, Hakeem, or Kobe has. Physical prowess is just one half of the equation.
I think they should have a college education, but the current system really does not do much. They can barely goto class, have others do work, as long as they get D- on their grades, they can carry forward. IT is college, but it is not hte education that we associate to college. So don't say college is equal to an education for the basketball players What it does do is develop their fundamental skills and coachability. They have to play against a zone, develop fundamental aspects needed for a slower game and that is better for the NBA and faster results for them. I don't like seeing NBA players use the league to learn the basics, growth occurs, btu not like that in the league Also, the only real cure for the college game is to take the model of Ivyl eague basketball. That is the only true, not corrupted form of the college game. No under table deals, no cut backs for players, they spend time in the classroom, have htose demands, and then only games on weekends. They are amateurs and should be treated as such not flying to hawaii during school days. Otherwise, if a player has no interest, I think they should have the right to do it. For the sake of the NBA product, I think the NBA has the right to put a minimum age. Thus players can go overseas or NBADL, they can get paid, work on fundamentals, and also appreciate what they have in the NBA when they get there
The guy IS dedicated to the game, as his game has evolved year in and year out, and he's skillful. He was one of the league's best midrange jumpshooters by the numbers last year, something that is a lost art in this league. He's FINALLY putting in some work for his post game this past offseason, but he has improved each and every year. Lebron's problem is selfishness. The guy can just be passive at times in the most important moments of the game. The greatests don't care what other people think and just do work. That's what Lebron has to become: more selfish in the 4th (like v. Bulls/Celts). If he can be like that consistently, there is no limit to how great he will be.
I'm still wondering why the "pro owner, players are idiots and to blame" crowd is so silent on this matter. These folks were ready to kill the players for holding things up a few days ago. WHAT SAY YOU NOW???
+1. However, I do agree with those that Hunter and Co should have pulled this stunt months ago. They should all know that the owners didn't want to negotiate in good faith. Waste of time.
Wow! Running around out of town during the Thanksgiving holiday, get home, and discover THE LOCKOUT IS OVER!! There's a light at the end of the tunnel, and it ain't a train! I'm so excited!! YES!!!
Are you kidding me? He is skillful, but his footwork is still off. I've never seen a player travel like he does. He has great vision, but his midrange jump shot is still shaky, streaky, and undependable basically. He improved his mechanics, but I recall Rick berry say I ahve never seen so many fundamental awareness and flaws in a superstar with that experience. Basic off ball things and tricks of the trade that most of the high awareness guys know, lebron still lacks and thati is apart of his approach. Read shaq talk about Kobe spending all his day in the video room breaking apart each play, studying each move. Phil says jordan was obsessed with details too. Lebron is lookign for a movie or a commercial or something. He has improved every year, but has more holes and got away for it for as long as I have seen. We saw in the USA basketball game where his athleticism deemed him still useful, but against a zone and when the game was on the line, it was either Carmelo or Kobe who had the ball, not the guy who youcouldn't depend on since he couldnt break the zone without nba rules and rely on his drive and kick that he does in the league all day
They can try and spin it as much as they want, But after the first 2 years of the new CBA are over the players are going to feel the pain like a grown man getting circumcised.
