I agree with him. It helps everyone in the long run. NBA teams get more refined players in the lottery. College teams get to keep their players a few years longer. More players will stay in school (might as well, after 3 years) to finish their degree.
It's stupid. Why change what is working? USA is the gold standard in baskteball and player development...so lets change it! This is like forcing the smart students to stay on track. Even if they are smart enough to skip a grade.
I'm with Cuban on this one. At least up it to 2 years. Players can fill up 2 years with enough B.S. classes and then actually become decently rounded into NBA form.
It would also seriously elevate the D-league as the better players could skip college and play there instead. DD
I like his thoughts regarding expanding the draft and getting more value out of the d-league. Allowing the Brandon Jennings of the world participate as non-draft eligible players would generate more star power and bring some level of interest to the D-league brand. The college side is damned if you do damned if you don't. The one and dones are guns for hire anyway. If those players saw any value in their degrees they would stay in school.
I wonder how would it be decided what d-league team gets which player? How would it be decided which d-league team gets a player like Anthony Davis? A NBDL draft or is it just a free for all? Either way it'd be a pretty big change to the NBA because if you win the championship but your Dleague team sucks then you'll have a top prospect being groomed in the dleague.
As presently constructed only drafted players are under team control. So non-draft eligible players would be controlled by the d-league team until they come of age and get an NBA affiliation
i think two years is best. Plus, I like how it makes it easier to snuff out the frauds who dominated the five feet, eight inch kid.
I've always like the idea of using the baseball system for the draft. If a kid wants to come out after high school, he's more then welcome to. But if he elects to attend college, he has to stay three years. I've never been a fan of "forcing" a kid to go to college. There are certain players that are just ready for the NBA right out of high school. It's silly to pretend like sending them off to school for a years is better for them in every case.
I like the 3 year seperation from high school. Living away from home is part of growing up & maturity. College isn't all book learning. It's also learning to manage your time & money by yourself. I would prefer the college experience, but D-League & over seas leagues would be almost as effective. High school phenoms have honed their game against competition that at best is half as good as the last guy on the bench of a NBA team. Plus they have been the go-to-guy. Their idea of team ball is "give me the ball, I can score on anyone". They need the middle level of competition as a stepping stone to the NBA. When I 1st started following the NBA, I followed players that WERE the best in the world, not POTENTIALLY the best in the world.
That's not because of guys staying in college longer, that's because the world has got better. Also international sports specialize in teaching these guys to play at a pro level as young as possible if they can do it. Just look at the thousands of example in soccer and now it is happening in international basketball with guys like Rubio and even our own D-Mo. I honestly believe if we force players to go through college that internationally we are going to fall behind. One and done is perfect. Guys get their feet wet in a more team oriented, get great coaching, and if they are good enough will be lotto picks. The one and done was the answer IMO, now in the one and done era it seems rare that a #1 pick busts out. Other than Oden in recent years, all of them have had some great success.
Is Cuban saying the next Lebron has to spend 3 years in college or D league before playing in the NBA?
All this is going to do is create a "league" created by billion dollar sponsors like the "Pepsi vs Coke" league or "Nike vs. Addidas" league where guys straight out of High school can exploit their talents. Forcing a kid to stay in college only creates the kind of shennanigans weve seen in football at Auburn, USC, OSU, etc., All it takes is another LeBron and another DRose for it to happen
