The NBA and its players’ union are already quarrelling over income splits, contract guarantees, payroll caps, revenue sharing and myriad other financial issues. There’s another issue that will crop up when the sides get down to brass tacks, though. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! reports that while the players want to end the NBA’s age minimum, approved in 2005 collective bargaining, team owners are pushing to make it a two-year delay between players’ high school graduation and entry to the NBA draft (via PBT).
One-And-Done Rule Latest Touchpoint In NBA Labor Struggles
Several high-ranking NBA team executives told Yahoo! Sports they wouldn’t be surprised if the age limit in the new CBA is pushed to two years in college and 20 years old by the end of that calendar year. One NBA general manager says about two-thirds of teams are in favor of that change. The current CBA states that an American must be out of high school for at least one year and be 19 years old by the end of that calendar year before entering the draft.
The NBA began restricting new players by age as of the 2006 NBA Draft. Previous to that, high school players had increasingly dotted the top five of the draft. Kwame Brown, LeBron James and Dwight Howard were picked No. 1 straight out of high school, and it's likely others -- like Greg Oden or Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans and John Wall -- could have followed.
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