(02-22-2019 09:36 PM)murphster Wrote: I've heard folks say in the past that it is a shame to not allow HS graduates to enter the draft but no one ever clarifies why this is the case. Personally, the NBA should be able to do whatever they feel is best to protect their product short of breaking the law. If they only want 25 yr olds then fine but if they want18+ yr olds then fine too. They are not keeping anyone from a job. If the rule is 19 yrs old then go to college or G-League or Lowes (nothing wrong with any of those). You cannot work till you are 16 already and some jobs like gov jobs have age restrictions. I just don't see how unfair to young players when they know the rules and have options.
The issue isn't that the NBA shouldn't be able to make it's own rules.. it's that the NBA and NCAA have a set of rules in place (supported by our governments) that basically make it borderline impossible for the 18 yr olds to have viable alternatives short of moving overseas.
In a free market, if there was a market for an NBA competitor that allowed 18 year olds then competing league would pop up. Unfortunately, the system has been rigged in ways that make it very very difficult for any alternative to compete, few examples:
1) The NCAA is a cartel that basically has the rights to all college level elite athletes - the cartel is membership based AND the fact that they are able to price-fix the cost of far below market price means they have an unbreakable cost advantage.
2) The NBA has had a series of tax advantages and anti-trust rules that allow it to operate in special ways that differ from a typical private entity - one of the craziest examples was one upon a time, and maybe still, they were able to treat player labor as depreciable assets (i.e. like machinery) - a huge tax savings when combined with several other tax mechanisms that have helped to pump up franchise values and make it difficult for a competitor unless they spend hundreds of millions lobbying for equivalent special treatment.
Basically - the NCAA/NBA have rigged the system to limit the options athletes have while at the same time maximizing their value and taking the profits. NBA players have been able to swing the pendulum back their way over the last decade but NCAA athletes are being screwed more than ever.