Get Ready: 'Cause Here They Come
The "Basketball for Thought" is a commentary by Kris Gardner.July 2001
In last month's NBA Draft, four of the first eight selections were high school seniors. People complained the NBA was turning into a league which would need baby sitters because more and more younger and younger players were being drafted. Well, drafting kids who are high school seniors is one thing; however, prepare yourselves: high school underclassmen making themselves eligible for the Draft could be just around the corner.
The NBA's stance on drafting high school players is defined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement as: a person residing within the United States whose high school class has graduated shall become eligible to be selected in an NBA Draft if he renounces his intercollegiate basketball eligibility by written notice to the NBA at least 45 days prior to such Draft. Obviously, the key terms for this discussion are "has graduated".
LeBron James, 6'7", high school sophomore from St. Vincent - St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio, may challenge those 2 little words. LeBron is widely considered the top sophomore in the country and; he's apparently so talented some people believe he would have been a first round selection in last month's Draft. (Remember: LeBron doesn't become a junior in high school until this fall.)
It's not a guarantee LeBron will challenge the NBA's rules on declaring for the Draft; but, it is something he is beginning to think about.
While attending one of the top invitational only camps (the ABCD Camp), LeBron said, "It's something that I have to consider. I try not to think about it and just concentrate on what I'm here to do."
LeBron's mom doesn't necessarily want him to go pro before he graduates from high school; but, she simply wants what's best for her son. That desire for him to be happy could open a huge Pandora's box which the NBA has been afraid to discuss in the past.
Despite the league's insistence that a player's high school class has to graduate before a player can be eligible for the Draft, what court of law would ultimately deny a young person his ability to earn a living in a non-licensed profession. I'm no legal expert; and, in fact, that reference to "non-licensed profession" was mentioned on my website's message board by a guy who's studying to become a lawyer; however, I really don't see how the league has the proverbial leg to stand on in this matter if and when they're taken to court.
I won't argue the pros and cons about high school kids declaring for the Draft because I've made my point many times before: as long as a kid is mentally and physically ready for the NBA, he should be allowed to enter the Draft.
My problem is with the hypocrisy of many involved on both sides of the debate. The NBA doesn't want these kids in the league; yet, while they continue to seek an age limit for the Draft, every team in the league attends the top AAU / high school camps which feature this country's top high school talent; and, I'm sure every NBA scout knows who LeBron James is as well as seen him play at least once. Therefore, if more and more scouts are present at more and more high school events, then why should people expect the top basketball players to attend college after graduating from high school? Basically, the league has one viewpoint while the teams clearly have another viewpoint. Every general manager that says "I'd rather not scout high school kids." has sent his team's scouts to look at high school kids. Teams are looking for the next Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady, or Kobe Bryant; so, they don't seem concerned with Commissioner David Stern's hope for an age limit being implemented.
Honestly, if the league wanted to put an end to high school kids declaring for the Draft, they could stop attending high school games and / or events, period. If the kids didn't see the scouts (it's kind of hard to not know a scout because they tend to stand out in the crowd), then the "skipping college and heading for the pros" talk would die. Unfortunately, if the owners unilaterally did that, then someone (perhaps the National Basketball Players Association) would argue collusion.
A solution needs to be met. If LeBron doesn't take the NBA to court, then someone else (possibly Kendrick Perkins from Beaumont Ozen in Texas?) will. The question isn't if a high school underclassman will challenge the league; but, who will challenge and when? Yes, the game will suffer; but, gloom and doom won't come any quicker for the league because teenagers entering the league just means we'll have more time to watch their lack of fundamentals as compared to the current group of players.
