mook

sorry, I didn't mean to be insulting. I didn't realize you actually do feel it's pretty important, or I wouldn't have been so flippant. I was thinking back to some Ed O debate or another that went on excruciatingly, debating every last minutia.

I do agree it would be a hardship for a very few individuals. for 19 year old uber athletes (a pretty small group) who are trying to pull their families out of poverty (probably 1/4-1/3 of all teens who could be in the draft) it'll be tough going for an extra year. for the even smaller subset of these kids who get injured and are consequently unable to enter the draft ever (probably 1/10 of the aforementioned), it'll be catastrophic.

of course these few kids count, as all people should. but as cold as it might sound, I just can't bring my own liberal bleeding heart to get too excited about them. Travis Outlaw's years of bumbling have hardened me, I guess.

andalusian

If this is a real issue, in my opinion, the NBA and the union should agree on a different pay scale and length of contract for rookies that are under 20, as well as what happens to them when they get to 20. This would solve any "ethical" issues anyone should have and solve the problem of players that are not ready. Otherwise - I really do not see how anyone can find issues with a requirement to prove oneself against real competition before an employer commits millions of dollars to you.