The NBA's commissioner, Adam Silver, is hoping that the "one-and-done" rule will no longer be in play by the time the 2022 draft rolls around. It was Thursday at an event in Washington D.C. that Silver explained that while both the league and the Players Association have been actively discussing the one-and-done topic, there are still a few years in the buffer zone that precedes actual change.
According to Silver, the 2022 Draft deadline will allow for the NBA to work closely with the Players Association and USA Basketball along with a number of other organizations so that younger players are better prepared when deciding to join the league. According to Silver, pushing the projected date for the 2022 Draft up any sooner would be unjust in regard to teams who have already made trades that involve draft picks.
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Freeing the league of the one-and-done rule would eliminate the stipulations that require that all players spend at least one year in college before becoming eligible for the draft. Silver admits, however, that only half of the league's teams are welcoming of the idea to draft players straight out of high school.
"You could argue that in the pure self-interest of the NBA, we're better being at 19 or 20," he said. "If you ask an NBA GM who has to scout those players and make a really difficult decision on who they should draft, in many cases, they would much rather see that player having competed against top-notch competition in college for two years or even three years than just in high school, where it's more difficult to tell."
He also went on to note the hypocrisy of the rule: "It's hard, I think, if you're that parent or guardian to say to that player, it's more important that you go to three more classes as opposed to prepare for a really important decision," he adds. "I think that's where the hypocrisy lies."