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College Experience and the Draft
« on: March 04, 2015, 11:11:23 AM »

Offline DefenseWinsChamps

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This is my idea to encourage NBA prospects to stay in school while giving them the opportunity to go directly into the NBA. This could help the NCAA, appease the player's association, and raise the quality of the game in the NBA, especially for rookies.

1. Do away with the one year rule. Players are allowed to go straight from high school to the NBA.
2. Lower the rookie scale so that the first pick receives 500,000 dollars a year, and every pick after that descends.
3. Give an incentive for having college experience. For example, let's assume a player was selected first and receives a base salary of 500,000 dollars a year. For each year of experience he has at college, he gets more money.
- no experience 500,000 a year
- one year at college 2,000,000 a year
- two years at college 3,000,000 a year
- three years at college 5,000,000 a year
- four years at college 7,000,000 a year
4. Give an incentive for having experience in a foreign league. In order to encourage students to go to college instead of playing overseas right after high school (Jennings, Mudiay), give less incentive on the front end for each year of foreign experience.
- no experience 500,000 a year
- one year in a foreign pro league 1,000,000 a year
- two years 2,000,000 a year
- three years 5,000,000 a year
- four years 7,000,000 a year

This would take a lot of comprises between the player's association and NBA to get done, but the strength is this: Instead of making rules and forcing players to attend college, you give incentives to make them want to go to college and get a degree. This would hopefully create better people in the NBA and a better product for the NBA.

« Last Edit: March 04, 2015, 11:20:21 AM by DefenseWinsChamps »

Re: College Experience and the Draft
« Reply #1 on: March 04, 2015, 11:26:51 AM »

Offline Csfan1984

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Horrible for the players.

Re: College Experience and the Draft
« Reply #2 on: March 04, 2015, 11:32:25 AM »

Offline D.o.s.

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Horrible for the players.

Horrible for the owners, too. Also, how does this interact with second round draft picks or other undrafted guys who don't have guaranteed deals?
At least a goldfish with a Lincoln Log on its back goin' across your floor to your sock drawer has a miraculous connotation to it.

Re: College Experience and the Draft
« Reply #3 on: March 04, 2015, 11:34:17 AM »

Offline slamtheking

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This is my idea to encourage NBA prospects to stay in school while giving them the opportunity to go directly into the NBA. This could help the NCAA, appease the player's association, and raise the quality of the game in the NBA, especially for rookies.

1. Do away with the one year rule. Players are allowed to go straight from high school to the NBA.
2. Lower the rookie scale so that the first pick receives 500,000 dollars a year, and every pick after that descends.
3. Give an incentive for having college experience. For example, let's assume a player was selected first and receives a base salary of 500,000 dollars a year. For each year of experience he has at college, he gets more money.
- no experience 500,000 a year
- one year at college 2,000,000 a year
- two years at college 3,000,000 a year
- three years at college 5,000,000 a year
- four years at college 7,000,000 a year
4. Give an incentive for having experience in a foreign league. In order to encourage students to go to college instead of playing overseas right after high school (Jennings, Mudiay), give less incentive on the front end for each year of foreign experience.
- no experience 500,000 a year
- one year in a foreign pro league 1,000,000 a year
- two years 2,000,000 a year
- three years 5,000,000 a year
- four years 7,000,000 a year

This would take a lot of comprises between the player's association and NBA to get done, but the strength is this: Instead of making rules and forcing players to attend college, you give incentives to make them want to go to college and get a degree. This would hopefully create better people in the NBA and a better product for the NBA.
noble thought but based on the financials proposed, it's worth it for players to come out immediately.  someone out of high school would have 5.5 mill in their pocket already instead of coming out as a junior to get 5 mill.  unless I'm reading your scale wrong and those aren't the proposed increases every year in addition to the starting amounts.

Re: College Experience and the Draft
« Reply #4 on: March 04, 2015, 11:37:12 AM »

Offline DefenseWinsChamps

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Horrible for the players.

Horrible for the owners, too. Also, how does this interact with second round draft picks or other undrafted guys who don't have guaranteed deals?

I don't know about the second round picks or undrafted players. I would guess you could set up some kind of scale based on experience for them as well.

How is it horrible for the owners? In the end, I think they would be paying about the same amount for their rookie contracts.

This is not really a presentation of a finished idea. This is me throwing out a random idea and looking for input about how the general principle could work. I think the players are given the opportunity to go directly into the NBA, even if the dollar amount needs to be adjusted. Players with more experience also have the opportunity to make more money. So that works well for them too.

Re: College Experience and the Draft
« Reply #5 on: March 04, 2015, 11:39:18 AM »

Offline DefenseWinsChamps

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This is my idea to encourage NBA prospects to stay in school while giving them the opportunity to go directly into the NBA. This could help the NCAA, appease the player's association, and raise the quality of the game in the NBA, especially for rookies.

1. Do away with the one year rule. Players are allowed to go straight from high school to the NBA.
2. Lower the rookie scale so that the first pick receives 500,000 dollars a year, and every pick after that descends.
3. Give an incentive for having college experience. For example, let's assume a player was selected first and receives a base salary of 500,000 dollars a year. For each year of experience he has at college, he gets more money.
- no experience 500,000 a year
- one year at college 2,000,000 a year
- two years at college 3,000,000 a year
- three years at college 5,000,000 a year
- four years at college 7,000,000 a year
4. Give an incentive for having experience in a foreign league. In order to encourage students to go to college instead of playing overseas right after high school (Jennings, Mudiay), give less incentive on the front end for each year of foreign experience.
- no experience 500,000 a year
- one year in a foreign pro league 1,000,000 a year
- two years 2,000,000 a year
- three years 5,000,000 a year
- four years 7,000,000 a year

This would take a lot of comprises between the player's association and NBA to get done, but the strength is this: Instead of making rules and forcing players to attend college, you give incentives to make them want to go to college and get a degree. This would hopefully create better people in the NBA and a better product for the NBA.
noble thought but based on the financials proposed, it's worth it for players to come out immediately.  someone out of high school would have 5.5 mill in their pocket already instead of coming out as a junior to get 5 mill.  unless I'm reading your scale wrong and those aren't the proposed increases every year in addition to the starting amounts.

Sorry, maybe I didn't explain it well. A player directly out of high school who gets drafted first would get a four year contract at 500,000 a year. A player who  goes to four years of college and gets drafted first would receive 7,000,000 a year for four years.

Re: College Experience and the Draft
« Reply #6 on: March 04, 2015, 11:42:52 AM »

Offline bdm860

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3. Give an incentive for having college experience. For example, let's assume a player was selected first and receives a base salary of 500,000 dollars a year. For each year of experience he has at college, he gets more money.
- no experience 500,000 a year
- one year at college 2,000,000 a year
- two years at college 3,000,000 a year
- three years at college 5,000,000 a year
- four years at college 7,000,000 a year

This will probably have the opposite effect you're hoping for.  Outside of the rare transcendent talent who teams will draft no matter what, think about what happens after the first few picks.  Does a team want to draft the player who will cost them $7m a year?  Or the player who will cost them $500k per year?

Do you think Danny drafts Olynyk (does his redshirt count as a year of college?) or the high school kid who costs 93% less? (Assuming your 500k to 7m scale is a comparable multiple as the dollar amounts decrease later down the draft).


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Re: College Experience and the Draft
« Reply #7 on: March 04, 2015, 11:43:16 AM »

Offline D.o.s.

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Edit: slow typing.


Horrible for the players.

Horrible for the owners, too. Also, how does this interact with second round draft picks or other undrafted guys who don't have guaranteed deals?

I don't know about the second round picks or undrafted players. I would guess you could set up some kind of scale based on experience for them as well.

How is it horrible for the owners? In the end, I think they would be paying about the same amount for their rookie contracts.

This is not really a presentation of a finished idea. This is me throwing out a random idea and looking for input about how the general principle could work. I think the players are given the opportunity to go directly into the NBA, even if the dollar amount needs to be adjusted. Players with more experience also have the opportunity to make more money. So that works well for them too.

It's horrible for the owners because the end up paying players who aren't as good more money -- Like Slam said, the players coming straight out from high school (and if you're good enough to come straight out of high school, you're going to) are already onto their second (the big) contract at age ~24, which is what they'll want to do, because it maximizes their earnings. That second deal is always going to dwarf the rookie salary, because that's how these things work.

It also tilts the scales against the fringe players who often stay in the NCAA for four years. For example, under your new scale, JuJuan Johnson would've made $7mil a year starting salary. Does Ainge really  take a risk on that? I think not.
At least a goldfish with a Lincoln Log on its back goin' across your floor to your sock drawer has a miraculous connotation to it.

Re: College Experience and the Draft
« Reply #8 on: March 04, 2015, 11:45:15 AM »

Offline slamtheking

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This is my idea to encourage NBA prospects to stay in school while giving them the opportunity to go directly into the NBA. This could help the NCAA, appease the player's association, and raise the quality of the game in the NBA, especially for rookies.

1. Do away with the one year rule. Players are allowed to go straight from high school to the NBA.
2. Lower the rookie scale so that the first pick receives 500,000 dollars a year, and every pick after that descends.
3. Give an incentive for having college experience. For example, let's assume a player was selected first and receives a base salary of 500,000 dollars a year. For each year of experience he has at college, he gets more money.
- no experience 500,000 a year
- one year at college 2,000,000 a year
- two years at college 3,000,000 a year
- three years at college 5,000,000 a year
- four years at college 7,000,000 a year
4. Give an incentive for having experience in a foreign league. In order to encourage students to go to college instead of playing overseas right after high school (Jennings, Mudiay), give less incentive on the front end for each year of foreign experience.
- no experience 500,000 a year
- one year in a foreign pro league 1,000,000 a year
- two years 2,000,000 a year
- three years 5,000,000 a year
- four years 7,000,000 a year

This would take a lot of comprises between the player's association and NBA to get done, but the strength is this: Instead of making rules and forcing players to attend college, you give incentives to make them want to go to college and get a degree. This would hopefully create better people in the NBA and a better product for the NBA.
noble thought but based on the financials proposed, it's worth it for players to come out immediately.  someone out of high school would have 5.5 mill in their pocket already instead of coming out as a junior to get 5 mill.  unless I'm reading your scale wrong and those aren't the proposed increases every year in addition to the starting amounts.

Sorry, maybe I didn't explain it well. A player directly out of high school who gets drafted first would get a four year contract at 500,000 a year. A player who  goes to four years of college and gets drafted first would receive 7,000,000 a year for four years.
thanks for the clarification.  with that info in mind, no way player's assoc agrees to any kind of rookie deals that don't have an increase each year.  also, would be a very hard sell since the top pick each year varies in skill level and readiness for the NBA.  Lebron is the perfect example of someone ready to come into the league without college experience.  granted he's a one-of-a-kind player, but there are some that can make that leap (Dwight being another example that comes to mind).

Re: College Experience and the Draft
« Reply #9 on: March 04, 2015, 11:47:58 AM »

Offline DefenseWinsChamps

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3. Give an incentive for having college experience. For example, let's assume a player was selected first and receives a base salary of 500,000 dollars a year. For each year of experience he has at college, he gets more money.
- no experience 500,000 a year
- one year at college 2,000,000 a year
- two years at college 3,000,000 a year
- three years at college 5,000,000 a year
- four years at college 7,000,000 a year

This will probably have the opposite effect you're hoping for.  Outside of the rare transcendent talent who teams will draft no matter what, think about what happens after the first few picks.  Does a team want to draft the player who will cost them $7m a year?  Or the player who will cost them $500k per year?

Do you think Danny drafts Olynyk (does his redshirt count as a year of college?) or the high school kid who costs 93% less? (Assuming your 500k to 7m scale is a comparable multiple as the dollar amounts decrease later down the draft).

Great point. TP to you

Re: College Experience and the Draft
« Reply #10 on: March 04, 2015, 11:50:19 AM »

Offline DefenseWinsChamps

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You guys have brought up a lot of good points that I didn't think about. That's one of the reasons why I posted.

Let me ask this: Is there anything like this that can be done that would give financial incentive to go to college for four years?

Re: College Experience and the Draft
« Reply #11 on: March 04, 2015, 11:54:34 AM »

Offline D.o.s.

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You could explain the length of the average NBA career as well as the average earning potential of someone with a college degree compared to someone without, I suppose.

On the other hand, I don't think it's fair to require people to attend college if they don't want/need to be there. Not only does it cheapen the degree (as we've seen in the last ~30 years), but athletes can always have the option to go back to school once they've retired.
At least a goldfish with a Lincoln Log on its back goin' across your floor to your sock drawer has a miraculous connotation to it.