Is Basketball Hurt by One-and-Done?

Photo: espn.go.com

- Adam Parker 


This topic has always been on the back burner, but recently, it has started to gain substantial steam once again.
Are the current one-and-done settings a good thing for basketball?
It's an extremely rare thing anymore (almost as rare as a Cubs' World Series appearances...sorry couldn't resist) to see any college basketball star play out all four years of eligibility on a college campus. The days of the four-year lettermen like the Tim Duncans and Brandon Roys have widely become a thing of the past.
I personally have always found pros and cons to both sides of the coin on this issue, but let's delve a little deeper into it.
So which is it? Is basketball helped or hindered with the one-and-done rule?
That's a matter of opinion.
The problem with trying to fit this topic into a box is that every guy's situation coming out of high school is unique.
Most players who come out after one year seem to do it because they need the money an NBA career provides to help support their families sooner rather than later.
I imagine most young basketball phenoms with NBA futures play college ball because they're required to be at least 19 years old and one year removed from high school before they can become eligible to declare for the NBA Draft under the league's current collective bargaining agreement guidelines.
The pros for increasing the minimum age limit for both the NBA and NCAA from an organizational standpoint are plentiful. Additional years in college for star players helps the universities keep the interest in their programs high, thereby increasing their potential to create a dynasty.
In terms of positives for the NBA, the teams would be drafting closer to finished products -- both physically and mentally.
There are many voices in the room trying to sort through this predicament, most notably those of NBA Commissioner David Stern and the always boisterous and outspoken Dallas Mavericks' owner Mark Cuban.
Stern, along with countless other NBA executives, were pushing for an increase of the minimum age requirement to 20 and the institution of a 'two-and-through' rule before potential NBA prospects are permitted to declare for the draft.
Cuban agrees with the sentiments, but wants to take it a year farther, thereby making the minimum age limit 21 years old and three years removed from high school graduation before the players can make the jump to the NBA.
Cuban's opinion is based on the business side of the NBA, but would also help the NCAA substantially too. Cuban believes that requiring a three-year wait to declare for the NBA draft would prevent players from making potentially poor decisions that affect the rest of their lives, as well as help fight corruption in the sport among player agents.
But Cuban is also looking out for the young players because let's be honest, not all lottery picks work out.  The average NBA career is 4.5 years. What happens when the money runs out and you only have one-fourth of your college degree to show potential employers? After all, just because your NBA career may have ended prematurely, it doesn't mean the bills are going to stop showing up.
Cuban may have a big mouthpiece, but you've got to admit he makes a pretty strong case.
But what about the players that aren't "college material?" Cuban had an answer for that as well: "I think we just put them in the D-League for three years and then they become draft eligible with their class."


Playing professionally overseas is also an option.
"They could go to Europe if they want, like Brandon Jennings. That'd be fine."
All that being said, however, there are no legitimate efforts being made at the moment to change the draft-eligibility rules, at least not in the immediate future. The league may want to increase the age limit, but the players' union isn't willing to talk about it unless the owners are up to making compromises elsewhere.
So for now, the two sides are at a stalemate and we're left to our own thoughts of what we think the age limit should be.
So, what do you think? Do you agree with the current rule? Or is it time to make a change to a 'two-and-through' or even a 'three-and-free' plan?
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