AboveLegit

Ouch.

Like every job in this world, you have to be qualified. If you cannot meet the requirements of that work place, you can't be hired. Same thing applies to the NBA. lol, good joke.. Once again, no one is recognizing the fact that the CBA is wanting to extend a players' time in the college game. This current proposal has nothing to do with high school players entering the league.. Am I the only one who realizes the NCAA has no bearing whatsoever on the CBA? Iif you're going to cry murder over these 4 guys in last 13 yrs being snubbed for a couple of years, we have covered that already. A really talented player who spends 2 yrs in college always comes out ready to play, a borderline allstar, which they are happy to do in 2 yrs of NBA anyways. Only difference is, do we help out 3-4 guys every generation (are we really helping them..? jury is out.. they do certainly benefit from national exposure on college stage and certainly earn more in endorsements as soon as they enter), or do we screw over 30-40 guys in the same time period? I am not a proponent of screwing young athletes, rather I don't like seeing the likes of: Ndudi Ebi, Outlaw, Kwame, Green, Leon Smith, Telfair, James Lang, Leon Smith.. blowing away really promising careers, by not being mature enough and by listening to uneducated amateurs around them. And not to forget medium range guys who may or may not end up being busts but had enough talent and ability to come out of college as stars and get really high rookie contracts, as rookie contracts for top picks pay 15-20 mil... instead of pocket change they've been getting, but also who could have polished their skills in college and gotten heavy minutes and a chance right away instead of getting 5-10 mins per.. guys like: Blatche, C.J. Miles, Louis Williams, Amir Johnson, Shaun Livingson, Robert Swift, J.R. Smith, Dorell Wright...And this is just since 2003.

Great....not much to look forward to over the summer.

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Another reason I forgot to state is that it rolls back salaries in terms of years. Owners prefer paying a guy whose closer to his prime, understanding that the first couple of seasons they won't get a major return on their investment before they have to re-up. It's also easier to market a guy who has played a few years of college rather than a player who's coming out of high school. With someone like Griffin or Wall, the average fan understands how good they are. It doesn't have anything to do with scouting, most scouts already have a good feel for these players' potential. When a team drafts a high school player, it's much more difficult telling fans that "he's a good pick, trust us". to assure people of buying tickets and merchandise. Not sure if you're serious here. I don't want to turn this into an argument about specific players, but you completely got it wrong. You are under the impression that Bird was just a shooter, Dr. J was just a dunker, and Jerry West was just a guy who happened to hit a few lucky shots at the buzzer. Why is it that the quality of centers has plummeted to the point where we're considering guys with no offensive skill such as Kendrick Perkins in the top 10 for his position? Now, while there is an abundance of physically talented 7'0 footers that have come into the league recently, only a select few have developed into good players. Back when Hakeem, Patrick Ewing, Shaq, Duncan, Kareem, and guys like that came into the NBA, they had 2, 3 or 4 years of college development (and no AAU experience) that allowed them to immediately dominate in the NBA. lol that's not the point I'm trying to make. The reason why the NFL has been the most successful and profitable sport is because of the talent it puts out. Sure the average person would probably prefer football over basketball anyway, but it doesn't negate from the fact that the sport itself has done a tremendous job developing it's young talent and assuring teams that what they are getting most of the time, is solid players. The two year rule has done wonders for these players, as it would for the NBA. It is my understanding that the NFL has an age limit (not to even mention non guaranteed contracts, NBA players' union would just have a collective heart attack on the spot if this were to ever be raised), while baseball has a great farm system in place. Is it just a coincidence that baseball and football have such a strong and loyal base of fans even though they are going though 10 times the scandals (and on a greater scale.. I mean.. congressional hearings? heh) than the NBA and yet nothing can turn off the fans? Is it possibly the quality of the product? With the NBA raising it's quality of their product, it leads to more interest, more fans, more sponsors, and more international interest. Owners get even more rich to pay higher sums to the athletes they want via FA, and ultimately, more money in both the owners' and athletes' pockets... better product + more interest = more marketing/ advertising opportunities for the athletes = more money for athletes. How can someone just say athletes are being robbed out of their money when the league decides to improve its product and raise its standard!? So explain to me why TV ratings for march madness this year are the highest since 2005? Keep in mind the CBA didn't establish the age limit till AFTER the tourney. And you have YET to fully understand my point. It's not JUST players coming out of high school, it's about players that leave early from school. The MAJORITY of players are not fit to enter the league where their game is so raw and unpolished. Yes, because I KNOW the NCAA has nothing to do with this....and you have given me no reason to think otherwise... Your comparison was totally irrelevant, I simply replied to your bogus statement that basketball players do not need to educate themselves.

Title says it all.

What you are not understanding is the effect this has on the QUALITY of the game. How is it that of all of the pro sports, it is only basketball that people even question the talent of today compared to yesterday. Even the NFL players of 15 years ago get destroyed by todays players. What has changed so drastically in the NBA that has caused this decline of overall talent. It isn't that more people are playing soccer.... Basketball has grown faster internationally than any other sport. My theory, is that the youth movement, through both AAU and a lack of college restrictions has led to a decline in the game. That just hasn't developed and you convince me as to why. Other than saying that they were the greatest. Why aren't todays greatest AS great? Whats the missing link? I can't argue with you that guys that were talented enough to make the jump in a couple of situations have done better than many who don't, but thats not entirely the big picture. My biggest point is that those players were NOT ready for the NBA WHEN THEY CAME OUT. Regardless of what their careers have brought, they were not the players near their prime that they should have been and would have been if they came out later. The reason that that is detrimental is because it sets back franchises that are already the worse in the league. Before I go any further, what is the most profitable and popular sport in America, the NFL. What has the NFL truly established in the last 10 years? Jermaine O'Neal is the perfect example of what I'm talking about. He was drafted out of high school and essentially spent his first 4 years in the NBA doing the development he should have been doing in college for 4 years. He was NOT NBA ready, even though he had the makeup of an eventual all star. So what happens? Portland pays him millions of dollars to develop his skills for 4 years, so that he can get out of his contract when he was ACTUALLY ready to contribute so that he could become an all star on Indiana. Now, I know that you will tell me that GM's should know better and shouldn't have drafted him, but the cycle that has now been created has left the college ranks so dry because of early entrants, the only thing NBA franchises have left to choose from is "talented" but untested freshman and sophomores, rather than proven AND skilled upperclassmen ready to contribute at elite levels. LOL is that why tv ratings are up 11% from last year from the tourney? No matter what, fans love the college game, especially those that attend universities that are top ranked basketball programs. I don't think you fully grasped the concept of a CBA...You do realize the NBA is instituting all of this, the NCAA while gladly would accept the opportunity to play these talented kids, have no part in this decision. Yes, just tell that to Latrell Sprewell, Kenny Anderson, and even Scottie Pippen.... Don't be stupid, everyone needs to be educated, it doesn't matter who you are. Come back to me when you actually have an open mind about this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7bXwIdn7MM http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/04/11/charlie-villanueva-snaps-on-court-tries-to-carry-fight-to-locker-room

Celtics in 5...I would have much rather liked to see the Knicks play the Heat, I think it favors them more than the Celtics match up because Amare won't get his way with KG like he would with Bosh. Pierces loves to play in MSG, I'd be surprised if the Knicks got more than a game in this series.

Yes, because for every John Wall or Derrick Rose, there's a ton of unproven talent that forces teams to draft potential busts. The age limit, along with this new proposal reduces this issue to an extent, which only helps the quality of draft prospects. I'd rather have ready made, complete players available...especially as a Wizards fan who's had his fair share of disappointments when it comes to the draft. This just simply has not been the case since the influx of early entry players began. Again, there are exceptions, but there are more examples of failed talent because of direct jumps. I'm sick of seeing players being drafted based on potential, especially with the way the league is today.

Well it's all set, the Celtics will play the Knicks in the playoffs. Great effort tonight, love the intensity, and what a way to close out the last home game of the season. Dray is playing great as is McGee, Crawford, and Wall. John still hasn't been hitting his shot consistently, but he's staying aggressive and getting to the line.

Or because the NBA thought it would be beneficial to the players to play a year at the college level to mature and develop..

We need to lose this game, but Doc isn't doing us any favors by resting the starting line up... :/

Yup, and it's probably going to get worse with Barnes probably going back to school.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=mc-austin_rivers_nba_age_limit_duke_draft_040811

Apparently he's going pro. http://twitter.com/#!/NBADraftInsider

http://twitter.com/#!/goodmanonfox/status/57552398159319040 Great...one less option for the Wiz to choose from...this draft is getting weaker by the day.

Again, Rondo finally gets in the paint, and instantly the offense becomes that much better. 9-0 run for the Celtics. I know some of it had to do with missed shots in the first half, but Rajon should've kept the game under his control. When he dictates the tempo of this offense, they win games.

Why is Glen Davis the focal point of the offense when Ray is on the floor? We've hardly seen Ray run those baseline cuts today, there's absolutely no flow to this offense. I don't know how many times I've seen Big Baby hold the ball for 10 seconds, and throwing up junk. Pathetic performance today, I'm actually somewhat worried about them in the first round against Philly or NYK...

Before that block, did anyone else notice how much better the Celtics looked when Rondo decided to play more aggressively? He's the key if the Celtics plan on coming back in this one.

Never seen the Celtics play this lazy in such a crucial game.

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Boston has 9 rebs as a team...They desperately need Shaq healthy if they plan on beating Miami.. Rondo needs to penetrate into the lane more, he hasn't done shit in the first half.

He's only mad that Rondo dived for the ball near his ankles..