Not the colleges, not the NBA teams. But the players union has to sign off on changes.
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Players Union being the determining factor, well like any Union they like to expand membership as quickly & broadly as possible. More dues and revenue for them. So can the Union be pressured?
It’s pretty simple. If Silver really wants to change the age limit, he’ll give the union something it wants in return.
Actually, one and done doesn’t do anything for the union. NBA rosters are the same size whether players have to stay in college four years or four minutes. Teams must carry at least 13 players, but the leaguewide average must be 14 players per team; if it isn’t, the league has to make a payment to the union in compensation. So some teams are gonna carry 15, in all likelihood. And these new kids coming in are taking jobs away from established players. So it could be deemed in the interest of the rank and file players to keep those kids in college a while longer.
What the league could offer is a 15-man roster. Two or three of those would be inactive (injured, or practice squad), but they’d be getting paid whether they play or not. I bet the union would take that trade. The NBA minimum salary in 2017 is $815,000. That’s not a very expensive trade for that 15th man.
They’re adding two-way contracts for players that can go between the NBA parent team and their D-League (G-League now) affiliate starting next year. Those guys make $75,000 guaranteed and up to $275,000. I think that could lead to more early entrees.
I don’t think it’ll be long before we see some players go from high school to the D-League. The amount of resources being poured into teams are increasing each year as franchises see the value of having a minor-league affiliate.