Do you think we'll see contraction in sports?

Possibly true. But, they may have been just as well off under either of these situations:

- Brandon Roy (for instance) stayed in school one year longer and Seattle drafted him to play one year in Seattle before going to OKC.

- Durant staying in school one more year and OKC drafting him right after they moved to OKC.

Possibly true. But, they may have been just as well off under either of these situations:

- Brandon Roy (for instance) stayed in school one year longer and Seattle drafted him to play one year in Seattle before going to OKC.

- Durant staying in school one more year and OKC drafting him right after they moved to OKC.

Roy played four years at UW, but I understand what you're getting at.

How about this? If the economic benefit of great players is limited only by the number of games that they can play before their back/knees/feet go out, shouldn't the NBA prefer as many of those games as possible be played in their league?

The reason I don't like a hard age limit is that it really is different for everybody. Carmelo Anthony could have gone pro out of high school, but he was much more marketable after his one season of college (and likely went a LOT higher in the draft then he would have a year earlier). I think a guy like OJ Mayo would have been more marketable out of high school considering all the publicity he was already receiving and that USC didn't do much during his one season.

As much as quality of play is important. Sports are entertainment and they need to sell. Keeping potential assets (the players) out of their league would be counterproductive if they're ready to contribute but not eligible due to an arbitrary age limit.

Yeah, but did Kobe Bryant provide any additional economic benefit to the Lakers his first 2 years in the league? I propose that if Kobe had played at North Carolina (or some other college) for 2 years and dominated in college (winning a national championship or two) and came to the NBA after 2 college years, they hype and interest surrounding him during the 1998-99 season may have exceeded the combined interest he actually had for the 3 seasons from 1996 through 1999. (disregarding any effect that the 98-99 strike/lockout may have had)

And I have no idea if 2 years in college would have taken more of a toll on his body than 2 years as a bench player in the NBA.

The NBA's popularity was probably at its lowest since 1979 during the same period that it went crazy drafting high school players. There were a lot of factors in this, but I think the high school players DID play at least a small role in this effect. There was a perception by the public that the NBA players had developed a selfish style of play that turned some casual fans off. Whether it was justified or not, the perception was real.

I think Kobe Bryant was a Duke lean (one more reason not to like the guy). If Kobe had spent 2 years in college there is no chance he lasts late enough for the Lakers to trade Vlade Divac for him. He's probably the #1 pick in 1998 which means he plays for the Clippers (who picked Michael Olowokandi over Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, and Paul Pierce). Do the Lakers win any of their titles this decade without him? Maybe they get a few with Shaq, maybe they don't.

I don't think players coming out of high school is really what makes them selfish. There are lots of selfish players in the league today, and I don't think the solution is as simple as making them wait another year. I think teams should recognize the value that players have aside from scoring (read an article last year about Shane Battier).

The league is diluted. No ifs ands or buts about it. It has nothing to do with a spreading of talent. There is talent, it's just most of it will never be realized. I've seen Kwame Brown in person; he has small hands and poor low-post awareness. This would never have been apparent in high school as he could have caught alley-oops, and generally just been 7 feet tall. If you listen to Steve Rosenberry on ESPN's NBA Today last week, he says that because of the ridicuous amount of early leaving players, they can't scout them as effectively. Therefore, kids don't know what to work on. I bet if you asked LeBron, he'd tell you he's a good jump shooter. Same thing with Derrick Rose. You can point to Kobe and LeBron if you want, and I'll point to Jackie Butler, Lenny Cooke, and Ndudi Ebe, all incredibly talent players who declared out of high school and now are basketball vagabonds, with no hope of enjoying a college scholarship and no chance to ever play in the NBA again. Yes there are success stories, but there's absolutely no way to predict them. Imagine this:
Greg Oden stays at Ohio State, gets re-injured, is allowed to develop his game without pressure and recover without as much scrutiny, is allowed to be a kid (he wanted to be an accountant for God's sake) and comes into the NBA a more well-rounded player and happier young man.

There's no way to convince those who believe that it's about a "choice." Is it really? You really think that Herschel Walker or Darren McFadden weren't ready to play in the NFL after their freshman year? (they are intentional examples). The NFL gets off on this perception that kids can't handle it, but apparently in basketball its not true. If it's right for one it's right for the other.

For every Darius Miles/Eddy Curry/Kwame Brown there's a Joe Alexander/Roy Hibbert/Ike Diogu. The Hornets and Bobcats traded Tyson Chandler for Emeka Okafor and they're virtually the same guy, but one went to the college for 3 years and the other didn't. Hibbert was a potential top 10 pick after his junior year, stayed in school for another year and then fell out of the lottery going 17th. It's the hype factor that gets people picked higher than they normally should. And if the Pacers weren't racist they wouldn't have drafted Tyler Hansbrough so high either. (I joke, I joke)

Is that you Joe Dumars???

You can tell me.

He did look great giving all those hi-fives on the bench, narrowly edging out Adam Morrison for the Player With The Most Hype Coming Into The Draft Who Eventually Doesn't Do Anything But Become The 12th Man On A Championship Team Award. At least he was actually in uniform for the games. Points do go for Adam Morrison for after winning the championship about 8 Lakers went on Jimmy Kimmel and they had all the guys you would expect, Kobe, Derek Fisher Lamar, but also, non other than Adam Morrison with his shaved head! Then a great moment when Kimmel asked the group if they'd been partying much after winning mentioning smoking a little weed, and Kobe was like "Na, not really, well except for Adam" and then they cut to Morrison and he had this goofy grin on his face and he actually looked high. It was incredible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt5-KIPTjeI

About the 9:30 mark, great stuff. I got about 75% of my description wrong, but I hadn't watched it since June. Adam Morrison the entire way out is just awesome.