Report: NBA and NBPA Talks to End One-and-Done Era Deadlocked
Talks between the NBA and National Basketball Players Association about lowering the League's age limit to 18 have stalled, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
The two parties are struggling to agree to two of NBA commissioner Adam Silver's conditions to end the one-and-done NBA draft era. The first is a requirement that agents furnish all teams with medical information on prospective draft prospects, per ESPN. The union has resisted the NBA's push for full medical disclosure as agents have long withheld medical information as leverage to steer players to certain draft destinations.
A lack of medical data means organizations will have to make draft evaluations on teenagers with less information and more risk. NBA general managers have long pushed for the league office to legislate the sharing of medical information with all teams, not just for graduating high schoolers looking for early entry into the League. The topic is especially pertinent now, however, as it is most relevant to evaluating young players. Both parties have a vested interest in their stances.
"We're investing millions of dollars into players who we'll now have even less information about coming out of high school, and we should have the right to have all the information available on who we are selecting," one general manager told ESPN.
The second of Silver's conditions is a mandated attendance and participation in the pre-draft combine. These two terms are the final issues standing between the NBA, NBPA and an agreement to officially end the one-and-done era. The NBA negotiated high school players out of the draft in the 2005, but has changed course on its stances surrounding early entry under Silver.
While talks have reached a standstill for now, the both parties still hope to reach a resolution to allow graduating high school seniors to enter the league starting during the 2022 draft. Waiting until 2022 will give teams time to properly plan and prepare for the changes. Talks are expected to continue soon.
