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‘One-and-done’ done by ’21? NBA notifies teams that draft eligibility rules may change

By Matt George Moore

CHICAGO, IL - MAY 17: A close up shot of a player participating in the vertical jump during the NBA Draft Combine Day 1 at the Quest Multisport Center on May 17, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - MAY 17: A close up shot of a player participating in the vertical jump during the NBA Draft Combine Day 1 at the Quest Multisport Center on May 17, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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According to a copy of a memo obtained by ESPN, changes may be coming to the NBA draft rules, possibly as soon as 2021. How might that affect the Blazers?

ESPN senior writer Zach Lowe reported Friday that the NBA “sent teams a memo indicating that ‘eligibility rules’ for the draft may shift as early as 2021 (but no earlier) as the league reviews issues ‘related to player development and the corruption investigation in college basketball.'”

The NBA Draft Rule

According to Lowe, the memo didn’t explicitly mention the “one-and-done” rule. The memo, Lowe reports, was intended to remind teams that the league and the National Basketball Players Association (the players union) could get rid of the rule prior to the end of the current collective bargaining agreement in 2024.

The league instituted the so-called “one-and-done” rule in 2005. It stipulated that potential NBA players must have been out of high school for one year or be 19 years old to be eligible for the draft.

The memo is far from the first time that the rule has been put up for debate. The NBA itself reports that the “one-and-done rule for college basketball players has been a topic of discussion over the last two Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations.”

Conversations

Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports reported in April that the 2020 draft “is the earliest the NBA would change its draft eligibility rule and return to the high school-to-NBA rule the league used from 1995-2005.”

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And the debate goes back even further. In fact, a few weeks before the 2017 NBA Finals, Commissioner Adam Silver suggested that the “one-and-done” would soon be modified.

“My sense is it’s not working for anyone,” Silver said. “It’s not working for the college coaches and athletic directors I hear from. They’re not happy with the current system. And I know our teams aren’t happy either, in part because they don’t necessarily think the players who are coming into the league are getting the kind of training that they would expect to see.”

Blazers

So how might this possible rule change affect the Portland Trail Blazers?

Lowe reports that the NBA “has long sought a true minor league system via its developmental G League.” And Portland is one of three franchises not affiliated with a G League team. (New Orleans and Denver are the other two.)

Next: Kawhi, oh Kawhi, won’t he be a Portland Trail Blazer?

If the league eliminates the “one-and-done,” Portland would likely set up an affiliate team with the G League. That would allow high school draftees to work on their games in the minor leagues. That’s preferable to having them sit on the bench all season long.

This conversation will no doubt continue. Eliminating the rule would get fresh talent to the league quicker. And that’s definitely something that NBA fans have been waiting for.