The NBA Should Take A Page Out of Baseball's Book

Adam Silver created an interesting debate about the future of the NBA earlier this week during his annual State of the League Address when he said the one-and-done rule that the league has implemented since 2005 should be changed. 

This could be all talk as there have been rumors of this change for years, but if the draft eligibility rules were to be changed, I think the best way to do it would be the "baseball rule." 

To summarize, the baseball rule is that a prospect must turn pro straight  out of high school or spend three years in college and then re-enter into the draft. 

Let's make one revision to the rule for the NBA: players have to stay two years instead of three.

This is the best solution to the current draft problem because it offers the best of both worlds: the top players can avoid wasting a year in college and go straight to the NBA, and the college players become more dedicated to their teams since they stay for at least two years. 

It's pretty evident that some of these players are too talented to spend a year in college. Take last year's freshman class for example. Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball, Harry Giles (before his awful year at Duke) and others all would have likely gone pro and been first round picks at this time last year. 

This is also a good time to change the rule as cases like Lenny Cooke (made the high school to NBA jump and didn't make it) would decrease since players can hear from NBA scouts and attend the NBA Combine without formally declaring, unlike the first era of none-and-dones. 

Ultimately, both the NBA and college will benefit from the baseball rule, as NBA teams can get hands on younger prospects and the college game won't be infested with disinterested players. Hopefully, Silver's remarks actually come into fruition.