In the midst of a turbulent discussion stemming from the recent NCAA scandal involving college basketball players, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is preparing to get involved again with elite high school basketball players, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.
The proposal is far from finished as it is, but it could include a passageway for the NBA to reach out to elite prospects during two important periods in which they currently have minimal contact — “the high school years and the time between high school graduation and when a young player is physically and emotionally ready to join the NBA.”
Silver could line out this proposal within the next few months, though the NBA will wait until after the Commission on College Basketball presents its report this spring.
Both NBA commissioner and the NBPA executive director Michele Roberts have made appearances before the commission, which is chaired by Condoleezza Rice.
“We are looking at changing the relationship we have with players before they reach the NBA,” one high-ranking league official said. “This is a complex challenge, and there's still a lot of discussion about how it's going to happen, but we all see the need to step in.”
Plenty of voices, ranging from LeBron James, to Kevin Durant, and even former President Barack Obama, have been in favor of allowing high school prospects to take the decision of turning pro or not, as they do with any other job or profession, which has sparked talks of ridding the NBA of the one-and-done rule (first imposed in 2005) or opening up a channel through the G League system for them to develop their skills to an NBA-level.
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