NBA, players union noncommittal on draft changes

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – The NBA and National Basketball Players Association are offering no guarantees about changing the league’s draft eligibility rules despite calls from a key NCAA panel to let players go pro sooner.

In a joint statement Wednesday, the league and union vowed only to “continue to assess” the draft rules “in order to promote the best interests of players and the game.”

A panel led by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice calls on the NBA and NPBA to lower the draft age back to 18 years old. The current rule, enacted in 2005, requires U.S. players to be 19 and a year removed from high school, sending many top players to college for one year.

The commission believes the so-called “one-and-done” era has contributed to college basketball’s problems and wants the draft age lowered in 2018.