OAKLAND — NBA commissioner Adam Silver is open to exploring a change to the league's age limit, saying on Thursday that the one-and-done rule is "not working for anyone."
The current rule is that a player must be 19 years old and one year removed from his high school graduating class.
"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 they would expect to see among top draft picks in the league," Silver said.
The league at one point favored increasing the age limit to 20 and the National Basketball Players Association preferred allowing players to go from high school to the NBA. However, Silver is willing to examine ideas and find a solution that works for players and the NBA.
"We’re going to come together with everyone who is interested in the community, whether it be the colleges, of course our union, agents, lots of points of view out there, and see if we can come up with a better system," Silver said.
The heart of these discussions will take place over the course of the 2017-18 seasons, Silver said.
" I do know that as I talk — increasingly the veteran players in this league, as well, feel that the young players are not coming in game ready in the way that they were when they were coming out of college," Silver said. "And we’re also seeing a dichotomy in terms of the international players. ... Many of them have been professional for up to three years before they come into the league and have a very different experience than what we’re seeing from American players coming through our college programs."
Silver, who answered questions from reporters before the start of Game 1 of the Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors, also weighed in on the league's competitive balance, which has been criticized lately due to the fact the Warriors and Cavaliers rolled through the playoffs to meet in the Finals for the third consecutive year.
"From a league standpoint you always want to see great competition," Silver said. "It's what our fans want to see, it's what we provide in this league. Having said that, this is real life. It’s not scripted and it happens, so sure the fan in me would love to see more competition at times. On the other hand, I’ve said before I think we should also celebrate excellence. I think people are also inspired by seeing such tremendous play, by seeing teams come together the way they have, I think their play has been inspiring, I think they’ve done it in the right way, and I also think these things have a way or workings themselves out."
Follow USA TODAY Sports' Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt
