Why do people like the way baseball drafts?

[OttoinGrotto]

I keep seeing on the board re: discussion of McCullough and other early entries that a lot of people think the NBA should switch to a baseball model where players are eligible to be drafted out of highschool, or after three years. I'm really interested in knowing why people think that's the best way. I think the baseball draft is the least sensical of all of the ways current major US sports draft.

First off, you never see a player go from highschool to MLB the following year. It just doesn't happen (queue someone mentioning the one player in the last decade that has). There's no argument to be made that those players are "ready" to be major leaguers. All drafting them at that point does in terms of preparation is switch the responsibility on player development from the college game to the minor league system. For the player it's cool because they can start cashin' dem checks, so that's good. Other than that though, these players are such a far cry from what they're going to be down the road, what's the point of drafting them that young? So you can get them in your own system and oversee their development? OK, I guess.

Second, not a lot of people earn a 4 year degree in 3 years. If you care about student-athletes, three years is a cruel joke. They've earned enough credits to see the light at the end of the tunnel and earn a degree, supposedly the purpose behind this whole thing, and then leave with just a little bit to go. Plus, typically the end of their program of study will involve some kind of capstone or at least have the final courses rely to some degree on all of the knowledge they've been building in their major, meaning if they go back at a later date because they die on the vine as minor leaguers, finishing up might be pretty difficult. Three years just seems so stupid. Why not 4 and at least have a chance for the student-athlete to earn their degree without the temptation of abandoning something they've been working for?

In conclusion, the baseball draft is dumb. Like, really, really dumb. But I'm opening to listening to why people think it makes sense and understand why it's the best.

 

[sufandu]

My preference is the NFL method. However, in a sport like basketball where you have a guy or two that are good enough to play professionally straight out of high school and physicality isn't an issue like the NFL, I can understand the argument for letting them bypass college if they choose. The difficult part about that is convincing all of the overhyped primadonnas that they aren't good enough to go pro yet. People say that NBA just shouldn't draft them, but it's not that easy. Nobody wants to miss out on the next Kevin Durant so, left to their own devices, they draft anyone that has the potential to be that and if it doesn't work out toss them to the curb.

If the NBA had a developed minor league system that wasn't nearly as extensive as MLB and used the MLB draft rules, I think it could help college be more stable. Fans that got excited over a freshman or sophomore showing potential would have something to look forward to the next year or two instead of seeing a guy scratch the surface only to be gone the next year. It would ultimately all depend upon how the NBA scouted and determined who was good enough to draft straight out of high school and who they would try to push to college.

 

[SU2NASA]

Hockey's draft is the best. Let kids get drafted and stay in school until they're ready.

 

[Knicks411]

I think people like the idea of it because they assume we'd just lose fewer players to the draft.

Baseball and basketball are so different since even college draftees generally hit the minors for at least a few months if not longer, hard to compare.

 

[SBU72]

I guess I have just switched my opinion. Let all high school kids be eligible for the NBA draft but keep it to 2 rounds. If the teams aren't interested after 50 selections, forget it. Then the kids have to wait 2 or 3 years to be drafted again. Now for the NCAA parts. Let the kids sign with agents with no penalty. Why does it interfere with them being "armatures"? If the NBA has a 2 (or 3) year grace period to get back in the draft, still let the kids go with an agent. Again, what is the harm. If the kid has an agent but doesn't get drafted, and he and his school can arrange for a spot for him, then why not let the kid go back to school. Of course the educational requirements would stay. The kids have to work towards their degree.

 

[Full_Rebar]

Hoops coaches would flip if it was like hockey since they would lose all control.

3 years plus 3 summers (pre-freshman, fr-soph, and soph-jr) puts them in a reasonable position to finish and the guys who go out of HS don't have to be NBA ready, that's where an enhanced D-League comes in.

 

[Briancuse]

I think its a good model, if you are a Lebron or Kobe type talent, you should be allowed to go to the nba. The problem is there are guys who are 2nd round draft picks who are leaving early, thats a big problem.