http://www.scout.com/college/basket...1657784-examining-nba-draft-one-and-done-rule
WHY WAS THE RULE PUT IN PLACE?
While the NBA never gave an official reason behind the rule, you can be sure this was a business decision for them. There are three main reasons why the NBA wanted this, and it all boils down to money.
First and foremost the NBA wants their incoming players to be known commodities who have built a brand. In no other sport are college fans less engrained to the professional game than basketball. Because of that one of the easiest, and best, ways to gain new fans is to have college basketball fans become NBA fans.
The theory is that if a player, such as Anthony Davis, builds his brand in college at a place like Kentucky, Duke, Arizona, UCLA, North Carolina, or any other college with a large fan base, those fans would be more likely to follow that player in the NBA.
That in turn leads to more eyeballs on TV sets, more butts in seats at games, and more jerseys purchased at stores. All of those of course leads to more money for the owners and the players.
The building of a brand is huge as well for another reason. The NBA is the place where there are more “normal” results than any other league. More often than in any other professional sport do the best teams in the NBA beat the worst teams. Helping the worst teams have “hope” in the form of a popular and well known college star coming in keeps fan bases engaged and looking forward to the future, with less of a backlash for a poor season.
The second big reason the NBA wanted this rule comes down to delaying big money contracts to players.
NBA rookie contracts are the best value that owners will ever get on player’s services. With this in mind, knowing that owners in reality have to overpay for non-superstars in second and third contracts, it makes sense to want those contracts going to players who are a year or two older, making it harder for them to cash in a third time.
WHY WAS THE RULE PUT IN PLACE?
While the NBA never gave an official reason behind the rule, you can be sure this was a business decision for them. There are three main reasons why the NBA wanted this, and it all boils down to money.
First and foremost the NBA wants their incoming players to be known commodities who have built a brand. In no other sport are college fans less engrained to the professional game than basketball. Because of that one of the easiest, and best, ways to gain new fans is to have college basketball fans become NBA fans.
The theory is that if a player, such as Anthony Davis, builds his brand in college at a place like Kentucky, Duke, Arizona, UCLA, North Carolina, or any other college with a large fan base, those fans would be more likely to follow that player in the NBA.
That in turn leads to more eyeballs on TV sets, more butts in seats at games, and more jerseys purchased at stores. All of those of course leads to more money for the owners and the players.
The building of a brand is huge as well for another reason. The NBA is the place where there are more “normal” results than any other league. More often than in any other professional sport do the best teams in the NBA beat the worst teams. Helping the worst teams have “hope” in the form of a popular and well known college star coming in keeps fan bases engaged and looking forward to the future, with less of a backlash for a poor season.
The second big reason the NBA wanted this rule comes down to delaying big money contracts to players.
NBA rookie contracts are the best value that owners will ever get on player’s services. With this in mind, knowing that owners in reality have to overpay for non-superstars in second and third contracts, it makes sense to want those contracts going to players who are a year or two older, making it harder for them to cash in a third time.
