Columnist Calls For NBA To Put More Resources, Finances Into Growing D-League

The NBA and NBPA need to agree to a CBA that will "finally pay a fair working wage to players at the developmental level and ... enact much-needed cultural change by disavowing the practice of forcing high school graduates into the clutches of the exploitive NCAA," according to Harvey Araton of the N.Y. TIMES. All NBA D-League teams this season operated with payroll budgets around $170,000, as players "were paid within a tiered system that topped out in the $25,000 range for a 50-game schedule (plus playoffs)." Those "numbers are projected to rise insignificantly next season." Sources said that both the league and the union have "mutual interest in raising D-League standards," though there are "different goals in mind." NBA Commissioner Adam Silver wants the NBA age limit "extended to two years after high school, perhaps in exchange for increased D-League pay." Meanwhile, NBPA Exec Dir Michele Roberts has previously "described herself as a firm opponent of any age restrictions." Araton noted the D-League has "become a viable NBA feeder" system in recent years, and if it offered salaries "even somewhat representative of the NBA's growing prosperity, how many 18-year-olds would suddenly lose the phone number of Kentucky Coach John Calipari?" The owners could "demand to have the D-League salary budget come out of the players' cut," while the players could "bargain for a stake in potential profits generated from enhanced interest and revenues." The college game would "lose star power," but the players would "deservedly be positioned to finally circumvent NCAA chicanery" ( N.Y. TIMES, 7/10 ).