The NBA is planning on involvement at the high school level once again

What's the story?

Brian Windhorst of ESPN is reporting that the NBA may start to get more involved with high school athletes once again as the college "one and done" system just is not working for everyone involved.

In case you didn't know...

In 2005, then NBA Commissioner David Stern worked with the Player's Association to change the collective bargaining agreement to make the minimum age of players coming to the NBA be at least 19 years old and one year removed from high school.

Including Kevin Garnett in 1995 (whose jump from high school to the NBA started a trend), a total of 39 players were drafted out of high school. More notable names drafted out of high school include Kobe Bryant (1996), Tracy McGrady (1997), Amar'e Stoudemire (2002), and LeBron James (2003).

The heart of the matter

Over the past year, the problems within youth and college basketball systems have become very public, and it appears that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is done sitting on the sidelines watching it unfold. Several sources have told ESPN that they plan on getting involved with elite high school basketball players again for the first time since 2005.

Though the plans include changing the age restriction of 19, Silver stated that they plan to do much more than open the door for 18-year old players to join the NBA again.

ESPN would detail those plans below:

A plan is expected to include the NBA starting relationships with elite teenagers while they are in high school, providing skills to help them develop both on and off the court. It would ultimately open an alternate path to the NBA besides playing in college and a way 18-year-olds could earn a meaningful salary either from NBA teams or as part of an enhanced option in the developmental G League, sources said.

Silver stated this new plan could start within the next few months, but they are going to wait for a report from the Commission on College Basketball first before they proceed.

What's next?

Stay tuned to Sportskeeda for further news regarding the potential end to the "one and done" rule. It appears that more could be released during the offseason of the NBA this summer.

Author's take

I can definitely see why the one and done system was put into place. There were too many players coming out of high school that was being told they could go straight to the pros, sign an agent, not get drafted, and they were not able to go to college to play.

Unfortunately, the complete cutoff from the NBA was not the answer, and I am really excited to hear more about what Adam Silver plans regarding this. Expansion and growth of the G League can definitely play a big part for the players that are good, but just not ready for the NBA yet. On the other side of the coin, when you have those special talents like Kobe and LeBron, they have the option to go straight into the NBA.