Quote:
Originally Posted by albionmoonlight
Bill Simmons and Malcom Gladwell have a chat where they talk about getting rid of the draft all together.
Kind of a neat idea--anyone over 18 can sign an employment contract with any team.
But the NFL and NBA have done such a good job of making the drafts into events that I don't see them going anywhere. Nor would the teams want to have to compete for the young free agents. I'm sure that every company in the world would love to be able to "draft" young talent out of college/grad school and have them work for an artificially depressed wage for 4 years before having to pay them market value. And the unions cares so much more about the current players than the future players (as they should) that they will never push to get rid of the draft.
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Worst.idea.ever.
You might as well fold up 6-10 teams right then and there. In the NBA all it takes is one stud to turn a horrific franchise into one that can a) be a playoff contender and more importantly b) sell out the arena and boost merchandise sales - just look at the Cavs. Every top player would go to sign with NY, LA, Boston, Chicago and the other major markets. You'd have the equivalent of college sports - the top guys will go to the top teams until they run out of money (scholarships) and then they have to go look at the next tier of teams until they have no place to go but Memphis and Sacramento.
And if someone wants to draft me and pay me an artifically depressed seven figure wage show me where to sign up and I'm there!