Adam Silver on age limit: “My sense is that it’s not something that’s going to change in the short term”

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver — speaking on behalf of the NBA owners — has made no secret of the fact he wants the NBA’s minimum age raised from 19 to 20. Those same owners see this as risk management, thinking GMs and front offices will make fewer mistakes if they get more info on players (studies show that’s not the case, for example they got three years of watching Michael Olowokandi).

The players’ union and its director Michelle Roberts see it differently, they would prefer there be no age limit.

That has led to the delicate balance of the one-and-done system now in place that nobody likes. And it doesn’t look like it’s changing anytime soon, Silver told Bloomberg News.

It’s still something I care a lot about. I’m also a realist. Given that Michele has said her preference would be for an 18-year-old minimum age, my sense is that it’s not something that’s going to change in the short term. And by the way, I’ve always said I understand the other side of the issue, about a young man’s opportunity to make a living. But my view has always been that we’d be a better league if players came into the draft at 20 instead of 19.

It’s long been thought that the NBA could get the age limit up in the next CBA, but it was going to cost them — the players’ aren’t giving that bargaining chip away. Whatever the cost, it seems to be more than the owners are willing to pay.

By the way, just like Roberts, Silver said he is optimistic a deal will get done and there will be no lockout.

While we and the union have agreed that we’re not going to talk publicly about the substance of our discussions, neither side has made it a secret that we’re talking and that the goal is, of course, to avoid any type of work stoppage whatsoever. I feel fairly confident that, based on the tone of these discussions thus far, based on the sense of trust and the amount of respect among the parties, that we should be able to avoid any kind of public labor issue and that the things we need to get done will get done behind closed doors.