NBA Lockout: Should Extending The Draft Be Included In The New CBA?

The NBA lockout is on Day Too Long To Not Even Be Having Any Sort Of Discussions With The Important People, as those following this mess are well aware.

With this current labor impasse, however, we're left without a lot of news when we should instead of be talking about how the San Antonio Spurs signed the next Gary Neal (remember the good ol' days?).

One of the topics that are currently available to talk about, however, is how the new Collective Bargaining Agreement could help the NBA's Development League. I've already looked at the situation briefly in a post for SBNation.com, and even went into a bit here at Ridiculous Upside, but SB Nation Philly's Kevin Owens raised a point I'd suggested before that didn't make it into either of the preceding links: Should the NBA expand its draft?

If the NBA were to implement a third and possibly fourth round, it would allow teams to take a chance on guys who, with the right coaching, could become talented NBA players. The NBA could restructure the ruling on younger players becoming drafted. Players directly out of high school could be drafted, but not eligible for the NBA during their first year. Drafting players based on potential would suddenly make sense.

Drafting based on potential has always been one of my biggest pet peeves in the NBA. Not because I don't agree with it, but because the twenty year old with a high ceiling gets a roster spot, while the older, more experienced player who has dominated the potentially good player everyday in practice, is released.

Owens is a bit of an expert on the topic as the current writer spent three seasons playing in the D-League with the now-defunct Roanoke Dazzle following a five-year stay in college at Monmouth. There's no doubt there were a few teams that passed on bringing him to training camp as they looked for younger players with more potential.

In the end, I would probably prefer that the two sides just come to an agreement as quick as possible, but focusing on the ancillary issues such as this would certainly be okay with me as long as the NBA comes back sooner rather than later.