NBA might be ready to lower draft age

Players could be drafted out of high school in 2021. Union will have its say.

LAS VEGAS — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he thinks the league is ready to scrap the rule requiring players to be out of high school for a year before becoming eligible to enter the draft.

“I’m not here to say we have a problem,” Silver said Tuesday during a news conthe ference following the Board of Governors meeting. “And I love where the league is right now. But I think we can create a better system.”

Part of that better system, he thinks, will be reverting back to the policy that would allow players to go into the league right out of high school — something that should be in place in time for the 2021 NBA draft, though that timeline has not been formally announced.

“My personal view is that we’re ready to make that change,” Silver said. “It won’t come immediately.”

Michele Roberts, who was re-elected Tuesday as National Basketball Players Assn. executive director, said she has had talks with Silver on the topic, though she stopped short of revealing specifics. Any change to the rule will require that the league’s collective bargaining agreement will have to be amended.

Among other matters Silver addressed Tuesday:

— Working with the players’ union on ways to establish more parity, such as a balanced schedule and 1-16 playoff seeding. “We’re not trying to create ... forced parity,” he said. “What we’re really focused on is parity of opportunity.”

— The governors were briefed on the ongoing talks the league is having with the gambling industry, with sports betting now able to be offered by each state following a ruling in May by the U.S. Supreme Court.

— He called it “embarrassing” that the league has only one female referee. There are 19 female referees at summer league in Las Vegas this month.

— He also said there will be a minor tweak to free agency rules next summer, probably changing the traditional 12:01 a.m. EDT start time on July 1.