Kerr: ‘Don’t keep (NCAA) ruse going’
In the wake of an ESPN report Monday outlining the NBA’s plans to get involved again with elite high school basketball players, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr offered another way to help young players: Allow colleges to let NBA prospects return to school if they go undrafted, even if they have signed with an agent.
“One of the things the NCAA needs to look at is, if a kid signs with an agent and he doesn’t get drafted, welcome him back,” Kerr said after practice Monday. “Why not? What’s the harm? We talk about amateurism and all this stuff, but if you’re truly trying to do what’s right for the kid, and the kid declares for the draft and doesn’t get drafted, you know what? Welcome him back. Do something good for the kids.
“Don’t keep this ruse going. We all know what’s going on. Let’s do what’s best for the kid and give them some options, and work together between the NBA and NCAA to find the right system. I think it’s entirely doable if you people just open their eyes.”
The NBA again is looking into allowing 18-year-olds to play in the league after an FBI investigation exposed the underbelly of college basketball, per ESPN. Talks have gone much deeper, however, than simply changing the rule that a player must be 19 or one year removed from his high school class graduation to be drafted.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has considered opening an alternate path to playing in college in which 18-year-olds could earn a meaningful salary in the NBA or G League. Under this plan, 18-year-olds interested in beginning their professional careers could play a year in the G League for more than the current maximum of $26,000 per season.
“I think it’s great,” Kerr said of the reported plan with the G League. “I think there are lots of things that I think the league and the NCAA can collaborate on. I think the G League is getting stronger and stronger. There are only three NBA teams that don’t have their own G League team now.
“The fact that the league is getting stronger and stronger, we should provide that as an option for high school kids who maybe don’t want to go to college.”
Injury updates: Stephen Curry is expected to be available Tuesday night against Brooklyn, Kerr said.
Three days after tweaking his right ankle in Golden State’s 114-109 win over Atlanta, Curry fully participated in practice Monday. He was seen throwing down a dunk at the end of his post-practice shooting routine.
Rookie forward Jordan Bell is listed as probable for Tuesday’s game with a strained lower back. Guard Patrick McCaw, who is expected to sit out at least another nine days with a non-displaced fracture in his left wrist, had his cast removed Monday and is in a brace.