http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2006/news/story?id=2477110

DALLAS -- Commissioner David Stern is appalled by the state of the game.

Not the NBA game, mind you, but the game as it is played by a significant percentage of young Americans who aspire to make it into Stern's league.

"There is something totally wrong with the development system for young basketball players," Stern said Friday at his annual NBA Finals news conference. "It historically has not been the place for professional leagues to do [something about] it, but on the basis of the consistent failures of everyone else to do it, we are at least thinking about it, and we'll be getting some dialogue with some interested parties to see if there's something that can be done here."

The subject came up at a Finals in which the Dallas Mavericks have become the first NBA team since the Houston Rockets a decade ago to be led into the championship round by a foreign-born player.

International players are flooding the league and now make up almost 20 percent of the NBA's player population, and scouts are increasingly turning to Europe and South America to find young players who have been developed with a focus on fundamentals rather than flash.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich summed it up recently by noting how his team usually has a choice on draft night between picking an American player who has been coddled by sneaker companies throughout his teenage years and a foreign player who has spent six or more years playing for his country's national program. And as we've seen with San Antonio's recent drafting patterns, the Spurs have been making the latter choice nearly every time.

NBA officials first broached the subject with other interested parties last winter at a meeting in Chicago that included: officials from Nike; current and former college coaches Mike Krzyzewski, Dean Smith and George Raveling; NCAA president Myles Brand; and representatives from AAU programs. A follow-up meeting was held recently, but no consensus has emerged as to how to address a problem that has been festering over the past two decades.

Twenty years ago, players typically honed their basketball and life management skills in college, then came into the NBA in their early 20s. Nowadays, however, the best American players are often identified before they even reach high school, and sneaker companies and AAU coaches often have a greater influence on those players than their high school coaches and hometown mentors. The end result has been a generation of players entering the league with enormous skills and potential -- but with a lack of comprehension of many of the intricacies of the game that are so important at the highest level.

"The roster of NBA teams is going to be enriched by huge numbers of international players, and it's going to happen," Stern said. "But I also believe that the production of American players and their development is going to go through a renaissance. If we have to fuel it ourselves, OK. Maybe we're viewing it as our obligation to become involved in something we never wanted to touch because it was both unpleasant and possibly deleterious to their academic health, but we're talking about it internally."

Incoming deputy commissioner Adam Silver expounded on Stern's statements in an interview with ESPN.com.

"As David said, from a college and NBA standpoint, it's often too late -- by the time the rules allow us to first engage the players -- to do anything in terms of skills and personal development," Silver said. "There's a morass of rules, some Byzantine, that we're just beginning to understand. We've never done that kind of a thorough investigation into the layered rules and don't yet have an understanding of what we could do, or what others could do.

"We're not as concerned that we get involved, as long as there's a system that produces American players that can compete at the highest levels by the time they're of NBA age. That's what our concern is," Silver said. "We just don't want to bury our heads in the sand and pretend [that] somehow players will arrive miraculously as fully developed adults when there's a screwed-up system all along the way."

Chris Sheridan, a national NBA reporter for the past 10 years, covers the league for ESPN Insider.

Wow, you don't have to look much further then our beloved New York Knicks to see exactly what David Stern is talking about, aside from Channing Frye and David Lee.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. This is a system that has brought us stellar performers... Team players and winners such as Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, Jerome James, and Eddy Curry. Guys who care about the game and put team before self.

Blaming the sneaker companies is a cop out. As I see it, kids need sneakers. If Mr. Stern is not careful, he may damage the system, and soon we'll find that all our sneakers are being made in China and Malaysia by underage children, and prisoners.


[Edited by - BASKETBALLJONES on 06-09-2006 23:56]

Posted by Nalod:

They why is it that the NBA does continue to draft and play those that are fundamentally challanged? And pay them?

Lets cut thru the crap here and get down to the tacks.

NBA in the 1950s and early 60's was mostly white due to the college system and segregation. By the 80s the league was majority black players whom were "superior athletes" accordoing to popular stereotypes. The system became more about crazy athletic abiilty. Dominique Wilkens, Thompson, Dr. J and early Jordan were not polished fundamentally but could jump and run better than most. In contrast you had Larry Bird. Once in a while a Paul Westphal would appear and make the "all honky team". Annual list of white players who played like black!

enter the Yugoslaves of the early 90s. A race of men who are rather large and turn out some good ball players considering the size. Playing against other Euros the group was fed on young talented players who were not as athletic as the black American so that game grew and fed off fundamentals. Sure we laughed as the "soft" 7 footers were not banging like our Oakleys and Malones, but they were playing to their strenths. Our Players were told to hit the gyme and lift! Remember when college kids were skinny? now the high school player is a monster! One reason we did not have Higher Schoolers jumping right to the pros enmass was they were physically developed as men to compete.

We have gone the extreme looking for the athletic freak. The Mcgrady's, Lebrons, and Wades are still stars but we are not developing enough fundamentally strong players. But Europe is, and what PHX is teaching us is the right players in the right system can succeed. And they need not be the "best" player to do so.

Now we see the genetic blend of a Diaw and Parker, who blend the athletic and the fundamental and are succeeding. The Dirks are starting to evolve even more as 7 footers are able to dribble and shoot in Europe, where here we train them to be a Shaq like force.

The Darious Miles players, who posses great athletic ability but lacks certain fundamentals are not the benchmarks any more. Its the Manu Ginobli-AK47 type who can shoot and play defense.

Its not the sneaker company, becasue they will market to who will buy the shoes.

Some players do adopt their game. Larry Johnson was able to survive and be effective after he lost his hops based on learing the footwork of posting up and refining an outside shot. Mcgrady will fall apart if he does not adapt due to his bad back. Marbury with any chronic injury will not succeed because his game is based on beating with his strenght and quickness. Nash has a degenerative back problem and is not as fast as he used to be but is more effective in other areas.

Allan houstan stregnth was his strong fundamentals and it was thought that he could play longer if he stayed reasonably healthy. Need them wheels.

Shaq needs to fix his free thow problem. Its a big problem and may cost him his 4th ring. Older players must improve in other areas as they lose some skills due to wear and tear. Penny hardaway faded quick when his injuries slowed him, but Dr. J and Jordan got better as they developed other parts of the game and became better passers, shooter and leaders.

The future will be a blend of who works hard and can combine the natural talent with fundamentals. The Darious Miles type player will not get a free ride, but the Lebrons who take it a level or two higher can.

Ariza was a perfect example of great prowess on the ball and posses much abilty but did not know what to do with the ball.

hence, Getting rid of Larry is a mistake..........He is still teaching.

The

Couldn't said it any better.
The one thing thats becoming very obvious and I'll use Anothny mason as a example. Despite what skills you posses in your prime, it only takes one season for a player to fall of the basketball map, and be totally forgotten. I haven't seen one player who sat out a year becuase no one wanted him, then come back the following year.

The Darious Miles players, who posses great athletic ability but lacks certain fundamentals are not the benchmarks any more. Its the Manu Ginobli-AK47 type who can shoot and play defense.

Nalod, on some level I believe you are correct, but there is still the infatuation with "freak" athletes with little skill, and the hope that they will some day become good at something that uses that ability to their team's benefit. The other reality, which I was also outlining, is that most kids coming out of America into the NBA are good athletes but lacking the skills.

I think that reality, as you suggested, is a direct result of players playing to their immediate strengths, and maybe over depending upon them. With the overemphasis and glorification of the highly athletic style of basketball the fundamentals, which will seem boring to a young person, are bound to get lost in the equation.

Like you also said, many of the great players of the past have learned to develop other parts of their game. Jordan did that as well, later in his career where he developed a post game and that great turn around jumper, while still being able to beat some people off the dribble.

Shaq needs to fix his free thow problem.

That, my friend, is highly unlikely at this point I think, but it didn't keep him from winning 3 titles with the Lakers. Some players will never get over old habits, but Shaq knows his strengths and plays to them. I'm not so sure most big kids in the USA are looking to imitate Shaq either. In fact, like the bigger kid I played with the other day, most are INFACTUATED with 3 point shooting more so than posting up. Most of the big men that come into the NBA have VERY LITTLE game down low, which is why the Knicks were so interested in Curry, because he appeared to be one of the few big men who has a post game. Post players are very valuable, and for the most part can really make their team better if they play smart. Duncan, Hakeem, Ewing, Shaq, Kareem, Wilt, Russel, etc. all played on highly successful teams for a reason. Their ability to dominate the post against most competition opened up the game for every one else. Sure players like Nowitzki are good to model, but if you have REAL size I see nothing wrong with learning a post game.

[Edited by - PresIke on 06-10-2006 8:06 PM]

I think Stern is just doing what he always does, give the public what it wants to hear. Everybody likes to talk about how homegrown players are not as good as they used to be. So he just repeats the sentiment everyone wants to hear.

In reality the game is becoming more and more global, and why exactly should there be more pro calibur ball players in America than in the rest of the world? Look at a game like hockey, which is plaed all over the world, or soccer, every national league has almost as many international players as their own.