For the sake of the game, let's have an age limit.

During the upcoming offseason, NBA commissioner David Stern and the Union chief Billy Hunter will be negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement. Obviously, it is extremely important that both sides reach an agreement, otherwise the NBA could get hurt like the NHL. More people would miss an NBA season, than are currently missing the NHL season. Hate to say it but it's true, at least in the U.S. The most important issue that needs to be addressed is an age limit in the NBA. If you watch any high school player that is actually getting some playing time you will see that they could benefit greatly from some more playing experience, be it in college for a year or two, or in the NBA Development League. The best example for the need for at a minimum of one year of college experience is this years Chicago Bulls. If you were a Chicago Bulls fan and suffered through the 6 year "rebuilding" phase in the post Michael, Scottie, and Phil era, you would realize the wisdom of an age limit. For the past four years we have watched Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler, two high school superstars, struggle as professionals. Only this year have they somewhat put it together, but they are not the superstars they were supposed to become. Eddy Curry is still at a one-sided player, he occassionally plays defense. He could have benefitted greatly from any college coach, especially in the conidtioning area. It took him 4 years in the NBA, to realize he actually had to work hard outside of the game to get in better basketball shape. Tyson Chandler on the other hand was always a hard worker, from the day he was drafted by the Bulls. He has now become a defensive and rebounding machine, his quickness and his 7 foot 1 inch frame help out a lot as well. His main weakness was maturity, in his first couple years he let his emotions get the best of him, which lead to some untimely technical fouls, although none were really game deciding, since the surrounding team was pretty pathetic. Chandler also could have benefitted from a college strength training program, that could have prepared his injury prone back for the physical play of the NBA Eastern Conference. The merits of an age limit are not only visible in the struggles of Curry and Chandler, but in the contributions of the players drafted in the past two years by the Bulls. Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Chris Duhon, Andres Nocioni, and Luol Deng are the main reason for the Bulls resurgence this year. Out of the five, only Luol Deng would not meet the proposed age requirement. Hinrich, Gordon, and Duhon all played four years for their respective schools. All of these players had the experience of playing basketball in college, with the exception of Nocioni who played pro ball in Spain. All these players understand the concept of team ball and team defense and it is exciting to watch the way these guys put out 100% every night. Some of their tenacity could even have helped motivate Mr. Curry into becoming such a hard worker off the court. If the main concern of the NBA is to preserve the sanctity of the game, and make it more enjoyable for fans to watch, then an age limit is necessary. However, I do see why the High Schoolers come out early. If my name was Eddy Curry, Tyson Chandler, or any other High School phenom I would have made the same choice they made. Take the money when it's offered and not risk getting injured. That is why I think in additition to the age limit the high school players should be allowed to play in the NBDL, and possibly have deals structured similarily to those of Major League Baseball prospects in the minors. For the sake of the game, and also to bring back the days of team basketball in the NBA, let's have an age limit.