How one-and-done rule likely ending in 2022 NBA Draft could help Cavs

For years we’ve wondered if/when will the one-and-done rule come to an end, and it’s looking more and more like 2022 is very likely for that happen, and that could allow the Cleveland Cavaliers to have another way to acquire talent.

The NBA closed the book on high school starts straight to the NBA well over a decade ago as Howard Beck wrote then at the New York Times (subscription required). ln the past we’ve seen the likes of LeBron James (which would first come to mind for fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers), Dwight Howard and Kevin Garnett go straight from high school to the NBA.

Right now you must be 19 and a year removed from high school, but it appears that maybe coming to a end. USA TODAY’s Jeff Zillgitt reported back in February that the NBA proposed lowering the age limit from 19 to 18, which could potentially help teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers really get further along in a rebuild.

"“At the July NBA owners’ meeting, Silver told reporters: “My personal view is that we’re ready to make that change. … When I’ve weighed the pros and cons, given that Condoleezza Rice and her Commission (On College Basketball) has recommended to the NBA that those one-and-done players now come directly into the league, and in essence the college community is saying we do not want those players anymore. That sort of tips the scale in my mind that we should be taking a serious look at lowering our age to 18.”"

Now according to Rick Maese of the Washington Post (subscription required), NBA commissioner Adam Silver believes the one-and-done rule will come to an end soon.

This will make things very interesting.

If the rule changes in 2022 we’re talking about a very deep pool of players, because you have the last of the one-and-done players declaring and high school players declaring as well, also known as a “double draft.”

The Cavs this offseason seem to be aware that they’re in a full-rebuild and that it will take time.

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In the NFL it’s way more likely a team can turn it around in a short amount of time than in the NBA. Since the Cleveland Browns hired John Dorsey as the team’s general manager, the Browns can be called a  team that turned it around over night.

At this time a year ago they were coming off an 0-16 season and now are the favorites in most eyes to win their division (the AFC North).

In the NBA it just takes most young players more time to develop and for a lot of rookies, it takes a while to have a major impact that leads to wins. By the time 2022 comes around, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ rebuild should be much further along, but 2022 will be highly anticipated, because it’s a double draft, as was mentioned.

The Cavs have their own pick, but that 2022 pick is also something to keep an eye on as well.

The Cavs will get that pick if Milwaukee conveys their 2020 pick to Phoenix (which is very likely, as it’s top seven protected in 2020, per Real GM).

If the Bucks convey that pick to Phoenix, Milwaukee will send their 2022 first-rounder (top 10 protected, per real gm), because of the Ted Stepien rule. Even if the pick is in the twenties, that pick could be very valuable, because of the projected depth of the player pool in a double draft.

The 2022 NBA Draft is still a long ways away, but the end of the one-and-done, the possibility of a double draft and with the Cavs likely having two first-round picks that year with a deep player pool is something to watch.

Those are assets that when the Cleveland Cavaliers are much further along in their rebuild (with players such as Collin Sexton and Cedi Osman potentially being consistent starters at that point) can help get them potentially get over the top.