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NBA Draft: The future of the one-and-done; how it affects the Cavs

By Justin Brownlow

Big Jalen Duren, then of Roman Catholic High School, is shown in action. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Big Jalen Duren, then of Roman Catholic High School, is shown in action. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images /

The one-and-done rule isn’t going anywhere

As I previously said, around this time last year, many thought that the NBA and the player’s association would come to an agreement, ending the one-and-done rule. But that couldn’t be further from the truth, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. On an episode of “The Woj Pod” recorded in April of last year, Wojnarowski had this to say about the future of the one-and-done rule.

"“A lot of us believed a year ago, 18 months ago, that the NBA and the player’s association would come to an agreement on ending the one-and-done — they would set a date in the future, but we thought it would be 2022, 2023 when high school players would be able to go back in the draft. That has not happened. It is not on the horizon, largely because the union and the league, as part of letting the high school players back into the draft, the league has wanted players to have to make available their physicals and medical evaluations to all teams … The union, backed very hard by the agents, had said, ‘That’s not something we’re gonna give in on. We’re not going to give you full access medically. That’s the one advantage that we feel we have as agents and players to control the process.’ That’s been the major sticking point for a couple of years now. And there’s a real strong possibility that the one-and-done conversation isn’t picked up again until the next collective bargaining agreement in 2025.”"

It sure seems like we are nowhere near eliminating the rule. On top of that, Wojnarowski said that last spring, before the NIL came into effect. Now with the NIL, I would think Woj is 100 percent right that the conversation won’t even begin again until 2025.

If you look at past players that have gone to the NBA straight from high school, the success rate is pretty low. You do get your superstars such as LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and of course J.R. Smith. However, most who chose that path did not have great careers.

Honestly, the Cavaliers could tell you first hand the highs and lows of being drafted straight out of high school. Obviously, LeBron James is one of the greatest players to play in the NBA, so that was a major success. Although only two years earlier, the Cavs drafted DeSagana Diop.

Diop would become the butt of many jokes from Cavs fans, but he was clearly a guy who could have used some college experience. Diop never averaged over three points per game in his entire career. So with that being said, how will this affect the Cavs in the future?