The NBA's minimum age requirement for entry into the draft was a big hit with team executives last summer. As Marlen Garcia from the Chicago Tribune writes, teams with a chance of getting the No. 1 pick in Tuesday's lottery drawing in Secaucus, N.J., might not be quite as happy about it now.
"All of us thought to get us out of high school gyms, something had to be done," Bulls general manager John Paxson said last week. "In theory, it was a great idea. Now when you're sitting with a high pick, you want the best the game has to offer."
Thanks to last fall's trade of Eddy Curry to the New York Knicks, the Bulls have the second-best chance, behind Portland, of getting this year's No. 1 pick.
Too bad Greg Oden isn't eligible. Every team would want the 7-foot senior at Indianapolis' Lawrence North High, who is bound for Ohio State next season. But Oden, 18, is at least a year away from the draft.
The new collective bargaining agreement requires players to be 19 and one year out of high school.