The NBA wants its employees they’re still paying to pretend that the players don’t exist. But they’re totally fine with scouts examining the next generation of players the league doesn’t want to pay as much as they have been. Yup.
Yahoo! Sports reports:After initially forbidding front-office executives from attending college basketball practices during the lockout, the NBA has changed course and informed teams they can now do so, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
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The league office relented on its original rules after team executives lobbied hard about how much of their player evaluation depends on the ability to attend practices, as well as games. When the NBA imposed the lockout, it instructed teams they wouldn’t be allowed into practices partially to avoid the possibility they could have contact with current NBA players who are on campus.
via NBA allows scouts to attend college practices - NBA - Yahoo! Sports.
That’s a pretty fantastically stupid rule to begin with. If scouts want to contact players, they can use their personal phones or emails. It’s not like they’re going to run into players at these things, embrace in a big hug, and provide the player with inside information they don’t know because they’re scouts and not ownership assistants. Eventually the league will have games again, and a draft, and teams will need to scout that draft. Glad they came to their senses. Now if they’d just relax on the idea that mingling of any sort is going to cause a complete breakdown in the negotiation process.
We’re almost there, guys! You’re almost acting like adults!
