In 2000, the NBA implemented a rule saying anyone who enters the draft must be at least 19 years old, making it so most players will spend at least one year in college.Ideally, players should spend all four years in college to get their degree before playing professional. Like anything else in life, nothing is perfect.

Players who go to the NBA should be fully ready & already developed. The NBA is not for training, like it has become the past 15 years. There are few Garnetts, Bryants & LeBrons, but many think they are. It is not in the benefit to the player nor the NBA.

Everyone wants to put blame on the NBA, who does have a responsibility in this. The NCAA also has a responsibility in this as well.

Here is my idea for players to enter the draft:

NBA

• Require players to be at least 19 years of age.
• Form camp(s), like they do for prospective draftees, but for college players who completed freshmen, sophomore & junior years for exposure, and feedback purposes. This should be done after the draft.

NCAA

• Require players to spend at least 3 years in college, regardless of age.
• Allow players to attend NBA camps.

Of course, the math above does not make sense, after 3-4 years, the player will be over 19. When a player finishes high school, they can play in college for 3-4 years. The other option is to go to the development league or Europe. After a year, they can become eligible for the NBA draft. Theoretically, most of these players will go to college, mainly for exposure. Plus, players in Europe & Asia have different systems for education, player development, and professional status.

Some schools, such as VCU & Butler, have benefited from players staying 3-4 years. They form a nucleus. Plus, the NBA will get players more polished & more prepared to play at a top-level, thus forming a better product on the professional level.

Photo credit: Andersedin | CC BY 2.0

Miami Heat

Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh have already announced their intentions to sign with the Miami Heat earlier this week. The Heat can trade Michael Beasley and create enough cap room to sign Lebron as well if he chooses to go to Miami. If this were to happen, this would be the latest "Big Three" in the NBA that would make the Heat the clear favorites to win multiple NBA championships. All three of them enjoyed playing with each other in the Olympics and would be great teammates that can help James get that elusive ring. Also, Pat Riley would most likely come in and coach giving James that extra incentive to join the Heat. However, there are two problems with this possible scenario.

First and foremost is signing enough players to fill out a roster. The Heat don't have enough players to even have a starting five on the floor so they will have to aggressively recruit players that will play for the league minimum. This will be important for their title hopes because the team is only as good as their role players. All three players can't play 48 minutes a game all season and playoffs. The second problem for Lebron is that if he joins the Heat he is not the alpha dog of this team. There is no question this is Wade's team. Can Lebron defer to him as the years go on? This could tarnish his legacy and we know that his brand and his name is very important to him, but is it more important than championships?

Chicago Bulls

Chicago is an appealing option for James because the Bulls have enough cap room to sign two max free agents and Carlos Boozer has already agreed to sign with the Bulls. This is in addition to the Bulls roster that features Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose, and Luol Deng. Even though Tom Thibodeau is a rookie coach, he has a strong defensive philosophy which is appealing to James. A starting five with all of those players are instant championship contenders and can most certainly win next year, whereas the Heat situation involves the luck of the draw with signing supporting players.

Aside from the great players the Bulls roster already boasts, the Bulls have a great basketball history and legacy. This is the city that Michael Jordan played in and if James wants to attain that crown of the best ever, there is no better place for him to do it then Chicago. If Lebron wants to win now, he will sign with the Bulls.

New Jersey Nets

The Nets are a long shot, yet still an appealing destination because they will be moving to Brooklyn in two years and James has made it known that he would love to play in New York. Also, Jay-Z is a minority owner of the Nets and James is close friends with him. Basketball wise, the Nets have a great young roster that features All Star point guard Devin Harris, Brook Lopez, and recent third overall pick Derrick Favors. The Nets are also aggressively marketing the new look Nets in the Tri-State area and are looking to push the Knicks aside as the premier basketball team in that area.

New York Knicks

The Knicks are a long shot along with the Nets but the Knicks have an interesting salary cap situation that could lead Lebron to join them. The Knicks have already signed Amare Stoudemire to a max contract and look to have just enough room to sign Lebron. However, the Knicks have Eddy Curry's expiring $11.3 million dollar contract expiring after this season. This means they can go out next year and try to lure Carmelo Anthony, who has said he wants to play for New York. The trio of Lebron, Amare, and Carmelo might be just as good if not better than Wade and Bosh. Also, the spotlight of New York and MSG might be incredibly difficult for Lebron to pass up.

Wherever Lebron goes, this will be a monumental decision. This decision could not only shape the NBA Finals for years to come but also change how teams approach free agency and the trade deadline. GMs will have to build their rosters based on how they can defeat a big three that either the Heat or Knicks can throw out, or a young athletic Bulls team with a superstar supported by budding superstars. Either way, we will all be watching tonight.

As always, thanks to Keith Allison for the photo.

I also wanted to include this picture of John Wall throwing up three's. This one is what started to confuse me. The top picture of the "bk" sign is one that a crip or a folk would throw up in order to disrespect rival gang members, whereas this picture to the left is a symbol of three fingers up, commonly used in Boston as a sign of hometown pride and also a "b" up, supporting the blood gang. Now I don't know too much about it, but I do know that you don't jump back and forth between blood and crip, that will get someone hurt very badly or even killed. It's possible that Wall simply made a three pointer before this picture was taken, it's possible that he's not a gang member, but it's not going to be acceptable for John Wall to be able to flash gang signs while Paul Pierce was fined for throwing up three's in appropriate situations (after making a three pointer).

Although Pierce was said to be a gang member when he first arrived in Boston, leading up to his stabbing that happened is his first days in Boston, there are multiple players in the NBA with gang involvement. This not only gives a wrong message to the young fans watching, but could put themselves and others in dangerous situations. Don't get me started on Ron Artest and his shout out to Queensbridge on National Television during the Finals. This also upsets me again that it was such a huge story and a fine was passed down to Paul Pierce, again for throwing three's in an appropriate situation yet other players in the NBA blatantly show gang involvement with no consequences.

Gang Members In The NBA

There is a picture from Hardwood Paroxysm, of Chicago Bulls Guard Derrick Rose throwing "Gangster Disciples" signs at what looks like a house filled with smoke. There was another article from August 2009 that included Paul Pierce, Derrick Rose, JR Smith, Quentin Richardson and Nate Robinson flashing gang signs (or not). There were also some issues surrounding JR Smith's Twitter account where some of Smith's tweets were perceived as gang related.

Look at the situation that John Wall is coming into. Gilbert Arenas was suspended for pulling a gun on his teammate in the locker room last season. Here's a brief conversation between Bill Simmons and Tony Kornheiser the other night on ESPN's NBA free agent summit:

Simmons: Plan B is terrible for them, but plan F is worse: Gilbert Arenas.

Tony Kornheiser: See, I've got a horse in that race, because now I no longer live in New York, I live in Washington D.C, and Gilbert Arenas will be poisonous for John Wall. So the Wizards must push him somewhere.

Just imagine what would go on in the locker room and in D.C. if Arenas and Wall were spending as much time together as teammates do. Then think of which one of them would kill the other first over a fifteen dollar dispute. Oh, by the way, look at what else I found:

Thanks to Michael K. Robinson of MKRob's Sports Blog for permission to use the pictures of John Wall.

Rivers has coached the Boston Celtics (2004-2010) to five of six post seasons, one NBA Championship and won the Eastern Conference Finals this past season. With Doc Coming back, where does that leave the rest of the pieces to the puzzle. Doc also stated in an interview that I recall on CSN or NESN, one of the local networks, where he said, "The only reason you come back is for the players".

The Remaining Questions

So now fans will begin to ask, do Paul Pierce and Ray Allen both come back? We already know it's been reported that Pierce is going to opt out of the final year of his contract. Not in an attempt to enter the free agent market, but more of a team player mentality kind of move where he will sign a new contract with the Celtics for less money, thus opening up more cap space for the team to re-sign Ray Allen. Great moves!

With Rasheed Wallace announcing his retirement during the draft and Kendrick Perkins needed surgery on his entirely destroyed knee, we have Glen Davis and Luke Harangody (questionable rookie) to fill the 5 spot on the court. I think that's the biggest question that the C's need answered at this point. Pierce and Allen will be back, but who is going to be the big man replacing/helping out Perkins for the 2010-11 season?

Thanks to firebrandal for the photo of Doc Rivers and the Boston Celtics.

1) Ray Allen is eligible for free agency unless we offer him a contract. We can probably only offer him the mid-level exception, meaning he can probably find a non-contender to offer him much more.

2) Paul Pierce can opt out of the final year of his contract worth $21 M. I doubt he does, but the ability is there.

3) Rasheed Wallace mentioned the possibility of retirement before game 7 of the NBA Finals.

4) Doc Rivers has also been on the edge, without giving much information to the public, about his own retirement. Based on his statements relating to him, leaning one way more than the other and the, "what it would take to stay's", I'm sure we all know which way he's leaning.

So here are a few rumors that have been floating around just in the past few hours:

1) Chris Forsberg and Andy Katz of ESPN Boston reported that Celtics President of Basketball Operations, Danny Ainge has already considered trading the 19th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. Although there was no follow up information on what offers, if any the Celtics received for the pick, I don't feel that we need to trade the pick for a player. We really don't need to make a pick at 19 either if we have our entire nucleus return next season. Imagine trading that pick to a non-contender for a 2011 first round pick. I know, very New England Patriot like of me. We bring back an Eastern Conference Championship team with one big run left in them and then give ourselves the possibility of a top 5 pick in 2011 plus our own first round pick to begin rebuilding, think about it.

2) All hell would break loose in Boston if Rob Kelley were right about the possibility of a trade with New Orleans. The Celtics would trade Paul Pierce and their 19th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft for Hornets point guard, Chris Paul. Not only would I be mortified if this were to happen with the Celtics already locked up at the point with Rondo and Nate Robinson, but I think the Tobin would be barreled off for a week after all the jumpers take their stand.

3) The Celtics had Texas forward, Damion James come in for a workout according to RedsArmy. James seems like another perfect fit for a Boston team that likes to have multi-purpose players that can adjust and adapt on the court for the teams needs. If he's so versatile though, does he drop to 52 if we trade our first pick in the draft, or would he even be available at 19 for that matter? I can't wait for the Draft tomorrow, we'll have to enjoy the trade talks and see if anything happens before 7 PM on Thursday.

Thanks to Keith Allison for the photo of Paul Pierce.

So to begin, Kendrick Perkins suffered an MCL and PCL sprain in his right knee in game 6. I'm still bull that Bynum wasn't at minimum called for an over the back foul on that play, I mean, they showed the damn replay enough already. That being said, Rasheed Wallace is going to get the start at center with Big Baby coming off the bench and house favorite Brian Scalabrine suiting up for fun.

The Celtics have played every game so far in similar fashion to the 2004 Boston Red Sox. They either keep us hanging on the edge of our seats until the last minute, causing heart attacks and making grown men cry or they get completely destroyed to the point that we can't understand why they're playing or why we're still watching for that matter. Speaking of which, the Sox are up 6-4 in the 7th against the Diamondbacks with MDC on the hill to start the inning (8:31 PM). A decisive blowout would help ease the tension going into game 7, but I doubt this one's even going to end by 10:00, something will happen to put me into crisis mode before they even introduce both teams at the Staple Center. Maybe all the Beat LA chants at Fenway will be heard in Los Angeles when the game starts too, or at least everyone at Fenway must think so with all the times they've started the chant. I'm not a big fan of Beat LA chants at Red Sox games unless we're playing the Dodgers. I need to go calm down (8:37). I might throw up (8:56).

Halftime

(10:14 PM)So the Sox game ended at 9:32 PM. Boston was up 8-3 in the ninth, after a few doubles by Arizona it was 8-4 with no outs and a runner on second, Papelbon came through and ended the game striking out Adam LaRoche. Scalabrine played for a total of 32 seconds against Lamar Kardashian and prevented him from scoring at the end of the half. Ray Allen his his first three then missed his next 4, Paul Pierce is playing well getting to the line and Rasheed Wallace is doing a great job with the minutes he's playing. KG has been non-existent for much of the game, picking up three early fouls and Kobe is still a female dog.

We're up 6 at the half after blowing a 9 point lead after the first quarter. I still feel nauseous, I just haven't eaten anything more, making it virtually impossible to blow chunks right now. The first half was nerve-racking and I can't wait for the second half to begin. (10:23) Arms up, the roller coaster is going around for the second time.

(11:39 PM) Absolute bullshit. Jeff Van Gundy and Marc Jackson have huge hard ons for Kobe and the Lakers. The game was played rough all god damn night yet the C's were given six puff fouls with 9 minutes left in the 4th quarter. Kinda makes me feel like Donaghy made a few phone calls before the game. I walked out of the room and don't know if I can even go back to watch the rest of this bullshit game! Whoever says the refs can't decide a game needs to have their heads examined, along with Ray Allen (I don't know what was bothering him throughout this series after game 2, but he wasn't himself after). I'm gonna be sick. I have to go back in the room.

I promise I didn't edit any of that after the game.

The 2010 NBA Finals Champions...

I don't have a damn thing left to say. I threw up in my mouth about fifteen times in the last eight minutes and I just feel depleted. The Sox losing in game 7 to the Devil Rays, the Patriots losing to the Giants to blow an undefeated season and the 2010 Celtics doing everything the possibly can to make me remember everything I've tried to forget over my twenty-six years of existence. I feel empty.

Thanks to Lorianne DiSabato for the photo of Glen Davis.

Is The Fix In?

It was very pretty to see Mr. Shuttlesworth stroke the three-ball one after the other, but it was very upsetting to hear Jeff Van Gundy and the gang exclaim, "He finally missed one", on his eighth attempt. Along with the announcers, the commercials by the NBA and even the officiating, begs the question, are the finals already decided before they're over?

Now I don't want to over shadow Jesus' performance in game 2 and I'm not going to lag on the fact that NBA commissioner David Stern wants to see the Lakers and Kobe win this series. The fact that the Celtics always have someone step up and take control when others aren't playing well gives them all the opportunity in the world to shut Kobe and the Lakers up and bring another championship to Boston.

Thanks to themikelee for the photo of Ray Allen.

Center

The Center position is filled with many question marks. The Lakers' Andrew Bynum has been a valuable contributor during the playoffs but has been hobbled by a meniscus tear in his right knee. Bynum had his knee drained before the start of the Finals and the Lakers are hoping this will relieve some of the stress on that tear. However, how much can he contribute on only one leg?

Kendrick Perkins is in much better shape than Bynum and is playing some of the best defense of his career this postseason. He has been able to limit players such as Shaq and Dwight Howard and helped take them out of their games. However, Perkins has been known to lose his cool and he has six technicals this postseason. One more will mean a one game suspension. Furthermore he could possibly sit another game if he reaches nine technicals. The Lakers will try anything to get into Perkins' head, knowing full well the Celtics will be vulnerable if they are missing their anchor down low.

Bynum and Perkins are battling separate issues that could affect their game, but health is a much more important factor this late in the postseason. Perkins gets the edge.

Edge: Celtics

Power Forward

Kevin Garnett is not the same player that he was two years ago when the Celtics won it all. He has lost a step or two and was looking tired by the end of the Orlando series after a monster performance in the Cleveland series. Even though KG is no longer the alpha dog, he is still the most intense player on the floor. His energy and defensive intensity makes the Celtics' defense go and without him, the Celtics look lost at times on the floor. KG is the key to a Finals victory.

Pau Gasol changed the face of the Lakers when he was traded from the Grizzles two years ago. Gasol gave Kobe and the Lakers a secondary scoring threat to lift some of the burden off Kobe's shoulders. He plays very unselfish basketball and displays great court vision. He always seems to be find the open man if he can't create his own shot. However, he has developed a reputation of being soft, especially made all the more glaring by KG during the '08 Finals.

I see KG's intensity being too much for Gasol to handle. Gasol has cruised through the playoffs without a dominant defender getting in his way. KG will get inside Gasol's head once more and force him to back down.

Edge: Celtics

Small Forward

Paul Pierce has been dominant in this postseason after struggling with injuries all regular season. He was able to contain Lebron James and then destroyed Vince Carter in the Orlando series. When the game is on the line, Pierce is one of the best one-on-one players in the league and is usually able to create his own shot. However, we have seen this back fire on him. Pierce tries to put too much on shoulders and can sometimes play selfish basketball. More often than not though, Pierce is the number one scoring threat for the Celtics. He will need to make his presence felt if the Celtics have a chance of winning the Finals.

Ron Artest is a head case and an absolute loon. He usually takes awful shots at the most inopportune times, leaving Lakers fans screaming "NOOOO!" in protest. But what Artest does best is defend and he will be up to task against Pierce. During their meetings in the regular season, Artest was able to get into Pierce's head and was able to limit his production. Artest does everything in his power to smother his opponent and he plays especially well against Pierce. These two have a long history together and have had some great battles.

Paul Pierce will have his hands full with Artest. Pierce has had trouble this season with shut down defenders and I feel that Artest will be the biggest challenge yet for Pierce. Pierce will still have decent numbers but I don't forsee any 30 point explosions from him in this round. Because of this, Artest gets the nod.

Edge: Lakers

Point Guard

Rajon Rondo's coming out party this season was somewhat lost amongst the talk of the Celtics' miserable regular season. All eyes are now on Rondo after his spectacular postseason run, highlighted by his ridiculous triple double against Cleveland in Game 4 of their series. Rondo is able to slice through almost any defense and either get to the point or find the open man when the defense collapses on him. Rondo has finally been able to hit jump shots on a consistent basis. While he tends to shy away from the paint when he's in foul trouble and passes up too many open looks during crunch time, Rondo is usually in command of the Celtics offense. When he is not on the floor, the Celtics are noticeably weaker on the offensive end.

Derek Fisher is one of the veterans of the Lakers who, along with Kobe, has been a part of all of their recent championship teams. He is able to come through in the clutch and is a reliable second option behind Kobe when the game is on the line. Age has caught up to Fisher and he has trouble defending quicker guards. Rondo will be his biggest test yet after playing the likes of Russel Westbrook, Deron Williams, and Steve Nash. Fisher has had trouble with all of them and Rondo will be no different.

Even though Rondo is playing through a bad back and leg cramps, he will have a great series against Fisher who will be completely overwhelmed.

Edge: Celtics

Shooting Guard

There isn't much more you can say about Kobe Bryant. He is the arguably the best player in the league and shows no signs of slowing down. He has had transcendent series against the Jazz and Suns and everything on the Lakers runs through him. The series clincher against the Suns, Kobe was making the ridiculous look mundane and it looked like he could not miss a shot. He is the best player on the floor when the Finals begin and the fact that Artest is on the team helps him because he doesn't have to guard Pierce like in '08. He will have fresher legs and will be more of a scoring threat then ever.

The Celtics have been riding Ray Allen's hot hand throughout the playoffs. His two 3's in the beginning of the third quarter against the Magic in Game 6 all but iced the series for the Celtics. He has been the deep threat the Celtics have needed all post season. However, he will be the primary defender on Kobe and it will take much energy defensively to cover him. The major question for the Celtics is how this will affect his offensive numbers. He will be one of the go to players during crunch time so Allen will be asked to step it up to make a big shot at some point in the series.

Ray Allen will be a major factor for the Celtics in this series but he is no match for Kobe. Kobe is the best player on the floor, no matter who is defending him. Allen can only hope to somewhat limit Kobe's numbers to give the Celtics a fighting chance in this series.

Edge: Lakers

Well, there you have it folks. Now that we have this out of the way, it's time for the Finals to finally begin and to renew one of the best rivalries in all of sports. It's time for the Celtics to bring home Banner 18!

Thanks to Eric Kilby for the photo.

The Walking Wounded: What This Means For the Celtics

It isn't just Celtics fans breathing easier today but Doc Rivers as well. Doc can now avoid the headache of having to draw up a game plan for defending Dwight Howard with Kevin Garnett (tough mismatch), Sheldon Williams (Gulp!), and Brian Scalabrine (I just jumped off of a bridge). However, the Celtics still have a rash of injuries that could greatly affect the lineups we see from the Celtics in Game 6.

Big Baby is reportedly feeling much better and will be a game time decision. Marquis Daniels is most likely out after suffering a concussion as well. Rasheed Wallace continues to have stiffness in his back that limits his movement and Tony Allen's ankle is getting worse, leaving both of them doubtful for Game 6. What this means is Perk is going to really have to play a strong game and avoid foul trouble so that Doc won't have to use his bench too much.

If Perk gets two quick fouls early, the Celtics will be stuck between a rock and a hard place. Do you cover Howard with an undersized defender and let him wreak havoc under the hoop? Or do you double Howard and free up the outside shot for Orlando. Perk is one of the best defensive centers in the league and the reason the Celtics played so well in Games 1 through 3 was because Perk was able to defend Howard on his own, leaving the other Celtics defenders free to swarm and defend the three-point shot.

Let the Players Decide the Outcome

The NBA made a good decision by taking away one technical and allowing Perk to play Game 6. However, it wasn't nearly enough. The NBA should have rescinded both technicals. Both of them were awful calls that let the refs decide the outcome, not the players. The Celtics were still hanging with the Magic at that point of the game but the wheels came off once Perk was ejected. What could have been a close and exciting game turned into a rout and has helped shift the momentum even further in the Magic's favor.

This is one of the main problems with the NBA. They would never rescind both technicals because they would admit wrong doing and tell the world "We screwed up and this mistake cost the Celtics a chance of winning Game 5." The NBA is completely ignoring a huge problem with uneven officiating from one contest to the next. While this adds a human element to the game, NBA referees are taking the next step by blatantly favoring superstars. As Josh pointed out, Dwight Howard has been able to roam free in the paint and get away with fouls that most average players wouldn't. On the flip side, Howard has been getting to the charity stripe way too often on questionable fouls.

History Repeating Itself

There are too many games in NBA history with questionable officiating affecting the outcome that are debated to this day. Game 6 of the '98 Finals between Jazz-Bulls (Jordan shoving Byron Russell to get the game winning shot), Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals between Kings-Lakers (an epic Kings collapse helped by bad officiating), and Games 3 and 4 of the 2006 Finals between Heat-Mavs (Tim Donaghy, 'nuff said). After this season, the NBA really needs to take a hard look at their refs and see the problem. Even the average fan can see when the league is blatantly extending a playoff series to make money. Eventually those fans will stop watching and paying to see this happen time and time again, especially in this down economy.

Wake up NBA. As Dwight Howard so eloquently put it early this series, "Pride comes before the fall."

Thanks to Lorianne DiSabato for the photo.