With a new collective bargaining agreement after the 2010-2011 season (lockout pending) I believe it's time, as stiffs, we explore what the NBA has been missing for years. A legitimate minor league system.

What separates the NBA and the NFL from the other two major professional sports? No "official" minor leagues. Now....the NFL solves (partially) this by using college as a developmental league. Players tend to stay longer in College football and therefore get more coaching. With a preponderance of high school players coming out, and one and done college players entering in to the draft it's time the NBA starts funding, and "legitimizing" a minor league.

We have the D League you say. Well, as you know the D League is used as a training ground for scrubs. Players who weren't drafted, vet retreads, and people who just want a chance to play. While this is all well and good, it doesn't "develop' talent. Top drafted talent isn't put through the system. So it leaves players to develop their skills in the NBA, sometimes to sketchy results. Think of it as the Summer League.....all season.

The NBA needs to make ALL drafted talent spend a year to two years in a developmental league of some sort. Too often NBA teams are beholden to drafted talent, and aren't allowed to build from "within" because there's a high risk of bust at the pro level.

The solution: Take the existing Developmental League and adequately fund it per the new collective bargaining agreement. Sign draftee's to minor league deals coming out of high school. Each team would be required to be affiliated with a D League team (ala MLB) and each team would be filled with "prospects" who arent yet NBA ready. They get the coaching and experience they need while slugging it out with other draftee's.

This may force players to stay longer in college, but even coming out of College they still must play in the minors unless they are so ungodly talented they have to be on an NBA roster. The Draft is such a crap shoot in the NBA that some teams (the Nuggets) stay away from the draft entirely. So young talent can circulate through the Nuggets organization. If we had a system like the MLB or NHL, we could have talent developed, Draft players. And be filled with slightly less anxiety about a player of Carmelo Anthony's caliber destroying the organization if he leaves.

Just a thought.