When I answered this question, I went on way too long for the Radio show, and a lot needed to be left out to make room for everything else. I agree with what Nick said that my idea would affect the U21, but maybe that could be modified too for the greater good? I don't know. Anyway, just in case you are interested, here was my full response about the draft:
I have long said that BB desperately needs to modify the draft. As sports fans, we live in a Fantasy Sports world. People get so excited about the draft. Some are so into the draft that once the draft is over, their interest drops off and they forget to set their lineup. However, in BB, the draft is completely anticlimactic and largely a waste.
In real life, (NBA) every 1st round draft pick makes a team, and most 2nd round picks make a team, and handful of rookies that weren’t even drafted end up making teams. However in BB, about 40 of the 48 players drafted are cut within minutes of the draft picks being released. The draft needs a complete overhaul. Keeping people in the dark as to what and who they are drafting is just plain silly. At the very least there should be enough players in each draft to make it worth scouting and taking an interest in the draft.
But really, the entire scale should be changed…the way the draft is set up currently, every single draftee is for the future; a pick to be trained. So for upper division teams, basically useless for at least 3 seasons if not longer. But in real life, some guys come in ready to go. Why not draft a player who is $60K and ready to start? You could limit how high the salary would be for lower divisions, or give those teams a 2-4 week moratorium of not paying the players salary so they have a chance to sell the player to better their franchise. Why are there 31 year old players with $2775 weekly salary, with Hall of Fame Potential? As a player ages, and is not improving, their potential should decrease. Conversely…how cool would it be to start with an 18 year old, with All-Star potential but if you train him right and he rapidly get’s better all of a sudden his potential jumps to Superstar or MVP?
For instance, when Steve Nash entered the NBA, they knew he could pass, and knew he would be a decent player, but heck, for the first 3-4 years of his career he wasn’t special…He probably entered the NBA with Superstar or Perennial All-star (Using BBs scale), but clearly he reached Hall of Fame Status, and he was getting better each season in his early to mid 30’s. But the way BB does it, Nash would have peaked when he was 28 when he was just an average PG, and would have never gone on to become a two time MVP setting assist records and all of the other accolades he achieved.
I could go on and on with ideas here…but the bottom line is we get attached to our players. For those of us that train, those players are much more special than the players we buy. To draft a face of your franchise, train him up to be something special, is something people get excited about… He’s your guy! That one solid draft pick with a cool name could be enough to keep people interested and want to take care of their franchise. But when new people start, and the draft is a bust, there better be something else to excite them, because a lot of times, that is when we see people quit logging on to their team.