New CBA will preserve NBA age limit

The league and the players association have to reach an agreement on the CBA by Friday night, or the league will opt out of the deal. While both sides have reportedly found common ground on enough issues that the agreement is within reach, lowering the age limit isn't one of them.

Even though commissioner Adam Silver said last summer that dropping the age limit from 19 to 18 was "the right thing to do," the owners wanted something in return. Namely, more pre-draft medical information and participation in the draft combine, an event that top prospects increasingly skip.

It turns out that the players didn't want to give up those concessions. In fact, NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio has said that veteran players aren't necessarily interested in lowering the age limit at all, given the risk of losing their jobs to teenagers.

Back in 2006 when the age limit took effect, 18-year-olds had limited options beyond playing college basketball. But now, they can play in the G League with the Ignite team, the National Basketball League in Australia, or Overtime Elite. And now that college players can earn money for name, image and likeness rights, keeping 18-year-olds out of the league isn't the same financial hardship. 

Either way, it wouldn't have affected the most famous 18-year-old hooper in America, Bronny James. James turns 19 in October, so he would have been eligible for this year's draft under the current rules, had he graduated high school last year. Even if the age limit had been dropped, the new CBA won't take effect until the next one expires at the end of next season.