HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors

With the current collective bargaining agreement expiring in July and a standoff between the owners and players looming, a new topic may emerge in negotiations. While a new salary cap has dominated the headlines thus far, the National Basketball Players Association is also planning a proposal to remove the league’s age limit.

Multiple sources say that the union wants to remove the restriction, which has required all incoming players to be at least nineteen years old and one year removed from high school since 2005. With the owners trying to significantly reduce the rookie salary scale, the union will propose to do away with the age limit and allow players to decide for themselves when they want to enter the NBA.

In the podcast that NBPA executive director Billy Hunter sent to players in December, he stressed that removing the age limit was part of the union’s plans. While the age limit was initially added to keep teams from drafting players that weren’t ready for the league and poised to have unproductive careers, the union feels that there are better ways to protect the teams.

Rather than keeping every player from entering the draft, including players deemed NBA-ready, Hunter would rather "incentivize high school and college athletes to attend school." This would limit the number of prospects making the prep-to-pro jump and provide for players under financial stress so that they don’t have to leave school prematurely solely to support themselves.

Also, the union feels that if the owners want to slash the rookie salary scale and eliminate guaranteed contracts, then the risk associated with drafting a potential bust is diminished. If a player is earning less and his contract isn’t guaranteed, admitting a mistake and moving on becomes much easier.

However, convincing the league to adopt these rules will still be difficult. They are in favor of the current age rule and any change in their mind involves raising the limit rather than removing it. But league sources insist that the union isn’t backing down and they genuinely believe that they’ll be able to reverse the rule.

Many top high school prospects are aware that the restriction could be removed and are keeping the possibility of going straight to league in the back of their mind. One five-star prospect ranked in the top ten of the Class of 2011 has already told advisors that he would definitely forgo college for the NBA if the restriction is removed.

"I know a lot of players that would do it. That would be big," said one top high school prospect. "Hell yeah, I would have to consider it if the age limit was gone."

Many NBA players disagreed with the restriction when it was first went into place, and still believe that removing it would be best for the league.

"I think if you can play then you should be in the league," said one Eastern Conference player. "Simple as that."

The union will fight during these upcoming negotiations to make sure that is the case. The owners aren’t the only party that will be proposing drastic changes and attempting to revise rules in negotiations. The players are determined to get their way and steal back the headlines.

Magic Waive Williams: On Wednesday, the Orlando Magic released reserve point guard Jason Williams. The seldom-used veteran left the team prior to their two-game road trip and was waived hours later.

For weeks, Williams had been unhappy with his role in Orlando. He had only played 171 minutes this season and watched his playing time diminish even more after the Magic acquired Gilbert Arenas in December. With Williams disgruntled and often disappearing for games at a time due to "personal reasons," the Magic decided to part ways with the point guard rather than let his behavior affect the team.

Now, Williams will look for a new home after clearing waivers. Prior to this season, the twelve-year veteran expressed interest in joining the Miami Heat before re-signing with Orlando. While the Heat has a full roster at the moment, there has been talk that they could open a spot for a veteran. This would allow Williams to return to a familiar organization and remain close to his family, which will likely remain in Orlando.

Another option for Williams is joining the New York Knicks. Throughout the course of the season, the Knicks’ search for a reserve point guard has been well documented. New York showed interest in Williams prior to last season when he first decided to come out of retirement. The Knicks worked him out and held exclusive negotiating rights before deciding not to sign him. Now, with their point guard situation up in the air, New York could resurface as a landing spot for Williams.

Murphy Won’t Rejoin Team: Despite brief waffling from New Jersey Nets general manager Billy King on Wednesday, power forward Troy Murphy will not be rejoining the team.

{AUTHOR_BOX}Nets head coach Avery Johnson dispelled the idea to reporters and has made it clear behind the scenes that he doesn’t want Murphy around his team. After being excused from the Nets on January 12, Murphy has demanded a trade and is waiting at home for a resolution.

Johnson has butted heads with Murphy all season long, and it reached a boiling point two weeks ago.

"Avery isn’t the type of coach that will just put up with a player that’s acting out. Troy didn’t want to be there and was causing problems so Avery got rid of him," said one source with knowledge of the situation.

The Nets continue to shop Murphy and could consider a buyout if they cannot find a trading partner.

News and Notes: Here are some items from this week’s news and notes bin.

• With the Denver Nuggets reevaluating the option of trading Carmelo Anthony to the New York, sources close to the situation say that the Knicks aren’t making Raymond Felton available in negotiations. Donnie Walsh isn’t showing his hand, but sources stress that Felton likely won’t be included in a trade, calling the point guard "practically untouchable." The Knicks like the chemistry that Felton is developing with Stoudemire and would love for Anthony to join them rather than breaking up the core to acquire his services.

• Blake Griffin has taken the league by storm by jumping out of the gym and into the NBA’s top tier of players. What’s the rookie’s secret? Constantly working on his game and watching a ton of film. "Just improving and studying the game and watching film and stuff like that really helps," Griffin said. "Me personally, because I’m so young and I’m still learning the NBA game, [I'm] just watching film and getting in and getting extra work. [I'm] just having that mindset and trying to get better."

• Playing in New York offers plenty of benefits and opportunities, especially to elite level players. Good friends Amar’e Stoudemire and Darrelle Revis prove this to be true once again after teaming up with Google Demo Slam on a pair of creative videos that promote the website’s technology.