Lakers' Williams: 1-and-done rule is 'dumb'

The new CBA is on the brink of finalization, and it will reportedly still include the one-and-done rule.

The mandate, which requires players to be at least one year removed from high school before being eligible for the NBA draft, is a controversial one.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Lou Williams entered the league straight out of high school in 2005 - one year before the rule was implemented. He isn't a fan of it, pointing toward the success of other players who made the jump from high school to the pros.

"It's a dumb rule," the 30-year-old recently told Baxter Holmes of ESPN. "Some guys don't even want to go to college. You have guys going overseas. You have them doing different things and Ben Simmons was very open about his process with how he spent his year at LSU in his documentary.

"Basically, our league was held up by the guys out of high school. LeBron (James), (Kevin Garnett), Kobe (Bryant). You have those guys and those have been the pillars of this NBA community. I just think it's a dumb rule, personally."

Related: Ben Simmons rips NCAA, 'pointless' academics in documentary

Generally speaking, the league and owners want to increase the minimum age from 19 to 20 so the players come in more mature and theoretically less likely to be busts. The players, meanwhile, have been in favor of abolishing the regulation because it impedes their ability to operate on their own terms.

"I would just like for everybody to be in control of their own destiny," Williams elaborated. "Personally, I understand the NBA and government and all of these things are extremely different. You can go to war at 18, so you should be able to make a living at 18, especially if college isn't what you see for yourself.

"You're not realistically going there to be a 'student-athlete' and wake up at six in the morning and lift weights and then have your day full with study hall and all these things. If you're really not committed to that process and you're only there for basketball, then I think that hurts the university as well."