Silver: 'No plans to change' Rookie of the Year eligibility rules

Look away, Utah Jazz fans.

The NBA doesn't appear to see anything wrong with the current definition of a "rookie." If it's the first season in which a player makes an appearance, he's a rookie, regardless of when he was drafted.

"There are no plans to change it," NBA commissioner Adam Silver told ESPN's Chris Haynes. "We've had that rule in place for some time. If we were to change the rule, we wouldn't do it midseason. We would at least wait until the winner of the award is announced. But there have not been any discussions about changing the rule."

For this year, that means Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers is a rookie, despite claims from some - particularly, fans of Donovan Mitchell and the Jazz - that he wasn't a rookie, as Simmons spent the entire 2016-17 season with the Sixers while sidelined with an injury.

Other leagues, such as Major League Baseball, have a system in which a player can retain his rookie status for multiple seasons if he doesn't register a certain number of appearances - 130 at-bats or 50 innings of pitching appearances. It doesn't look like such a rule change is likely to find footing in the NBA in the near future.

"I'm always open for suggestions, but I don't see anything happening there," Silver added.

The last redshirt rookie to win the award was 2009 draftee Blake Griffin for the 2010-2011 season after he missed his entire freshman campaign with a knee injury.