NBA Has 'No Plans' to Alter ROY Rules Amid Ben Simmons-Donovan Mitchell Debate

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Friday the league hasn't engaged in any conversations about potentially changing the Rookie of the Year rules amid debate about whether Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons, who sat out last season because of injury, should qualify for the award. 

Chris Haynes of ESPN.com provided comments from Silver about the hot-button topic.

"There are no plans to change it," he said. "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."

Simmons quickly emerged as a ROY contender after recovering from a broken bone in his right foot that cost him what should have been his debut year.

The 21-year-old Australia native averaged 15.8 points, 8.2 assists and 8.1 rebounds while shooting 54.5 percent from the field across 81 appearances. His return and high-end success was a crucial reason the Sixers earned their first playoff berth since 2011-12.

Utah Jazz shooting guard Donovan Mitchell engaged in a light-hearted debate with Simmons about his rookie status during the stretch run of the regular season. It included wearing a sweatshirt with the definition for the word rookie on it.

Mitchell, the 13th overall pick in the 2017 draft, had a strong season in his own right. He averaged 20.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 79 games.

Ultimately, it's hard to imagine changing the rule since it would be hard to disqualify a player from winning the award through no fault of their own.

Silver told Haynes he'll listen to suggestions, but, for now, a change to the ROY rules is "not something that's on the table."