Adam Silver: Compensation for college athletes 'a three-way conversation'

NBA commissioner Adam Silver reiterated his support for raising the NBA draft age on Wednesday and wants to work with the NCAA and the NBPA to determine how to properly subsidize athletes if they are required to stay in school until they are 19 or 20.

"It does, in my mind, need to be a three-way conversation," Silver told ESPN.com's Darren Rovell. "You heard college administrators at press conferences around the [NCAA] tournament say that it's the NBA's problem or the union is putting up resistance. It's a more complex problem than that."

Silver says the NBA could contribute financially to create a more complete insurance plan for college athletes offering total coverage for serious injuries. He also believes in further monetary compensation, if necessary.

"Rather than focusing on a salary and thinking of them as employees, I would go to their basic necessities," Silver said. "I think if Shabazz Napier is saying he is going hungry, my God, it seems hard to believe, but there should be ample food for the players."

Any change to the NBA draft age would be met with plenty of resistance from the players' union but could be made palatable by an overhaul to the NCAA system, which is facing multiple challenges. A class-action lawsuit brought by former student athlete Ed O'Bannon is gaining steam, as is the Northwestern football team's attempt to unionize.