To Go Pro or Stay in School?

Often people question when's the right time for pro prospects to leave school? Should they enter the draft when their stock is hot or return to school to polish certain areas of their game? In this year's draft we had a multitude of early entries, and while some players were can't miss prospects others watched themselves drop in the draft or didn't hear their name called at all. While underclassmen such as Irving, Williams, Thompson, and Walker all had their dreams come true as lottery picks other players dealt with disappoint yesterday. Here's a list of the players who should of remained in school and would have surely been first round picks next year:

Tyler Honeycutt- Drafted 35th by the Kings. This athletic, but lanky wing needs to put on more weight to guard NBA 3's and would have benefitted from another year at UCLA where he would have ran the show. Also, another season with the Bruins would have given Honeycutt more time to work on his three point shot and to further develop his offensive arsenal as a whole. At this time next year he would have been viewed as a lottery pick with more than just "upside."

Malcolm Lee- Drafted 43rd by the Bulls (traded to the Timberwolves). Lee is another former UCLA Bruin; while scouts love his ability to play defense and his reputation as a hard-worker, he still has several holes in games. Lee struggles to consistently hit the open shot and like his former teammate Tyler Honeycutt, he needs to get stronger. He may not have been a lottery pick, but definitely a first rounder next year.

Josh Selby- Drafted 49th by the Grizzlies. Selby was one the mostly highly touted recruits from the class of 2010. However, a suspension at the beginning of the season and his struggles with the Kansas' offensive schemes hindered his progress. Some believe the relationship between Self and Selby was rocky and was part of the reason he decided to leave school. Although Selby is a natural scorer, I don't know how likely it is he sticks with the Grizzlies as they are already loaded with perimeter players. Selby further augments the notion that one should stay far away from Kansas if they plan on being one and done.

Other Notables: Isaiah Thomas, Scotty Hopson (Pearl was fired, so he his not completely at fault)

NBA Draft Winners/Losers

First off, these are just my initial thoughts on the draft. None of us know for sure how these guys are going to pan out, plus there could still be trades in the next few days with some of these guys. Even though this draft isn't full of star power like some of the drafts in recent history some teams were still able to come away with good value. Others, well there are always moves that make you scratch your head.

Let's start with the 5 Biggest Winners:

Winners

Cleveland Cavaliers: With The Decision still fresh on the mind of the fanbase in Cleveland it was necessary for Dan Gilbert to give the Cavs' fans a little glimmer of hope for next season. Basically, all the Cavs needed to do was make the right decision and choose Kyrie Irving with the #1 pick.  The Cavs selected Kyrie Irving, PG from Duke, and followed up with Tristan Thompson, PF from Texas, at #4.  The Cavs were said to be very interested in Jonas Valanciunas at #4, but the fact that he likely will be stuck in Europe for at least another year probably scared them away from selecting him. Thompson is a high-risk, high-reward pick at 4, but with no surefire big man on the board after Derrick Williams and Enes Kanter were off the board then you really can't knock this pick. Thompson still needs to develop his offensive game, but right now he can step in and rebound for the Cavs. He also will benefit from Kyrie finding him in transition. This move makes you wonder what the Cavs plan on doing with JJ Hickson in the future. Either way, I'm sure that Byron Scott is excited to add talent to the roster, and seeing Kyrie Irving under the tutelage of Byron Scott should be fun to watch.

Utah Jazz: The Jazz are another team that's in rebuilding mode after trading away their superstar Point Guard Deron Williams before the trade deadline. Many people thought that the Jazz would be targeting Brandon Knight at #3, but they instead went with the highest rated Center in the draft. No one has seen much of Enes Kanter in game situations after he was deemed ineligible by the NCAA this season, but Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari has raved about him for the entire season. Kanter also outplayed Jared Sullinger in the 2010 Nike Hoop Summit playing for the World team, where he dropped 34 points and 13 rebounds, breaking Dirk Nowitzki's record of 33. This guy is definitely a player and this was a solid move by the Jazz. Kanter has been compared to Milwaukee's Andrew Bogut, which should bode well for Jazz fans. Pairing Kanter with Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap is a step in the right direction for a rebuilding franchise. With their second lottery pick at #11 the Jazz selected Alec Burks, a sophomore guard from the Colorado Buffs. Burks is a very talented slasher with the potential to be a great scorer in the NBA. After seeing him play a number of times during the College Basketball season he quickly became one of my favorite players. He had a memorable performance in an upset of a much more talented Texas Longhorns team in Big 12 play. Burks is someone who definitely will have to work on his outside shot at the next level but there is a lot to like about this kid.


Washington Wizards: The Wizards are surrounding their franchise player John Wall with some solid pieces for the future. Already paired with Javale McGee at Center, the rumor floating around was that the Wizards were big on Enes Kanter. I'm not sure whether or not that rumor was a smokescreen, but it seems like the Wizards got their guy at #4 in Jan Vesely. Vesely is a European player that is known to be extremely athletic, and great in transition. He doesn't sound like the prototypical Euro player, but he does sounds like a player that will flourish alongside John Wall to me. The Wiz can definitely use help at the 3, but Vesely's offensive improvement will be essential to his development. Vesely is still developing, but has some natural ability that can help right away. Next, the Wizards went with Chris Singleton, SF/PF from Florida State. Singleton is a very versatile player that can guard a number of positions on the court, but the great thing is that drafting Singleton at #17 is great value for the Wizards. Singleton is the type of guy that will fill up the stat sheet, and everyone will like playing with him. Think Josh Smith without the desire to launch horrible 3 point shots. In the 2nd round the Wizards were able to snag Shelvin Mack, PG from Butler. Mack is a player that had a very successful college career, playing a key role in back to back National Championship game appearances for Butler. He has developed a consistent jumpshot to go along with his assets as a strong defender and ballhandler. Some people question how Mack's foot speed will transfer to the NBA, and whether or not he'll be able to stay in front of quick PGs. I am definitely one of those people that worry about Mack's foot speed, but I think that he can develop into a very solid backup PG in the league. All around last night was a very strong draft for Wizards fans.

Milwaukee Bucks: The Bucks were very active last night, as they were involved in the largest trade of the night. A 3-Team trade resulted in the Bucks receiving Stephen Jackson, the rights to the #19 pick (Tobias Harris), Shaun Livingston, and Beno Udrih. They gave up the rights to the #10 pick (Jimmer Fredette), John Salmons, and Corey Maggette. Adding Stephen Jackson is a great move for the Bucks, giving them veteran leadership and an added scoring punch. Tobias Harris has the chance to be a highly productive player in the NBA as well, and he's coming into a situation where he won't have to contribute immediately. Shaun Livingston is a very capable backup when healthy, as proved this season. The Bucks appear to be positioning themselves for a playoff appearance next year, while also adding a solid young player with potential for the future. I'm not sure if Brandon Jennings is a player that you build your franchise around, but the Bucks are definitely a team with valid playoff hopes.   In the 2nd round the Bucks went with Wisconsin product John Leur. I'm sure this was a sentimental pick in some sense, but a face-up big man that can knock down the pick-and-pop jumper from 15 feet will always have a job in the NBA. I'm more impressed by the Bucks moves earlier in the night.

Los Angeles Lakers: Say what you want about the Lakers, but they came away filling positions of need last night without having a 1st round pick. The Lakers were able to come away with Darius Morris and Andrew Goudelock last night. Darius Morris is a PG that could've easily found himself getting drafted in the 1st round next year if he would've returned to Michigan for his Junior year, but now he finds his dreams coming true as he gets the opportunity to play in front of his hometown. Goudelock is an athletic combo guard that can fill up the scoring column. Shannon Brown is likely gone from the Lakers and Goudelock will be an adequate replacement. On a team that is weak at the guard position outside of the great Kobe Bryant it was imperative for them to add help in the NBA Draft. They were definitely able to do that tonight.

Other Winners: Boston, Dallas, New Jersey

Losers

Detroit Pistons: I'm still trying to figure out Joe Dumars plan here. He whiffed a few years ago in free agency wastong a boatload of money of Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva. Now, he drafts another combo guard in UK Freshman, Brandon Knight. Why Joe? Don't you already have a roster that includes Ben Gordon and Rodney Stuckey? Another 6'3 combo guard is going to help? I would've been happier to see the Pistons trade down a few slots and pick Alec Burks or Klay Thompson. Unfortunately, Joe Dumars left me perplexed and wondering why he still has a job.

Minnesota Timberwolves: First of all, this organization is a joke. They fire the head coach right before the draft. That says it all. You're drafting players to fit the scheme of who? You don't even know who the coach is yet. Derrick Williams and Mike Beasley have a similar skillset. They aren't the same player, but they possess a lot of similarities. Beasley seems pretty expendable now, even though they didn't give up much for him in the first place.

Charlotte Bobcats: Michael Jordan is the greatest player of all time. He seems to continually make horrible basketball decisions, though. DJ Augustin average 14 point and 6 assists last year, it really seemed like he came into his own under Paul Silas. Why draft Kemba Walker? DJ will be looking over his shoulder again, knowing that Kemba is your guy. Do you really think Kemba is going to be that good? I know you were at the Final Four, that has to be where you fell in love with Kemba. He's a winner that had a legendary season this year, but I'm not even sold on him being a full-time PG. Holding onto Jeremy Tyler would've made things a little better, but you then traded him to Golden State. You could've had a young 7 footer with great upside on your roster to slowly bring along. Just a bad draft overall from the Bobcats.

Sacramento Kings: Jimmer Fredette is a talented player and I think that he can be a serviceable guard in the league. However, playing next to a guy like Tyreke Evans who needs the ball in his hand probably isn't the best situation. I also am not sold on Jimmer playing PG full-time in the NBA. I would've liked Kemba here if you were that sold on going PG right here. Bismarck Biyombo or even Kawhi Leonard would have been picks that I like for the Kings at this spot. They just needed guys who can play without the ball in their hands. Biyombo and Leonard are not strong offensive players, so they would've been great picks for the young Sacramento Kings.

Portland Trailblazers: The Blazers went with Nolan Smith in the 1st round at #21. This was far too high for Nolan Smith. I agree that Portland needed to go with a PG or a Wing here but Nolan Smith just would not be my guy. The Blazers also need help inside with Marcus Camby aging, and Greg Oden frequently injured. They are a loser because they completely ignored that need in the draft. However, trading for Raymond Felton is a very good move for the Blazers.  


Other Losers: New Orleans, Toronto


These are the Winners & Losers of the NBA Draft here at Food4Sport. As I said before, this could easily change and some of those guys will be moved in the near future. I hope you enjoyed the draft as much as I did. Now we have to pray that the NFL CBA gets done soon.