Chamberman said:

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DJ Stewart, former starting combo guard for Duke during the 20-21 season, declared for the NBA draft after his freshman campaign. A 5-star high school player heavily recruited from Chicago, felt like he was ready and that his innate talent could take him to the next level.

3 years later and Stewart has never appeared in an NBA game. He's had a few flirtations with short term contracts and has done well in the G-league, but that spark he had hoped would ignite his NBA career has never materialized.

He recently has come to terms with his ill-fated decision.

https://www.si.com/college/duke/basketball-player-comes-terms-leaving-early-5-24

Maybe this will be a lesson to many young players in college.

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I mean, maybe? He went undrafted. Guys like Missi and Walter got the scouting report that they are both first round draft picks. There is no way that Steward got a scouting report saying he was going to be a first rounder and then he didn't go undrafted. My assumption is he just had too much hubris thinking he would play himself into the league.

Most guys now are pretty smart when they declare. They usually get good information. That's why Teague and Butler came back after declaring in 2020, because they weren't projected high in the draft. Kendall Brown was a definite draft pick (albeit second round), but what has hurt him was literally injuries. But he's still on the Pacers' roster.

My thought is the number of guys like Steward are fewer and fewer.

EDIT AFTER READING: Plus, the guy is 22 and balling out in the G League. He'll most likely play himself into the league. It's not like he's on the street.

EvilTroyAndAbed said:

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Chamberman said:

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DJ Stewart, former starting combo guard for Duke during the 20-21 season, declared for the NBA draft after his freshman campaign. A 5-star high school player heavily recruited from Chicago, felt like he was ready and that his innate talent could take him to the next level.

3 years later and Stewart has never appeared in an NBA game. He's had a few flirtations with short term contracts and has done well in the G-league, but that spark he had hoped would ignite his NBA career has never materialized.

He recently has come to terms with his ill-fated decision.

https://www.si.com/college/duke/basketball-player-comes-terms-leaving-early-5-24

Maybe this will be a lesson to many young players in college.

---

I mean, maybe? He went undrafted. Guys like Missi and Walter got the scouting report that they are both first round draft picks. There is no way that Steward got a scouting report saying he was going to be a first rounder and then he didn't go undrafted. My assumption is he just had too much hubris thinking he would play himself into the league.

Most guys now are pretty smart when they declare. They usually get good information. That's why Teague and Butler came back after declaring in 2020, because they weren't projected high in the draft. Kendall Brown was a definite draft pick (albeit second round), but what has hurt him was literally injuries. But he's still on the Pacers' roster.

My thought is the number of guys like Steward are fewer and fewer.

EDIT AFTER READING: Plus, the guy is 22 and balling out in the G League. He'll most likely play himself into the league. It's not like he's on the street.

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Was just listening to Austin Rivers talk about the G League. From what I gather, his point is unless you are getting a 2 way contract, where you are guaranteed games with the parent team, you are better off playing overseas. G league is essentially a showcase, players just looking to score to get noticed, not really a basketball league. He says often the mvp of the league doesn't even get a call up.

Chamberman said:

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Maybe this will be a lesson to many young players in college.

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That sounds good for story books but these are 17 year old kids who have been superstars their entire lives on the court so why would they not expect it to continue. They don't think like 47 year old men. They don't fear failure. None of them have the mentality that they may be the one who doesn't make it. They been talking about the league since they were 8.

Big12Fan2024 said:

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Chamberman said:

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Maybe this will be a lesson to many young players in college.

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That sounds good for story books but these are 17 year old kids who have been superstars their entire lives on the court so why would they not expect it to continue. They don't think like 47 year old men. They don't fear failure. None of them have the mentality that they may be the one who doesn't make it. They been talking about the league since they were 8.

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All the more reason to seek good, objective advice and enter the draft as prepared as possible for what's next.

I would like to see the data on the average career length of one-and-done players. For every star, or even rotation player, there seem to be several who get chewed up and spit out without getting more than a cursory look from an NBA team.

If I was advising these guys, I'd tell all players projected in the top 20 to leave and most who aren't to go back to school. Starting your NBA clock as a project is a good way to get one contract and be playing the rest of your career overseas. Unless you're a lottery talent, the closer to a finished product you can be on draft day the better. These NBA teams only commit to lottery picks as they're not held accountable for draft busts outside the lottery.

If you're not a lottery guy, you'd better be ready to contribute quickly. Because they won't wait for you if you're not. They'll just label you a bust and draft over you the next year.

Big12Fan2024 said:

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Chamberman said:

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Maybe this will be a lesson to many young players in college.

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That sounds good for story books but these are 17 year old kids who have been superstars their entire lives on the court so why would they not expect it to continue. They don't think like 47 year old men. They don't fear failure. None of them have the mentality that they may be the one who doesn't make it. They been talking about the league since they were 8.

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All the more reason to seek good, objective advice and enter the draft as prepared as possible for what's next.

I would like to see the data on the average career length of one-and-done players. For every star, or even rotation player, there seem to be several who get chewed up and spit out without getting more than a cursory look from an NBA team.

If I was advising these guys, I'd tell all players projected in the top 20 to leave and most who aren't to go back to school. Starting your NBA clock as a project is a good way to get one contract and be playing the rest of your career overseas. Unless you're a lottery talent, the closer to a finished product you can be on draft day the better. These NBA teams only commit to lottery picks as they're not held accountable for draft busts outside the lottery.

If you're not a lottery guy, you'd better be ready to contribute quickly. Because they won't wait for you if you're not. They'll just label you a bust and draft over you the next year.

If you do it right though even one contract and then going overseas is probably a more profitable endeavor than staying an extra year or two in college and not getting drafted.

IvanBear said:

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If you do it right though even one contract and then going overseas is probably a more profitable endeavor than staying an extra year or two in college and not getting drafted.

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Tell that to the many multi-year college stars like Taurean Prince and Buddy Hield, who developed into first-round picks, left college as NBA ready players and are still bouncing around the league almost a decade later.

That's an infinitely better outcome that what Perry Jones, Quincy Miller, Kendall Brown, etc. experienced -- or are currently experiencing in Brown's case.

If you're not talented enough to get drafted after two or three years of college, you should never be considered a one-and-done prospect to begin with.

These guys should learn from Tyrese Haliburton. If he had left after his freshman year, he'd have been lucky to be a late first or early second-round pick and likely would have never been given the opportunity to become the player he has.

By coming back for another year, he earned his way into the lottery, entered the league ready to contribute and grew into the all-star he is now.

He's the perfect example of entering the draft when he should have.

The G League is like single or double A baseball. If you aren't out of it in a couple years best to consider other options. Tennessee legend Chris Lofton tore it up in Europe. Played in the G league for a year shooting his famed trey ball close to 45%, got zero NBA interest and went back to Europe. Good European league players can make mid 6 figures and elite guys have supposedly made low millions. Do that for 10 years and then you can probably get a full ride or close to from the university you starred at for a a graduate degree program. Be a GA getting your MBA, MPH, or a PT degree with solid money in the bank if you didn't blow it on bottle service in Spain or wherever

Most of these kids have all the wrong "advisors" around them. Sad, but true. Baylor MBB has numerous examples just like this one.

ZachTay said:

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Most of these kids have all the wrong "advisors" around them. Sad, but true. Baylor MBB has numerous examples just like this one.

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Quincy Miller and Kendall Brown both ruined promising careers by leaving early. Both could have had long NBA tenures if they had waited a year or two and entered the league more ready to contribute.

Leaving early to be a second-round pick is an idiotic decision.

All that glitters is not gold.

bear2be2 said:

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ZachTay said:

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Most of these kids have all the wrong "advisors" around them. Sad, but true. Baylor MBB has numerous examples just like this one.

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Quincy Miller and Kendall Brown both ruined promising careers by leaving early. Both could have had long NBA tenures if they had waited a year or two and entered the league more ready to contribute.

Leaving early to be a second-round pick is an idiotic decision.

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Maybe, or maybe they would have busted regardless as their games never matched their hype level, and by staying in college they would have been further exposed, never drafted, and never sniffed the league.

bear2be2 said:

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ZachTay said:

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Most of these kids have all the wrong "advisors" around them. Sad, but true. Baylor MBB has numerous examples just like this one.

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Quincy Miller and Kendall Brown both ruined promising careers by leaving early. Both could have had long NBA tenures if they had waited a year or two and entered the league more ready to contribute.

Leaving early to be a second-round pick is an idiotic decision.

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Kendall Brown had a right tibia stress fracture his rookie year and would not have been drafted at all had he returned and sustained the injury at Baylor. Instead he was drafted and was able to rehab the injury while getting NBA paychecks. I know the facts don't always match your narrative, though.

Crawfoso1973 said:

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bear2be2 said:

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ZachTay said:

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Most of these kids have all the wrong "advisors" around them. Sad, but true. Baylor MBB has numerous examples just like this one.

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Quincy Miller and Kendall Brown both ruined promising careers by leaving early. Both could have had long NBA tenures if they had waited a year or two and entered the league more ready to contribute.

Leaving early to be a second-round pick is an idiotic decision.

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Kendall Brown had a right tibia stress fracture his rookie year and would not have been drafted at all had he returned and sustained the injury at Baylor. Instead he was drafted and was able to rehab the injury while getting NBA paychecks. I know the facts don't always match your narrative, though.

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By this tortured logic, no player that could ever get an NBA contract, even as a second-round pick or undrafted free agent, should ever go back to college because they could get injured and see their stock drop.

Ignoring silly butterfly effect scenarios, the fact of the matter is Kendall Brown fell out of any team's real plans long before his injury, dropping from a potential lottery pick to the middle of the second round. He was already a disposable lottery ticket by the time his freshman year ended.

He would have been much better off going back to college and working on his game, so that when he entered the draft, he was a more complete player and closer to being in a position to contribute.

Even if he had gotten injured, he still would have likely been better off rehabbing on Baylor's time rather than while on the clock with an NBA team that doesn't value him highly and is minimally invested in him as a second-round pick.

There's risk with any decision, but the reward as a mid-second round pick isn't very high. The salary in that spot isn't anything special by pro basketball standards, and statistically those guys get flushed out of the league in less than three years.

If you want an NBA career of any length, your best bet is to either be good enough to get drafted in the top 20 or enter the draft NBA ready with skills that translate to specific roles that are coveted by teams.

Starting your clock before either of those things are true is a good way to kill your NBA dream before it even starts.

You are ignoring the fact that the injury would have tanked his draft stock and after rehabilitation he would have faced an uphill battle to even be a 2nd round pick. Injury risk is a very real factor to consider when these guys make their decision to enter the draft. Look no further than EJ to see how an injury can wreck NBA aspirations.

Crawfoso1973 said:

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You are ignoring the fact that the injury would have tanked his draft stock and after rehabilitation he would have faced an uphill battle to even be a 2nd round pick. Injury risk is a very real factor to consider when these guys make their decision to enter the draft. Look no further than EJ to see how an injury can wreck NBA aspirations.

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I'm not ignoring anything. Statistically, few things wreck NBA aspirations more than being drafted in the second round. For most, that's a ticket to a few bucks (by NBA standards) for a year or two and a career in overseas obscurity.

If the second round is your ceiling, take the money and run. If it's not, you're a fool to settle for that.

bear2be2 said:

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Big12Fan2024 said:

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Chamberman said:

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Maybe this will be a lesson to many young players in college.

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That sounds good for story books but these are 17 year old kids who have been superstars their entire lives on the court so why would they not expect it to continue. They don't think like 47 year old men. They don't fear failure. None of them have the mentality that they may be the one who doesn't make it. They been talking about the league since they were 8.

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All the more reason to seek good, objective advice and enter the draft as prepared as possible for what's next.

I would like to see the data on the average career length of one-and-done players. For every star, or even rotation player, there seem to be several who get chewed up and spit out without getting more than a cursory look from an NBA team.

If I was advising these guys, I'd tell all players projected in the top 20 to leave and most who aren't to go back to school. Starting your NBA clock as a project is a good way to get one contract and be playing the rest of your career overseas. Unless you're a lottery talent, the closer to a finished product you can be on draft day the better. These NBA teams only commit to lottery picks as they're not held accountable for draft busts outside the lottery.

If you're not a lottery guy, you'd better be ready to contribute quickly. Because they won't wait for you if you're not. They'll just label you a bust and draft over you the next year.

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That's easier said than done. Too many people have too many selfish people around them. Too often, guys can't afford to prepare for the future because the past is need them.

Kendall Brown made the best decision for himself at the time. And in retrospect, it ended up being the right decision. The injury would have kept him from ever being drafted.

Mitch Blood Green said:

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bear2be2 said:

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Big12Fan2024 said:

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Chamberman said:

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Maybe this will be a lesson to many young players in college.

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That sounds good for story books but these are 17 year old kids who have been superstars their entire lives on the court so why would they not expect it to continue. They don't think like 47 year old men. They don't fear failure. None of them have the mentality that they may be the one who doesn't make it. They been talking about the league since they were 8.

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All the more reason to seek good, objective advice and enter the draft as prepared as possible for what's next.

I would like to see the data on the average career length of one-and-done players. For every star, or even rotation player, there seem to be several who get chewed up and spit out without getting more than a cursory look from an NBA team.

If I was advising these guys, I'd tell all players projected in the top 20 to leave and most who aren't to go back to school. Starting your NBA clock as a project is a good way to get one contract and be playing the rest of your career overseas. Unless you're a lottery talent, the closer to a finished product you can be on draft day the better. These NBA teams only commit to lottery picks as they're not held accountable for draft busts outside the lottery.

If you're not a lottery guy, you'd better be ready to contribute quickly. Because they won't wait for you if you're not. They'll just label you a bust and draft over you the next year.

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That's easier said than done. Too many people have too many selfish people around them. Too often, guys can't afford to prepare for the future because the past is need them.

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I agree with this. These guys have way too many leeches in their entourage and are getting terrible advice. But players need to have some self-awareness, too, and to be able to take a sober look at their game and how their skill set actually translates to the next level. Too many of these guys have a vastly inflated view of their current abilities.

Crawfoso1973 said:

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Kendall Brown made the best decision for himself at the time. And in retrospect, it ended up being the right decision. The injury would have kept him from ever being drafted.

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He made the best decision if his goal was to get a modest non-guaranteed contract and be playing in Spain in three years.

If he had waited another year or two and entered the draft a more developed player, he'd have very likely been a first-round pick. Same with Quincy Miller.

bear2be2 said:

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If he had waited another year or two and entered the draft a more developed player, he'd have very likely been a first-round pick. Same with Quincy Miller.

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Very likely? I don't see that at all. The NBA goes super young with their top picks. He's got a contract with the Pacers. I don't see him in Spain in three years. He'll still bounce around the league. Another year at Baylor playing against a ton of players who'll never sniff the NBA wouldn't have changed that.

EvilTroyAndAbed said:

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bear2be2 said:

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If he had waited another year or two and entered the draft a more developed player, he'd have very likely been a first-round pick. Same with Quincy Miller.

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Very likely? I don't see that at all. The NBA goes super young with their top picks. He's got a contract with the Pacers. I don't see him in Spain in three years. He'll still bounce around the league. Another year at Baylor playing against a ton of players who'll never sniff the NBA wouldn't have changed that.

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And he wouldn't have even playing that next year because he had the tibia injury. He would have had to come back a third year and the shine would have been long gone. Instead of being with the Indiana Pacers and enjoying the opportunities he has been blessed with he would have gone undrafted. Bear2be2 has said several times he doesn't care at all about these guys or what they do with their NBA careers or lives once they leave Baylor. This is another example.

EvilTroyAndAbed said:

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bear2be2 said:

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If he had waited another year or two and entered the draft a more developed player, he'd have very likely been a first-round pick. Same with Quincy Miller.

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Very likely? I don't see that at all. The NBA goes super young with their top picks. He's got a contract with the Pacers. I don't see him in Spain in three years. He'll still bounce around the league. Another year at Baylor playing against a ton of players who'll never sniff the NBA wouldn't have changed that.

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He's on a contract that's unguaranteed past this season and just averaged 1.4 points with a 7.6 player efficiency rating in 4.2 minutes per game. He's not long for the league.

EvilTroyAndAbed said:

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bear2be2 said:

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If he had waited another year or two and entered the draft a more developed player, he'd have very likely been a first-round pick. Same with Quincy Miller.

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Very likely? I don't see that at all. The NBA goes super young with their top picks. He's got a contract with the Pacers. I don't see him in Spain in three years. He'll still bounce around the league. Another year at Baylor playing against a ton of players who'll never sniff the NBA wouldn't have changed that.

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Tell that guys like Buddy Hield, Taurean Prince, Corey Kispert, Jalen Williams, etc., etc.

The NBA frequently takes veteran college stars in the back half of the lottery. And those guys frequently have long, productive careers because they hit the league ready to contribute immediately.

Crawfoso1973 said:

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EvilTroyAndAbed said:

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bear2be2 said:

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If he had waited another year or two and entered the draft a more developed player, he'd have very likely been a first-round pick. Same with Quincy Miller.

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Very likely? I don't see that at all. The NBA goes super young with their top picks. He's got a contract with the Pacers. I don't see him in Spain in three years. He'll still bounce around the league. Another year at Baylor playing against a ton of players who'll never sniff the NBA wouldn't have changed that.

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And he wouldn't have even playing that next year because he had the tibia injury. He would have had to come back a third year and the shine would have been long gone. Instead of being with the Indiana Pacers and enjoying the opportunities he has been blessed with he would have gone undrafted. Bear2be2 has said several times he doesn't care at all about these guys or what they do with their NBA careers or lives once they leave Baylor. This is another example.

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What shine? He was the freaking 48th overall pick.

If he had stayed in college, he'd have had a chance to improve his game and build his stock back up after the injury. He forfeited that opportunity for mid second-round money and the last spot on a team's bench.

Look, I'm not saying all freshmen should stay. Sochan, George, Walter and Missi were all smart to leave. Two were lottery picks and there's a decent chance at least one of the other two will be in this year's draft. Sochan had little else to prove at the college level, George and Walter's stock was/is as high as it was/is ever going to be and Missi has limitless potential at a coveted position. Those guys were all smart to leave because they were/are going to be drafted highly enough to earn some level of real commitment from the teams that draft them.

But guys like Miller and Brown, who had seen their stock plummet during their freshman season, are doing themselves no favors whatsoever by leaving early. All players like them would be better off betting on themselves at the college level and entering the NBA when they're actually ready, especially in the NIL era, where you can match or exceed second-round money in college.

The shine of being considered a one-and-done. It was a foregone conclusion before he stepped on campus that he was going to be a one-and-done. Early on he was going top 10 in mocks. His draft stock didn't start sliding until well into conference play and even then most people had him going late first round. If he would have returned he would quickly have been dismissed as a bust especially after he got injured. Fair or not, once guys get the bust label they are cooked in the draft process. They are no longer the shiny new toys that cause NBA GMs to salivate over their potential. They are quickly discarded for the next crop of high school graduates. KB would have quickly been an afterthought and would have ended up trying to revive his professional career playing overseas somewhere.

Is he guaranteed to get that next contract and be a viable rotation player? Absolutely not and honestly that might be a long shot. But he is making NBA coin so in retrospect he made the exact perfect decision especially considering the timing of his stress fracture. So it's truly bizarre, but not surprising, that you continue beating the same dead horse considering his situation. All situations and circumstances are not the same for everyone going through the draft process.

Crawfoso1973 said:

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The shine of being considered a one-and-done. It was a foregone conclusion before he stepped on campus that he was going to be a one-and-done. Early on he was going top 10 in mocks. His draft stock didn't start sliding until well into conference play and even then most people had him going late first round. If he would have returned he would quickly have been dismissed as a bust especially after he got injured. Fair or not, once guys get the bust label they are cooked in the draft process. They are no longer the shiny new toys that cause NBA GMs to salivate over their potential. They are quickly discarded for the next crop of high school graduates. KB would have quickly been an afterthought and would have ended up trying to revive his professional career playing overseas somewhere.

Is he guaranteed to get that next contract and be a viable rotation player? Absolutely not and honestly that might be a long shot. But he is making NBA coin so in retrospect he made the exact perfect decision especially considering the timing of his stress fracture. So it's truly bizarre, but not surprising, that you continue beating the same dead horse considering his situation. All situations and circumstances are not the same for everyone going through the draft process.

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You're making a very strange case here -- and one that highlights the massive flaw in the way we look at and talk about "one-and-done" talent that Kelvin Sampson has talked about and lamented over the years.

You're assuming for some reason that Kendall Brown's skill set wasn't going to improve enough in three or even four years of college ball to become one of the many veteran college stars (I've mentioned several in this thread) to play their way into the lottery or at least first round, so he had to dupe some NBA team into taking his underdeveloped ass in whatever round they would and be happy to be in out of the league in three years with less than $3 million in career earnings.

That's a silly argument to me. If Kendall Brown had done what I suggested, and stayed and focused on improving/developing some marketable skills in college, he would have at the very least been in the same position that Jalen Bridges is now and very likely ahead of that because he has better physical tools. The odds of a junior or senior Kendall Brown, coming off a season or two of elite college production and efficiency, falling to the 48th pick are very low in my opinion. And the odds of him hitting the league completely unprepared to contribute in any meaningful way are even lower.

If you want a career of any length in the NBA, the best way to secure one is to enter the league ready to compete and contribute at that level. You don't have to be a star to play for a decade in the NBA. You just have to have utility. There are a ton of mid role players who get contract after contract to prove this.

Too many of these freshmen enter the draft with no such utility, fall to a spot where their drafting team has no reason to make any commitment to their development, underperform for a year or two and get spit out by teams that aren't going to wait for them to figure it out. All of those guys would have been better off figuring it out before entering that process and starting that clock.

A guy like Georges Niang is the perfect example of the floor of what I'm talking about above. After a stellar four-year career at Iowa State, his draft stock was about the same as Brown's. He was taken two spots behind where Brown was drafted.

But unlike Brown, he didn't have a ton of developmental work to do on his game. He was just waiting for an opportunity. And when he got it, he carved out a niche quickly and is still playing in the league eight years later.

I would not be at all surprised to see Jalen Bridges do the same thing and -- like Royce O'Neale -- outlast many of Baylor's most talented freshmen in the NBA.

I'm not even that big of a fan of KB's game or wagering that he will even develop enough to get that second contract. I look at their draft values like looking at the stock market. KB's stock was at an all time high before he ever stepped a foot on campus, and his value gradually began to wane as the season wore on. So he was probably wise to sell high when he did. He may / may not ever develop into a viable NBA player. If he never develops he was smart, not moronic as you cliam, to have sold high on himself before his value cratered. The act of returning in and of itself would have damaged his stock because it would have highlighted the deficiencies in his game. And then the injury would have completely cratered his value and he would not have been drafted at all.

Crawfoso1973 said:

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I'm not even that big of a fan of KB's game or wagering that he will even develop enough to get that second contract. I look at their draft values like looking at the stock market. KB's stock was at an all time high before he ever stepped a foot on campus, and his value gradually began to wane as the season wore on. So he was probably wise to sell high when he did. He may / may not ever develop into a viable NBA player. If he never develops he was smart, not moronic as you cliam, to have sold high on himself before his value cratered. The act of returning in and of itself would have damaged his stock because it would have highlighted the deficiencies in his game. And then the injury would have completely cratered his value and he would not have been drafted at all.

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If the 48th pick is the zenith of one's stock, they shouldn't have ever been considered a one-and-done.

I just don't buy that Kendall Brown wouldn't have been far better off going back to college, working on becoming an elite 3-and-D guy and leaving as a junior or senior as a near finished product.

Even if he was drafted in the exact same spot, he would have been far more equipped to stick in the league than he currently is.

The fact that he hasn't made a single NBA 3-pointer yet and has only taken three is the death nell to his career. He has no place in the league if it's not as a 3-and-D guy, and he didn't enter the league with that skill set.

I was watching Knicks Pacers and wondering why he wasn't in the game in 3rd qtr with Pacers up by 30.

He entered with 9:45 left in game and Pacers up by 40. Last person off the bench. Only Pacer not to play was 15 yr veteran journeyman James Johnson.

He was never a good shooter. Never will be. Quite frankly his offensive game is trash.
That's why I constantly argued with those saying he was a lock to be in the lotto after the first 5 games.
His stock was always going to plummet. I'll be shocked if he's not playing overseas in 3 years

bear2be2 said:

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Crawfoso1973 said:

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I'm not even that big of a fan of KB's game or wagering that he will even develop enough to get that second contract. I look at their draft values like looking at the stock market. KB's stock was at an all time high before he ever stepped a foot on campus, and his value gradually began to wane as the season wore on. So he was probably wise to sell high when he did. He may / may not ever develop into a viable NBA player. If he never develops he was smart, not moronic as you cliam, to have sold high on himself before his value cratered. The act of returning in and of itself would have damaged his stock because it would have highlighted the deficiencies in his game. And then the injury would have completely cratered his value and he would not have been drafted at all.

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If the 48th pick is the zenith of one's stock, they shouldn't have ever been considered a one-and-done.

I just don't buy that Kendall Brown wouldn't have been far better off going back to college, working on becoming an elite 3-and-D guy and leaving as a junior or senior as a near finished product.

Even if he was drafted in the exact same spot, he would have been far more equipped to stick in the league than he currently is.

The fact that he hasn't made a single NBA 3-pointer yet and has only taken three is the death nell to his career. He has no place in the league if it's not as a 3-and-D guy, and he didn't enter the league with that skill set.

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I'm not even saying I agree he should have been considered a one-and-done or that I was a huge fan of his game. He was considered a lotto talent that based upon his measurables and athleticism with the hope that he would develop offensive skill. In retrospect he probably made the right decision to cash in especially considering the timing of the injury.