What does that mean if you’re an NBA GM on Thursday?
It should mean that, unless you’re Chicago picking first and doing the no-brainer by taking Rose, you draft the best basketball player on the board when it’s time for your pick. And, I don’t mean the guy with the most potential or tools, but the player with the best hoops IQ that’s most ready to contribute now. Sure, as Andy Katz points out, there are tons of talented frosh that are draft-eligible. And many of them will go in the first round. But, if the GMs and scouts are right, the best of them will end up being solid NBA players. Why waste a three-year contract just to find out that a kid will end up being a career backup or complementary player? Why not take the player that’s proven himself over a college career that lasted more than one season?
