DJ Wilson Skipping NBA Combine 5 v 5 UPDATE: Wilson not participating due to injury
According to Brendan Quinn (h/t Ace Anbender), DJ Wilson is not going to participate in 5-on-5 play at the NBA Combine. This probably maximizes his draft value if he chooses to stay in the draft.
It appears D.J. Wilson will not be participating in 5x5 play at the NBA Draft Combine. pic.twitter.com/FYWuFZHJSh
— Brendan F. Quinn (@BFQuinn) May 11, 2017
As Bryan Mac points out, this makes sense regardless of whether he is leaning toward staying or going. There is no reason he shouldn't maximize his value if staying in the Draft is an option in his mind.
re: DJ Wilson: if he's even **considering** staying in the draft, he's going to take the actions that would optimize his draft stock.
— Bryan Mac (@Bry_Mac) May 11, 2017
Not participating in 5x5's probably means he's at least considering staying in the draft. But can we can read too much beyond that? I dunno.
— Bryan Mac (@Bry_Mac) May 11, 2017
In other words, "If I stay, I want to be judged on individual testing more than this 5on5" The likelihood of "if" is a different question.
— Bryan Mac (@Bry_Mac) May 11, 2017
EDIT: DJ Wilson is not participating because he is injured (h/t Scott Bell)
Sources in Chicago tell us D.J. Wilson is not participating in the workouts because he is banged up ... no other reason.
— Chris Balas (@Balas_Wolverine) May 11, 2017
WIN. But your post is better lol.
Lol. I was thinking the same thing.
Basically everyone at the combine is participating in this, you are right.
I kind of think that teams may have told him "we will see you next year." Honestly, I know that old joke on the blog "he needs one more year" but in this case, I think it is accurate. His body needs to fill out a little more and he needs to refine his game a little bit. I really don't think he is ready to be a pro.
I think he'll be back.
He might stay or he might go
Bold.
Why does skipping the 5 v. 5 maximize draft stock?
only would if you assume that his indvidual workouts have been so impressive that he does not need to. For a guy projected as a fringe first rounder, this idea would not seem to apply to DJ.
To be judged more on "potential" vs maybe some reality that could hit his stock.
As I said in another thread when I read he was considering the NBA as far back as January it has felt like DJ is looking for a reason to leave, and Wagner a reason to stay.
He's a ridiculously athletic player with great measurables, but he is also relatively skinny and capable of being bullied in the post. Because of that, he is less likely to stand out in a traditional scrimmage if he is asked to take on a front-court role.
I think it's a way for him to buy some time. He hides his weaknesses by not playing, gets drafted, gets money, and then maybe he can make his way back into the league from the D-league.
He's 2-3 years away from being a full-time NBA player. He's just not ready.
I totally agree about his measurables being great, but DJ is not ridiculously athletic.Is he a good athlete yes, but not ridiculous. He's got above average quickness for his size, he's not going to leap out of the gym (uses his length and height to dunk and block shots), and below average in strength. What about that says ridiculous athlete?
In my mind it would hurt draft stock, but would avoid any risk to injury. If you have great measureables and were an all-american, you can probably skip because you're already proven. Skipping won't increase your draft stock because you are already at the top, it just avoids possibly having a bad game and hurting your stock.
For a player who might not get drafted or fall the 2nd round, skipping is not a good look. If your play in college wasn't enough to have people consider you a sure thing 1st rounder, why would you think having your measurables quantified changes peoples mind? It's not like players grew 3 inches or added 15 lbs of muscle since their last season played, so they had basically the same measureables for the prior season. If their play (utilizing those measurables) wasn't enough to make them a known first rounder, I can't imagine any reason why knowing the measurables would change that.
that you will be playing 5 on 5 in the NBA, and that how you play 5 on 5 might be more illuminating than other "measurables." Seems odd to me that this would be perceived as helping his draft stock, but perhaps just one more reason I am not an NBA GM.
Unless he feels it would only hurt him. His game is built for the modern NBA OFFENSE - long and can shoot the 3. He can do that in an individual workout all day. Doing stuff that a NBA DEFENSE requires - he is probably not going to show well in that. As well as say rebounding in traffic. So this type of thing (5 v 5) feels like it would expose him on that end of the floor. He is a finesse player - he would probably be going against some rough and tumble big guys who he can shoot over from afar - but hurt him on the other end of the floor.
So, following up on SF Wolverine's question, why would skipping the 5 v 5 help him? Wouldn't it be a transparent move to limit teams' ability to analyze his game, and hence hurt him? Won't NBA teams see this for what it is and adjust his status accordingly?
Some executives fall in love with the prospects of an athlete, no matter what.
DJ not participating hides the fact that he probably can't handle low post play in the NBA and buys him more time and money.
Questions about why he skipped the 5 on 5s will hurt him less than a poor performance in them.
the logic that kicks off this topic is stupid. I'm a DJ fan and called him a potential NBA player as soon as he got to campus.
But he needed to impress at the combine, not avoid.
The tape shows flashes, but way too much inconsistency and, in particular, too much inconsistency against the NBA or near-NBA talent he faced. Even a guy like Vince Edwards was able to punk him down low on a notable play that will show up on his tape.
5 on 5 was a great chance for him to show consistency in his play and stoutness against other NCAA plus athletes.
I think people are missing badly thinking this is an opportunity he could afford to pass on if he wasn't injured.
I don't really understand the reasoning. I totally understand that reasoning if the player was a lottery type, because they have more room to fall with a bad showing then gain. But wouldn't a fringe first round player want to showcase his talent in every way possible? If I were a GM, and a fringe first rounder was a healthy scratch from 5 on 5's, I would take that as a negative on that player. Not a huge negative, but still a negative. I'm no GM or expert on player personel though, so maybe this happens all of the time or it's not as big of a deal. Just me not understanding the reasoning on why sitting out of an event actually "optimizes" someones draft stock.
Smart move if he is staying in the draft. I get the impression that something like this may only hurt his stock if he is leaning toward the NBA. This way he can say "look at my tape and my measurables" and that will be enough for NBA teams to draft him on. I'm not sure how one more year would make that much of a difference between being late first/early second guy and being a top 20ish pick. DJs value is his potential and the more tape out there on him, the less "potential" the NBA will see. Selfishly I want him to stay but it might be the right move for him personally to go now.
A large amount upon return. This is one of the best draft classes in recent memory, the next one is not projected to be nearly as deep.
Names in the 20-30 range include guys like Luke Kennard, Swanigan, Leaf, Lydon, you'll know why this class is so thought of.
Time to convince Ignas to reclassify
This would make sense if he already has a team that wants to take him, and he wants to go to. But then why not hire an agent?
Almost every player that was invited to the NBA Combine and kept open the option to withdraw from the Draft by not hiring an agent is participating in the 5-on-5. Granted there were only a select number of these players, but it looks like DJ Wilson and Tony Bradley were the only players to do this.
I think Bryan Mac is right that he feels this may be the best way to optimize his draft stock and get someone to give him a guarantee. But it sure doesn't inspire much confidence in the player's actual game.
Thanks, I was really waiting to see how Michwolve21 personally felt about a college athlete who wronged him
But one of DJ's criticisms is that he needs to get tougher. He plays with passion IMO, but I think scouts wanted to see him assert himself more near the basket. Both DJ and Moe need to become better rebounders. That was ultimately the difference in the Oregon game.
Wish him luck if he does. Shitty some people are already ragging on him, but I guess that happens.
Mo Bamba, come on down.
Good to see the update. HOPE IS ALIVE.
when is the deadline? When will we know definitively?
May 24th, I believe, is the cutoff
No matter how much of an NBA project he is, if he can be a low first round pick on his potential, and isn't crazy about school life (not everyone is), then best of luck to DJ in the NBA.
DJ was a Ivy League-caliber student in HS. "Skool" probably means more to him than most.
NOT gone. Would be great to have him back. The MO the better. Could be a great year next season!
GO BLUE!!
He or Wagner would leave for the NBA. Wagner got better as the season went on and had one really good game against Louisville, but he was pretty much invisible during the Oregon game. I'd think both would be better served coming back and being the main focus of the offense for a year would be better than going in the second round, which is where I think both would end up going. If they are both set on leaving, best of luck, but take Davis from MSU as an example of what not to do.
He got a promise from Utah
But getting this because Givony has some "Chicago intel" is silly.
And a team promising someone they'll take him this early in the combine is also silly.