Is Darius Morris time in LA (and maybe the NBA) nearing an end?

Exactly.   Darius blossomed during his sophomore year.   It's like he underwent a metamorphosis, somewhat akin to an insect changing from larval to pupal to adult form between his freshman and sophomore seasons.  

/Tim Doyle'd

Stauskas

It's weird that he's so bad at 2-pt FGs now.  In college he was over 50% inside the arc.  I know there obviously are a lot more shotblockers at this level, but still, I wouldn't have guessed him to be at 30% there.

Its basically a certainty that Maimi will have to brake up their big 3 after next season.  They won't be able to pay the luxury tax when their tax rate increases.  At that point I think between salaries and the tax they'd be spending 140 million on players.  They don't have the money to do that and I'm sure Lebron is aware of that.  If I were betting I'd say Lebron is a Laker by 2015.

Trey Burke already chose not to make the decision Darius Morris made when in a comparable position.                -EDIT- not meant as a reply to Tater

 D-Mo's  stock was not going to rise any furtther than he had when he left.  That is why I think he made the right decision.  He was going to be the same thing after last year, a tall point with limited scoring capacity and nice court vision, that is him for better or worse.  I don't think he is the type of player that was going to develop any more than he did in college.  Hardaway's breakout freshman year did nice things for Morris' stats and Michigan got some good pub from their good showing against Duke.  And Morris was very effective in the second half of the Duke game.  Morris was not projected to some all time great pro prospect when he was coming in, going where he went in the draft was more than expected.  Sometimes making the right move entering the draft is not about longevity but about that first contract and knowing when you have caught lightning in a bottle. 

LA was probably the best landing spot for him in the NBA.  Its home, so its comfortable, and its on a team with scorers and in desparate need of a PG.  Given all of that, he hasn't been able to deliver.  If/when he gets cut/traded by the Lakers, I don't think he's got a long NBA shelf life.  Not a lot of reasons for another team to take a flier on him.

Seeing playing time is good, but in theory the best coaches are in the nba, you practice all day for the entire year.  The danger of stting on the bench is getting cut which is why guys should stay in college.  Its better to be able to improve your game without having to worry about keeping your job but if you have a contract it is better for  development to be in the nba.  The development league does exist, its not like the lakers have to keep him on the bench.

At the pro level you get to practice full time (no classes, study tables, etc.) almost year-round (no breaks for finals, short off-season.)

At the pro level you get world-class coaching/training (Beilein is no slouch but he is tasked with a lot of things - whereas teams like Dallas will have a coach devoted to every single player and that individual's development needs.)

At the pro level you compete against Kobe Bryant every day (compared to Albreht/Merrit/etc.)

It's difficult to consider NCAA basketball as a great developmental league once you've acheived even a moderate level of succes. Compared to the NBA there are far fewer games, the rules are different, and the competition isn't close (e.g., playing Binghamton).

Staying in NCAA is the MLB equivalent to being forced to play rookie-league ball for multiple seasons.  Not everyone is Mike Trout/Lebron James, but, in the absence of AA and AAA, it's better to take your lumps at the pro level than dominate amateur competition.  The Soccer equivalent is playing in the Moldovian league vs Spain/England/Italy/Germany - the equivalent to the Netherlands, Poland, and Austria don't exist (though maybe the NBDL is getting there.)

Morris' biggest limitations (shooting, quickness) weren't going to move as quickly in the NCAA as they would in the NBA. 

Ultimately, I don't think it matters as much as people think.  Some guys have the talent, others do not.  There are certainly people on the margins who make it (or don't) due to their development strategy, but it's not a 'game-changer' for most.

If you are one of those people on the margins - it would seem that the more-challenging and rigorous route to preparation would be MUCH better than the low-impact and low-difficulty one.

Because Morris was best with the ball in his hands and the offense going through him. 

Kobe is on this team. 

To earn double the low rate he was making to make that extra year without pay moot, and your whole point moot. You can't say he lost nothing when you just said it was 50-50 on him improving his draft stock vs. not. If it's "dubious" to say he would have, it's just as dubious to say he wouldn't have. 

And all this training in the NBA...NBA coaches aren't concerned with taking time to make their players better. They're on a short schedule and an even shorter leash and they're concerned with getting a team prepared to win the next game.  Players get better in the NBA on their own, mostly. Can that be done more easily with all that free time to practice? Yeah. (If one assumes NBA guys are really spending all their free time working on their game. Uh huh.)  Is it better than less practice time but actual instruction, and game experience? Maybe, maybe not.