A Summary of the Current Wisdom of Darius Morris' Draft Position
Just an FYI, as of right now:
Draft Express has Morris as the 2nd pick of the 2nd round, to Cleveland (a team he could probably start for).
NBADraft.net has Morris as the 23rd overall pick to Houston.
Chad Ford tweeted after a workout:
"Darius Morris looked really, really good in workouts today. He's got a great work ethic and attitude. He's going to be a first rounder."
I am really praying Morris's draft experience doesn't turn out like Donovan Warren's.
I doubt if it does but if it does I really hope this serves as a lesson for every player at Michigan that is debating on leaving early for a draft.
Even if it does, Manny Harris demonstrated last year that you don't need to be drafted to make an NBA team. Anyway, you don't get this far without having a lot of self-confidence. One player's failure is not going to discourage someone else very often.
... I really don't know if you can call the Cavs an NBA team.
Hope he makes the lottery.
I'm not good at math, but second round / second pick does not equal first round.
The missing variable seems to be another year at Michigan.
2 of the 3 sources say "First Round".
Like I said, I'm not good at math.
No, I'm jk, I'm still just mad that he's leaving. I hope he has a great NBA career, but damn what could have been.
You're "mad'? Who are you mad at? If you're mad at Darius isn't that a little selfish? He's making a choice he believes will provide the best opportunity. You may not agree with his choice, but he has the right to make it.
If you had said disappointed that would be fine, but mad doesn't seem fair.
The reason I am so defensive is that it was posted here and elsewhere that Darius was inundated with criticism from Michigan fans on his Twitter account. I really thought as a group we had more class than to attack one of our own for a choice he would make.
I think a lot of fans are upset to some degree. It's not justified, and certainly not an excuse for approaching Morris with anything but full support, but on some deep level of human fandom a lot of people flirted with the emotion.
I want him back...
But, I love seeing Michigan players do awesome, along with everybody else here and hope for the best in his future. Let's just hope Trey Burke comes in ready to take care of business and this team doesn't skip a beat.
As another FYI, I thought Mike Rothstein provided a good summary of the reasons why Morris made a wise decision in his column 5 reasons Darius Morris is making the right decision to leave Michigan for the NBA. His second reason was especially interesting, as he made a point that I hadn't seen others make:
2. The Manny Harris example
If Manny Harris, a former Michigan guard, left after his sophomore season at Michigan, he likely would have been a first-round pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. He stayed for his junior year, injured his hamstring, played on a struggling team and ended up undrafted as scouts had another year to dissect his game. During Harris’ junior year scouts saw that Harris couldn’t shoot and struggled to go left — coincidentally, the same things people note about Morris’ game — and it hurt him.
But I think the beginning of the next point is the bigger one:
"With the NBA almost certainly headed toward a lockout"
I guess it's nice to get paid (hopefully rookies can still sign contracts in a lockout??) to sit around, but personally, I'd much rather play another year, improve my game, and make a run in the tourney. Manny Harris is a cautionary tale, but the exception. Guys usally improve with more playing time. If he develops a jumper and a left hand, he'll be a lottery pick next year even if the draft class is stronger.
Every time labor strife lurks on the horizon, people, and the media, always talk about "no season". It's only happened once - with Hockey, and everyone has spent the ensuing years talking about how staggeringly incompetent that was.
Even if the whole season isn't shot, the way people are talking I would expect off-season practice to be cut some and that's going to hurt rookies more. All the uncertainty would make me nervous. Hopefully DMo knows something I don't.
The NBA Summer League is not that big of a deal. Most of the players in it are NBDL-caliber. Morris seems sufficiently driven that he won't waste his summer if he can't play in that.
People have come up with all kinds of reasons why Morris should stay or go, and this has basically been analyzed to death. In the end, it appears Morris and his family weren't nearly so calculating. He's just ready--right now--to go after his dream of playing in the NBA. This is from a Free Press summary of Beilein's appearance on WTKA today:
Beilein said he did everything he could to help Morris and his family by giving them information, which the family was pursuing at the same time.
“We’re in the same areas on some things,” Beilein said. “They really believe, (and) what’s important here is Darius believes, he’s ready. And his family believes he’s ready, and I’m never going to stand in the way of that. He knows there’s challenges there. It’s difficult for anyone to make an NBA team and have a career in the NBA. He understands those challenges; he wants to go after it very badly. He knows he’s giving up a lot. He loves Michigan. He’s a very good student. He’s so tuned in on becoming an NBA player; we say, if this is what you really want, what you want to do, you need to go after it.”
So, we already know (He knows, we know, everyone in the B10 knows) he can't go left and can't consistently hit the outside J, but coming back would allow the scouts to figure this out? This makes very little sense to me.
Clearly, the thought is, that with his attitude and work ethic, these are things that can be overcome. So... someone will take a flyer on him early. Maybe another year would prove that he can't get over them? so he better go now?
I, like everyone else, wish him luck. I hope he lights the world on fire.
Big gamble, hopefully he'll come out on top.
As much as I hate to see him go- if his dream is to play in the NBA which it obviously is this is the year to go. Its a very weak draft and whether he improves next year in college he still may be in a similar situation. Leaving early goes on at every good basketball college-instead of being dissapointed we should finally be excited we have players good enough to leave early.
Thanks Chitown.
I didn't think about this when I was all pissy just getting the news but end of the 1st round, even if the money isn't great, is the perfect place to go. I figure it's very rare -- maybe once in a decade -- that the franchises in that top echelon ever change. You get some noveau riche from time to time, but if you are to get drafted by one of those teams that goes deep into the playoffs every year, the end of the 1st round is where to be. Course it's a gamble -- slip just a little and you're in Cleveland.
Well, watching the Lakers/Mavs game last night, the only thing that I could keep thinking was "Darius Morris would get 15-20 minutes a game with these Lakers, minimum, TONIGHT."
Darius would be going home. I doubt the Lakers pass on him late in the first round especially given Fisher's age. Of course, it's all moot if there is no season next year.
The Lakers don't have a first round pick in this year's draft.
My Nets have that pick. I'll be pulling for them to draft Morris even if we don't need a PG
Steve Blake was absolutely terrible and Fisher is so old and slow....it was pitiful
with the thought that D. Morris could have contributed 15-20 minutes last night in the Lakers/Mavs game. If you watched the game closely, the Lakers pretty much outplayed the Mavs in every category(rebounding, FTs, TOs, Steals, Blocks) other than FG%. Bottom line, the Lakers can't buy an outside shot from anyone other than Kobe right now, and that is why they are down 0 - 2. The Mavs are packing the paint and daring anyone other than Kobe to shoot beyond 15 feet. Blake nearly airballed a wide open 3 last night from straight away, and Fisher just couldn't get them to drop.
I simply don't think Darius could've helped the Lakers last night, he certainly doesn't shoot better from the outside than either Fisher of Blake, and his defense certainly isn't as good as Blake's at this point. Darius' strong points are obviously his passing ability and post up game against smaller guards, but I have a hard time believing he can effectively post up Jason Kidd, considering that he holds his own against Kobe in the post for strecthces of the game. His passing ability would be negated by the fact that the triangle doesn't utilize screen and rolls with the PG, and thus Darius would pretty much be useless unless he was in transition(another thing the Lakers don't do because they have too much size in Bynum and Gasol). So while I love Darius' game, to say he can get 15-20 minutes on a championship team that doesn't utilize the best parts of Darius' game is a bet of a stretch in my opinion. I think he'll make a decent backup PG in the league one day, just not with the Lakers.
If you think he couldn't have defended better than Fish did on Barea, or shot better than Steve Blake's 3 airballs, we watched different games.
couldn't defend better than Fish. If you look at my post, you'll see that I made specific reference to Blake's defense. And, in all honesty, I think Fisher is a decent defender in a man to man situations(versus screen and roll) against guards other than CP3, Tony Parker, Westbrook, etc., and probably has better lateral movement and speed than Darius. Of course, Darius makes up for that with size and wingspan.
In terms of outside shooting, if you classify merely hitting the rim as doing better than Blake's airballs, I guess you have a point. However, I classify "doing better" than Blake's airballs as actually going in. Darius shoots less than 30% from 3 in college, which is subpar. I wonder how that translates to the Western Conference semifinals from NBA distance? You tell me if Darius would actually do better than a player who has shot over 40% from 3 four times in his career, and is shooting 39% from distance over that entire span?
Well, watching the Lakers/Mavs game last night, the only thing that I could keep thinking was "Darius Morris would get 15-20 minutes a game with these Lakers, minimum, TONIGHT."
Wonder if Morris was thinking the same thing--he was at the game, per this tweet: "At the Laker vs Mavs game its a Great Game"
As a side note, it seems worthwhile to pass along this tweet from Jordan Morgan:
The best of luck goes out to my brother @dariusmorris4...I just wish that he got the support he deserves from the people that WERE fans
There are only two teams that can consistently say they are in the upper echelons year in and year out. those are, obviously, the Celtics and the Lakers. All other teams shuffle through their phases of greatness.
The NBA is so fun right now because there are a number of compelling teams. OKC, Chicago, Dallas are all quality contenders. The knicks have great star power, and the nuggets have a great young nucleus of players. I could go on.
Point is, he could end up anywhere and have a chance to be on a contender. The NBA is that talented right now.
Unless, you know, he goes to Cleveland.
Before the Celtic picked up KG and Allen they were not the exactly the picture of consistency. And before Pierce they were actually kind of bad for awhile.
The Rick Pitino era isn't walking through that door!
After winning the Eastern Conference in 1987, the Celtics didn't win it again until 2008.
There are only two teams that can consistently say they are in the upper echelons year in and year out. those are, obviously, the Celtics and the Lakers. All other teams shuffle through their phases of greatness.
The NBA is so fun right now because there are a number of compelling teams. OKC, Chicago, Dallas are all quality contenders. The knicks have great star power, and the nuggets have a great young nucleus of players. I could go on.
Point is, he could end up anywhere and have a chance to be on a contender. The NBA is that talented right now.
Unless, you know, he goes to Cleveland.
I respectively disagree Misopogan. I'm probably one of the board's more obsessive NBA fans and have been a draftnik for 15-20 years now. Generally you want to get drafted in the lottery because you're getting drafted to a less talented team that is generally younger or getting ready to start a youth movement.
If you look at the teams in the lottery this year (and their projecte picks) only 3-4 have franchise point guards or aren't trying to unload theirs. Every other team would be drafting Darius with plans to make him their future starter.
| 1 |
 |
Minnesota | Derrick Williams | So. |
| 2 |
 |
Cleveland | Kyrie Irving | Fr. |
| 3 |
 |
Toronto | Enes Kanter | Fr. |
| 4 |
 |
Washington | Donatas Motiejunas | Intl. |
| 5 |
 |
Sacramento | Brandon Knight | Fr. |
| 6 |
 |
*Utah | Jan Vesely | Intl. |
| 7 |
 |
Detroit | Tristan Thompson | Fr. |
| 8 |
|
*Cleveland | Alec Burks | So. |
| 9 |
 |
Charlotte | Kemba Walker | Jr. |
| 10 |
 |
Milwaukee | Marcus Morris | Jr. |
| 11 |
 |
Golden St. | Terrence Jones | Fr. |
| 12 |
|
*Utah | Jimmer Fredette | Sr. |
| 13 |
 |
*Phoenix | Markieff Morris | Jr. |
| 14 |
 |
Houston | Kawhi Leonard | So. |
If you look at the teams in the playoffs who have 1st round picks only New York, Minny, Portland, and Dallas DON'T have point guards of the future and you can scratch Minny if they sign Ricky Rubio this month as expected. New York and Portland need floor spacing PG's because they don't have many shooters, so that's leaves just Dallas.
I would argue that getting drafted in the first round would ONLY be a good thing if Darius is drafted by Dallas. In every other situation he would be drafted as a backup to a franchise pg or to a team that is looking for a different kind of point guard. And to all these people that think that there is no way that the Lakers would pass on him: You're right, there's no way they would pass on him with their first pick, number 46 of the second round
Hoping for the best for you DMo. I just pray you don't go to Cleveland. Terrible team. Terrible State.
I'm stuck in this terrible state and I'm a Cavs fan. I would love to have a point guard that, you know, passes to his teammates for the first time since Mark Price.
No offense to the citizens of Ohio (like yourself) that can actually form complete sentences. I find you folks to be an endangered species in that state....
Cleveland... where all assists are lost in a black hole.
i was just hoping that the potential lockout would keep him at school. if teams are looking for potential, then he could go as high as 20th like NBAdraft.net said
If he looks that good and goes in the first round imagine what this does for Beilein's image in the eyes of recruits, especially on the heels of Harris surprising everyone. They will be lining up to come here.
We all wish he was going to be here next year but success breeds success.
This represents the death of another Beilein myth.
If Beilein couldn't develop recruits into NBA players, why would former NBAers be sending their sons to play for him?
I would love to see what I feel is a very bad decision turn out right. The difference between the last first round slot and the first second round slot is huge. This is a case where I would be very, very happy for my opinion to be blown out of the water.
Darius entered the draft process, but did not sign with an agent, so he could evaluate where he's likely to get selected. He is now making a decision based on information like the reports chitownblue2 quotes.
This is different than Donovan Warren and Manny Harris, both of whom did not wait for draft assessments before declaring and / or signing with an agent. I realize both probably made their decisions on (in hindsight misguided) other advice. Had they played it like Darius, they may have evaluated their options differently and decided to stay.
I cannot fault a person for evaluating his options wisely, and taking a chance on a major life opportunity like this, no matter how much we'll miss him. So, I wish Darius Morris luck in the draft, hope he does well, and thank him for his time here.
The Lakers can't guard quick point guards, I'm not sure there is any evidence that Morris would help with that. The Lakers couldn't hit a 3P shot, I know there is no evidence that Morris could help wih that. The Lakers went away from Bynum, they don't Morris for that, they need a change of strategy.
Edited to say, this was supposed to be upthread in response to the Lakers' need.
Thanks for the fun season.
but I'm tired of hearing that playing in the NBA has been his dream. I believe that it is, but at the same time many underclassmen that chose to stay in college another year (sullinger, perry jones, tyler zeller, etc) all have the SAME dream. Almost everyone in college basketball has that dream so hearing that doesn't validate his decision in my mind. I want him to succeed and now that its a done deal I really wish him the best. I think with another year under Beilein he could have really prepared himself for the NBA. At this point I think a famous poet, Eminem, said it best "You got one shot, do not miss your chance, don't blow this opportunity..." because college is over. Good luck D Mo.
These stupid decisions by guys that have no business going pro early, is why we watch a championship game that is like watching grass grow this year. If the kid was sure fire lottery pick, I would wish him the best of luck. He might not even get drafted and the NBA might not even have a season next year. Brilliant!
I think Morris deserves all flack he is getting for this insane decision. Is there anyone on this board old enough to remember when you actually had to be really good to go pro early? Now as soon as some kid shows a little potential, the kid is gone before the pro's find out he can not play. Not only as a Michigan fan, but as someone that loves basketball, these decisions are killing the game.
How about being able to shoot and use your left hand before leaving school early. The kid is not even that athletic. Wake up!
Is there anyone on this board old enough to remember when you actually had to be really good to go pro early?
You mean like, good enough to record a triple-double and lead the Big Ten in assists?
For purely selfish reasons only, I wish he woulda stayed. I was hoping for another sparty sweep next year !