Report: DJ Wilson To Stay In Draft
[Marc-Gregor Campredon]
From DX so very solid:
Sources tell DraftExpress that D.J. Wilson is keeping his name in the 2017 NBA Draft and will not return to Michigan.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 24, 2017
Our analysis is that this is bad.
Michigan has a couple options to fill the roster spot Wilson is apparently vacating. Illinois State grad transfer Mikyle MacIntosh just withdrew his name from the draft; he's another high-usage, dubious efficiency lower level guy. This is mostly because of his two point shooting. He was 76/44/36 last year on 28% usage. He had a block rate similar to Wilson and could help patch that lineup hole.
The other option is Canadian SF/PF Ignas Brazdeikis, who is currently planning on being a 2018 recruit but is keeping 2017 options open.
UPDATE: It's official.
"D.J. and our coaching staff worked very hard over the last month to get as much information as possible on his draft status," said U-M head coach John Beilein. "Given the data and insight we received, D.J. is confident he is ready to take the next step in his basketball career. We love D.J., and he will always be a Michigan Wolverine. His development over the past three seasons, and particularly this past season, was phenomenal. With continued work, he shows great potential to improve in a similar manner in the NBA. We wish him and his family the very best, and we will always be rooting for him during this draft process and for all the years to come."
I'm talking fringe players. We don't get the one-and dones, so we're obviously not competing in that space.
Go get the Canadian. Lock him up, Coach!
my gut says bring in the Canadian!
what the heck do I know. He clearly needs more development time. However, IF, and only IF he has a guarantee of being a first round pick from some team, then I can see it. We'll see when the draft is held I guess. But, I wish DJ the best of luck in the NBA and hope he is a huge success.
Early second rounders usually get contracts as well, and many for more money than first rounders. DJ is turning 22 next year; he is not a young NBA prospect by any means.
That, plus his injury history, his decision was probably the best one for him. There is no guarantee that he would improve or move up in the draft. In fact, I have my doubts that he would have improved significantly enough to get into the top 20. If I were in his shoes, I would stay in the draft too.
guarantee contracts. That's an encouraging sign.
how sure are we of this source? IF D.J. is staying in the draft, why wouldn't he say so himself.
A brother can hope, right?
But best of luck in the Association young fella!
This feels like when you're dating someone you really like and get along with and they have to move for their dream job or school or something. You're happy for them, but can't help but feel sad for yourself and wish they wouldn't leave :(
i guess he's an alright recruiter, to have early departures in the first place.
Snark Catcher!
all season barring some miraculous development by Duncan, Matthews and/or Livers. I wonder if they can get away with playing Davis or Mo spot minutes at the 4 against certain lineups.
Yeah we're going to go back to being a crappy defensive team without DJ at the 4.
Without kids like DJ using an agent, why wouldn't more teams just lie to them and say they are going to be picked for sure? I can see if he had an agent they wouldn't want to burn bridges with agents. DJ better go get some representation quick.
I wish Wilson all the success the NBA has to offer but hope he didn't just cost himself a bunch of cash by going a year early.
First off. DJ Wilson. I wish you the best of luck. Go get paid and enjoy the NBA.
With that said. This still makes no sense. Wilson was a decent player, but he was by no means elite. He didn't earn one single Big Ten honors. Just doesn't make sense.
Not everyone in the NBA is elite. Most scouts I've seen think DJ is a three-and-D stretch four. There are role players on every team, and many have lengthy NBA careers.
This stings. Wilson has incredible potential and was emerging into a terrific player for us, and now he's gone. And he has the potential to really blow up this next season, turning into a top-15 type pick (athleticism, length, outside shooting? yes please) and now he's looking at the bottom of the first round.
Wilson, to me, has a better shot of improving his draft stock than Wagner, who could be dominant or could remain the talented but inconsistent player that he was most of this past season and slide significantly.
On the other hand, these guys saw what happened to Caris after he came back. If he is indeed picked in the first round, the team is going to work to develop him and he's going to get paid. He could blow up next season, but if he gets hurt and/or is limited by injury for significant parts of the year, the rose loses a lot of its bloom.
For all the examples of guys coming back and improving their draft stock, there are lots of examples of guys who could have been drafted early who then slid significantly after coming back. It's a risk either way, but this is a risk with a guaranteed roster spot and a couple million dollars attached.
Sometimes Michigan improves with an early departure too. Think back to Darius Morris and how many of us didn't think he should leave after his sophmore year. In Morris's case, I don't know if he would've improved his draft stock/made more guaranteed money if he stayed another year or two. What we do know is that Michigan handed the keys to freshman Trey Burke and let him play 30+ mins his freshman year. This valuable on court experience resulted in player of the year Trey Burke his sophmore year, and Michigan in the championship game vs. Louisville. Maybe there's a silver lining to DJ leaving early.
Really hope it pans out for him. Beilein I'm sure has been contingency planning. Just happy that we have Mo back. That's huge. Still think we have potential to have great season coming up.
GO BLUE!!
Wish him the best of luck in the NBA, hope everyone has been honest with him during this process. On the brighter side, it sounds like Austin Davis is ready to make contributions and that Beilein has been very happy with his progress. So, onward and upward!
all the best!! just think hes making a big mistake
The number of negative hot takes for a not so young player in NBA terms with an injury history making a decision that will in all likelihood result in him making a couple million dollars is perplexing.
Best of luck DJ!
I'd rather that Ignas re-classify than take a one year, whatever, grad transfer.
He's not really screwed, even if he doesn't get taken until the second round. Either way, he's a development project for a team. Yes, he loses the guarantees that a first round pick gets, but he's going to live or die in the pros by virtue of his own work ethic and talent, and if he goes 2nd round and is out of the NBA after a year or two, he goes and plays in Europe for a few years before coming back and finishing his degree. That's not "screwed".
A team may have told him they would take him in the late first round if he was still on the board, which in my opinion would have been enough to make the decision to go.
I'm pissed he is gone. IMO he still has so much potential to grace us with. We only got to see the tip of the ice berg before he has left.
But if I'm mad at anything its the drafting process. How has the NBA/NFL not seen how much better it is to draft players the NHL way. Draft based on age and bring under contract based on performance. College players can't be released to their NFL team until after their third year.
Good luck DJ! Hope your dreams come true!
I agree that the NHL (and MLB, too, I believe) has a much better way of drafting players.
I agree that the NHL (and MLB, too, I believe) has a much better way of drafting players.
I'm sad DJ is going because I loved watching him in Maize and Blue and I want my team to be better.
But, whether it is a bad decision or not, I'm humble enough to say I have no idea and I hope he gets drafted where he hopes to and by a franchise that is a good fit for what he needs.
I don't get why most fans can't be honest and state that they just want a player who will make their team better to stay on their team. It's a reasonable thought. But, espousing without a doubt statements such as it's a bad move, he'll regret entering the draft is just succumbing to emotion.
Getting paid millions to develop is much better than going to class and continuing the student athlete experience in many athlete's opinions. Considering it's their lives and their choices, their opinions are really the only ones that matter.
Last, when will the idea that staying in college is better for development die?
This is the correct decision:
1) He is getting drafted, possibly in the first round.
2) Given #1, he will develop significantly faster in the NBA. Despite what the NBA Consultants here at MGoBlog say, you will improve all facets of your game much faster practicing and playing against NBA players. It is laughable that people think Wilson would be helped more by practicing and playing against vastly inferior college players. He will also develop an NBA game doing it in the NBA rather than in Beilein's more team oriented system. Lastly, he doesn't have to go to class and the amount of time he can devote to basketball is not limited by the NCAA.
3) There is a good possibility that Michigan takes a step back next even with Wilson on the roster. Walton made the team go last year and he's gone. His replacement is either Simpson who showed next to nothing this year, or a grad transfer from Ohio. Either way, Michigan is downgrading at PG. Maybe Matthews can replace Irvin but it's just as likely that he won't. Michigan welcomes another 'meh' recruiting class, which will probably lead to 1-2 very good players down the road but probably wont feature any instant impact players. Given all these questions and faced with the possibility that your supporting cast won't be as good and thus you won't be as productive, it makes a ton of sense to leave while your stock is high.
Not really. Teams are shooting more 3s and putting less emphasis on the inside game, so in that sense there are some similarities between Beilein and the NBA, but the league still is driven by stars. You get the best of the stars and you're probably heading to the Finals (see Cavs-Warriors the past three seasons). I mean does anyone think Tyron Lue is a good coach or that he runs an innovative system? No, he has LeBron. On the other side, you have Golden State in cruise control under Mike Brown who is a legit bad coach, but they have Steph Curry.
If he can make millions, he should go for it. If this is the best shot at maximizing his value, so be it.
But, as I prefer college basketball to the NBA, I'm disappointed. In my view, some things need to change.
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The draft deadline needs to moved up a couple of weeks. Michigan had a shot at Mo Bamba. If Mo Bamaba chose Texas over Kentucky because of the education and alumni network, he could have easily chosen Michigan. How hard could Beilien pursue him if he didn't know if he had a scholarship available? Waiting until almost June killed Beilien's roster management.
- Beilien still needs to work on his recruiting. DJ Wilson had moments, but overall only an okay contributor this year. He didn't make any All B10 teams, not even honorable mention. That means it's the judgement of the media and coaches that there are at least 23 players better than DJ in the B10 alone. And no one in their right mind thinks DJ can contribute next year to an NBA roster. If he gets drafted in the first round, a big if (I don't care what Utah says) he's most likely on the end of the bench for a few years. If he couldn't handle that guy from Oregon, he'll get killed in the NBA, where literally every single player will make that Oregon guy look small and slow by comparison. Anyway, Beilien has to find guys that contribute in a big way to the team before they take off for the NBA. Getting a few weeks production before they leave isn't cutting it.
Personally, selfishly, I want to see Michigan compete for titles. They made an unbelievable in-season turnaround and DJ was a part of that. But seeing a team finally come together with a chance to seriously compete for titles next year only to watch a key cog take off at the last possible moment for a dubious draft slot is frustrating.
That said, good luck to him. Hopefully his decision proves to be a wise one.
Don't land Bamba, Wilson leaves. How Beilein it is.
Seriously, who is going to grab a rebound next year?
Might have had a chance at landing Bamba if Wilson makes a decision two weeks earlier.
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