Knox is a lottery pick. He is gone as he should be. There is no guarantee he will make it past his first contract. He may turn out to just not be good enough. But he can work on his game much more in the pros than in college. He will be given every opportunity to succeed. It's up to him.
Would Knox even consider doing this one more year?
- Thread starter KMKAT
- Start date
Knox and all the other guys could benefit themselves with one more year of development at college level. If Knox wants to be a NBA starter and have a long career, he has to develop his defense. If he wants to make quick money and perhaps not get his second contract then he should take the money.
I will be honest and say that on one hand I want some to stay so that we can have experience and on the other hand if they want to leave so bad, let them. Why does Coach Cal push them out the door? I get tired of the "players first" thing Cal has. I know that I am being totally selfish when I think this way. I wish I could be more unselfish, but I support the University of Kentucky more than the individual players. Again, this is going to sound awful, but why should I worry about the individual more than the whole, when the players don't seem to care about the University while they are here. The whole time they are here, they are thinking about how they look, draft status, etc. I don't understand why Cal pushes them out the door if they are NOT ready, when it could be better for them AND the team if they stay another year or two. If they are ready, then good luck to them and I hope they succeed in the NBA. I really mean that. But why does he push so hard if they may NOT be ready. Surely not every player's family desperately needs the money. I just don't understand. I will not apologize for wanting the best for my Cats, just like they want the best for themselves.
Sorry if I was rambling in the above post, but I have a really bad knee and kidney and have been on pain medication today.
It’s also ALL on him to do it. Atleast in school you pretty much have everything laid out for you. You just have to show up.
His draft stock is high despite a rather pedestrian freshman campaign so he might want to cash in now. I tend to think the lure of the NBA is pulling a tad harder due in part to that, but I think it would be foolish to think he doesn't harbor any "what if" scenarios running through his head pertaining to a potential return. Only an extremely small minority of single minded folks wouldn't think about the smell of the roses.
This is the first year where - as a Duke fan - I can completely sympathize with UK fans. It sucks having guys like Duval / Trent or Diallo / Vandy - who would make next year's squad so much better, potentially leave for the NBA.
I've seen folks on this board post that they're just not as excited about UK basketball as they used to be, with all the roster turnover. For once I can see where they're coming from. Yeah, it sucks.
Would so love a 2AD / or 3AD approach similar to football and baseball. As a fan I honestly couldn't care less if that hits the future bank account of a guy on my team. Just like they're allowed to be selfish for themselves, as fans we get to be the same way for ourselves / the team's we love.
I've seen folks on this board post that they're just not as excited about UK basketball as they used to be, with all the roster turnover. For once I can see where they're coming from. Yeah, it sucks.
Would so love a 2AD / or 3AD approach similar to football and baseball. As a fan I honestly couldn't care less if that hits the future bank account of a guy on my team. Just like they're allowed to be selfish for themselves, as fans we get to be the same way for ourselves / the team's we love.
Hope you start feeling better. Have dealt with both (not at the same time though) and neither is much fun.
Wow, what a ridiculous thing to post. Of course we would love to see our guys come back, but are you kidding me? Young black (poor in most cases) men should turn down the opportunity of a lifetime to set their families up for life so that Aces Fan's basketball team has a better chance of winning a title?
As a criminal justice student, if I had the opportunity to forego college and was offered a guaranteed job making 100k for the FBI you can bet your life I would be doing it. The days of the "student athlete" in major college sports are long gone. At least Cal acknowledges that and always does right by his players. Do I love that even marginally talented players are leaving early when they have no shot to play in the NBA? No, but it is what it is. These kids bust their asses for our entertainment all season long. Until the NBA changes the rule, it is what it is.
My only real concern is whether Cal has the ability to get the elite of the elite recruits required to maintain the level of success we've seen in the past. His strategy requires getting the best of the best, and right now he is not getting that.
The part about ready does not apply the nba drafts on potential. Cal cannot force players to stay.
The one thing Knox has over any other player on this team. He can come back and up his stock to a top 5 pick next year. Alexander can't take that chance as he has to strike while the iron is hot. Knox coming back would take next year's team to the top of the charts with what we have coming in. Do I think he comes back, not a chance but it would be nice.
Give me 5 players back from the 9 who saw significant PT this year (plus Baker) and our incoming class, and I'll take that against everyone else.
Hoskins, it’s not about being a lottery pick all the time. Did Bridges hurt his stock? Perhaps, but every single lottery pick doesn’t have to have the same perception to get in the NBA asap. There a very few exceptions to it, but it doesn’t mean there aren’t guys who see it differently.
Young would have been better prepared IMO another year under Cal. Same for Noel. Does it make sense to ignore the riches? There lots to consider and I don’t begrudge anyone who does leave. But Cal may say you gotta go, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t prepare him for the next level with more time.
Our view doesn’t match Cal, that is obvious. He’s trying to help as many families in the shortest time possible.
IMO, Knox would be more ready after 1 more year in the UK system. Who knows if his next team will be the best fit? If you leave early, and you lose year after year....there’s an impact.
Name the UK lottery pick under Cal who's failed to make it in the NBA.
You can't, because there isn't one. Not Noel, because even if he's lost a year in Dallas, he was offered a 100 million dollar contract last summer. Someone is going to sign him to a decent mid-sized deal. Not MKG, because even if he has actually regressed on offense, he's making 13 million dollars this season. Not Patrick Patterson, who signed a 3 year, 16 million dollar contact last year. And not anyone else yet.
Meaning there's absolutely 0 evidence that a lottery pick returning to school for an extra year would help him in any way. None. Whatever flaws certain guys have as players (like Noel, MKG, and Julius Randle to a certain extent) were no more likely to get fixed by an additional year in college than in the pros.
If a guy really feels like he's not ready? Fine, let him come back. But the safest, surest route is for a player to get into the NBA when he's a hot commodity, and then develop his game there.
People act like NBA teams don't realize that they're drafting teenagers, and expect 19 year olds to come into the league as finished products. They don't. The investment they're making in these 19 year olds is, by NBA standards, minimal, and they get 3-4 years to look at the player before deciding if they want to commit real NBA money to him.
I'll gladly take Knox back, but that's entirely up to him, and the smart decision, if he's confident he'll be taken in the lottery, is to go.
He's younger than most in his class, he developed a little later than most elite players, and he's not a surefire top 10 pick. Guys like that are more likely to extend their college careers. But all I can do is sit back and wait for his decision, without coming up with totally BS rationales for why he should stay.
I'm in the camp of seeing kids realize their dreams. Miles Bridges, for an example, made a mistake coming back -- he'll never get that $3.8 million back for this year and his draft stock is about the same.
But purely from an economic standpoint, it DOES make sense for a guy who falls outside the lottery, say to around 20, to come back if he has a shot at playing his way into the top 5-10. I just checked out the contracts signed last year, and the #20 contract was less than a third of the #6 contract, over two years -- that's a difference of $15 million or so over two years.
Knox COULD be in that category once the dust settles with the NBA draft forecasting.
But purely from an economic standpoint, it DOES make sense for a guy who falls outside the lottery, say to around 20, to come back if he has a shot at playing his way into the top 5-10. I just checked out the contracts signed last year, and the #20 contract was less than a third of the #6 contract, over two years -- that's a difference of $15 million or so over two years.
Knox COULD be in that category once the dust settles with the NBA draft forecasting.
Define ‘make it’ because that is wide ranging. Do you have to be on the roster past your initial contract? If you’re Anthony Bennett or Marcelle Fultz, are they considered guys who made it?
Point is, Noel isn’t making an impact yet, and it’s time for a new contract.
I wa trying to point out that this was supposed to be about being a better player your 1st year in the league whatever year you come out.
If he was smart he would. He is just not ready for the NBA. I get how recruiting works and I also get how much money they make. But at the end of the day, if he can stay another year and get even better, his chances of landing that second contract become much greater.
Besides, that’s where the money is at anyway.
This makes me think he is really thinking about his future. I don’t know his living situation, but if he isn’t really poor, he doesn’t need to leave yet.
While the NBA doesn’t really care about winning a NC in college, being a major part of the team that did win it all has to matter to them. We saw how it worked for us after we won it all in 2012 and there have been many other teams with players go higher in the draft by winning it all, too.
My opinion only, but I don’t expect his stock to elevate much, but there is room there for improvement.
Another opinion....I’d rather be drafted by a playoff team, learn the system, and try to be in the rotation come Year 2. My example: Tayshaun. He had much more team success than that Dunleavy kid, who was drafted, what, 10 slots ahead of him?
Would I love to see Knox in a UK uniform in the fall? Hell yes.
Is he coming back to UK in the fall? Hell no.
Should he come back in the fall. No. If he can be a possible lottery pick and make millions, he should go.
Is he coming back to UK in the fall? Hell no.
Should he come back in the fall. No. If he can be a possible lottery pick and make millions, he should go.
I get your point and I’ll admit that I don’t know how all of the drafts work. However, I think Knox stock can only go up from here. He is a good player with exceptional potential. I don’t know that I would want to draft him and then hope he lives up to expectations. He is a freshman. Let him stay another year and get more consistent.
The few million he would make getting drafted doesn’t even remotely compare to the millions he would make getting that second contract.
Already defined it.
2nd contract. A player gets that, and he has an NBA "career". There are only about an average of 15-18 guys per draft who get that far. You have another 5-7 who hang around past their initial contract, but on the fringes, while everyone else either washes out after the rookie contract, or never makes it at all.
And being a better player in your first year isn't really all that important to getting a 2nd contract, at least for lotto picks. Better for the player if he's more ready to play, obviously, but very, very few are in this era. Teams aren't going to judge much about a lottery selection based on his first year (On-court. If the player has behavior issues, or they don't like what the player does in practice, it's a different story). They know they have to spend some time developing the guys they draft, and they have 3 years before they have to make any kind of real decision.
If he stays and just worries about his NBA game with little regard for the team, he wont be helping anyone.
He can learn playing against the best while making more than I have ever seen in my life.
Luck to him.
He can learn playing against the best while making more than I have ever seen in my life.
Luck to him.
They are loving the fact they grabbed that money because they would have lost a lot of it coming back. Again, you get a first round contract and you still can’t stick on a roster, it wasn’t meant to be.
That’s why Wall, AD and KAT were such a rarity
They had the skills, drive AND maturity
Replied to 9UK but in case you didn't see it..
http://www.tampabay.com/sports/high...-ii-still-unsure-about-leaving-for-nba-draft/
So the 16-21 million$$ that Monk makes on his first contract won't set him for life? Wow. Lots of different thought processes on this thread. lol
Knox is one of the recruits that's well off enough that he could come back with little worries on the home front
No idea where you're getting that figure from, but I'm pretty sure it's wrong. From what I can find, Monk has about 5M guaranteed for his first 2 years, Odds are that the Hornets pick up his option in year 3 (true for about 95% of 1st round picks), but that's not something that's happened yet. 15 million just seems like a stab in the dark number.
And yeah, 5 million should set anyone up for life, but you're completely missing the point, which is that any basketball player good enough to last in the NBA beyond his rookie contract is highly likely to be the recipient of a contract in the 8 + figures. And if that's not enough to set that player up for life, then there probably isn't any amount that would do so.
Very interesting. Sounds like just being a lottery pick might not be good enough for him and/or his family. He likes playing at Kentucky, sounds like he likes the college life.
I'm still assuming he goes, at the end of the day it's hard to look past "guaranteed millions". But, what was for sure a 1AD, now isn't. There's a chance he returns, and the more elite players declare before him the better. Let's hope guys like Bagley and Carter announce soon.. there's already 3-4 lottery players ahead of Knox.
My worry is how KJ will feel about Knox coming back. Yes, they play different positions, but they fill the same role: main scoring threat. Not sure both of them can realistically coexist with how many other players will be around them
But good lord, Knox with another year?
The only chance of Knox coming back is that he is extremely young for a high level college player. Most kids have been held back and redshirted during their grade school years, thus they are much more mature. Kevin on the other hand will be just turning 19 when his rookie training camp opens. Add in the fact that the Knox family is not hurting for money, it could happen. But it is a longshot.
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The perfect scenario for U.K. would be Knox comes back, KJ comes in trying to take some of Knox's minutes by bringing it everyday in practice (which also makes Knox better). Knox leads us to a title/deep tourney run while increasing his draft stock to Top 5. KJ logs 15-20 mins per game, plays a key contribution role/energy guy off the bench and then comes back for his Sophomore season and leads us to another serious shot at a title while also increasing his draft stock. This is the kind of culture we need to develop in order to achieve the true dominance our fans and Cal are looking for. Will it happen? Probably not. I'm not getting my hopes up.
According to Pat Forde, he signed with an agent last year, so I think it is highly unlikely he will return.
I know it’s a long shot and he’s passing a year of serious money, but it sounds like they are looking at the kids happiness too. You only have one chance at a college career. It gives him a chance to develop physically at a slower pace than what a pro season demands as well. Here’s hoping..,
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