Could neither Kentucky nor Duke have a lottery pick on their rosters this season?
NBA executives reportedly think so.
According to a report by Jeff Goodman of WatchStadium.com, NBA teams are not very high on the Kentucky or Duke rosters this season in terms of draft potential.
And if the NBA Draft were today, neither team would have a player taken in the first 14 picks of the first round.
“If the draft were today, which it obviously isn’t, I don’t think I’d take anyone on either roster in the lottery,” one high-level NBA executive told Goodman. “And I’d be shocked if anyone from either team goes in the top five or six.”
“It’s fluid, but if had to answer today, I’d say no,” another NBA exec told Goodman when asked if there was a lottery pick on either roster.
For 12 straight seasons, John Calipari or Mike Krzyzewski has not only managed a lottery pick in the NBA Draft, but a top-six overall pick. Derrick Rose started the trend back in 2008 out of Memphis, with Zion Williamson and R.J. Barrett doing it at Duke this past season.
Though we've seen players make impressive jumps into the lottery by the end of the season - Kentucky standouts Tyler Herro and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went from four-star prospects to one-and-done lottery picks in one year - NBA executives apparently haven't seen a player on either roster capable of shooting up the draft boards.
The NBA folks who have made their way through Lexington and Durham have come away unimpressed thus far.
“It’s just not the same,” one scout told me.
“Doesn’t look like Duke and Kentucky,” another said.
“Neither have good top-end classes … as of today,” one NBA general manager said. “And I just don’t see either team having a guy go in the top half of the lottery. Maybe they can get a guy into the lottery, but I’m not even sure who that is right now. None of them look the part.”
While this report doesn't sound overly optimistic in the slightest, you also have to keep in mind that this is in relation to NBA potential and NBA potential only. Kentucky, who boasts the No. 2 team in college basketball, has a roster full of players who project as phenomenal college basketball players.
Could this roster contend for a national title
and return several key players next season? Tyrese Maxey and Ashton Hagans are seen as near-locks for the NBA after this season, and the expectation when EJ Montgomery and Nick Richards returned this past spring, it would almost certainly be their final season in Lexington.
As for the likes of Immanuel Quickley, Kahlil Whitney, Keion Brooks Jr., and Johnny Juzang? Things could get
very interesting.
Factor in Kentucky's elite recruiting class set to arrive in 2020, and fans have plenty to be excited for moving forward.
(WatchStadium.com)
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