Durant tells team he will return

[CMJ3]

RealGM
Durant Tells Teammates He'll Be Back
7th March, 2007 - 11:17 pm
Dallas Morning News -
D.J. Augustin, point guard for the Texas Longhorns, said Monday that he's definitely returning for his sophomore season.

"I need to get better. I need to work on my game," Augustin said. "I need to work on my defense and get stronger and quicker."

Augustin also said that star freshman Kevin Durant has told his teammates that he's coming back.

"But Kevin's a humble guy, so he's probably going to say he's coming back whenever he's asked that question," Augustin said.

Whats this mean for the Celtics and other teams who have the potential to land Durant. Maybe the 07 draft wont be so good after all especially if Durant and Oden pull out.

[Christopherson]

I'll believe it when I see it. Of course Durant is going to say he is coming back. Why alienate teamates before he makes a run at the 'ship?

[Gundy]

Didn't Oden also say he's going to stay? Yeah, I don't buy it just yet.

[beau_boy04]

I think it will come down to how desperately they need the money dont ya think?

[Matt]

If he wins the chip he's not coming back.......unless he really doesnt want to play for Boston.

[---]

If he follows through with this its a great idea, he needs to get his body ready for he hits the L. I still don't quite buy it though.

[Riot]

I heard somewhere that he stopped attending classes at the start of the second semester. That means he's probably not going to come back for his sophomore season.

[Oznogrd]

Two things about the mentality's of college athletes

1) About them needing the money desperately. I dont think this will happen. I never saw Deron Dee or Luther wearing anything that wasnt designer. I dont think its a coincidence. While the NCAA tries to stop it, i'm sure theres ways boosters insure they're team future with any funding they need.

2) The stopping attending classes would greatly surprise me. Maybe every school doesnt have this but our DIA pays students in all varisty athletes classes to be "class checkers" and report to them if the athlete is not present, even in 800 person lecture classes........Deron Williams came to class when i had one with him, he just slept the whole time *shrugs*

[cyanide]

I think more players should follow the Tim Duncan model of staying in school, but then again, I'd be paranoid about ruining my career if I tore an ACL in my 2nd year of school when I could've been playing my first year in the NBA.

[scrub]

I think more players should follow the Tim Duncan model of staying in school, but then again, I'd be paranoid about ruining my career if I tore an ACL in my 2nd year of school when I could've been playing my first year in the NBA.

I agree with players staying in school to get more experience and becoming better players and more mature. Players like Gerald Green and Martell Webster should really be in the draft this summer. Players seem to just want to enter the NBA for the paycheck. But I will be pissed if Durant and Oden aren't in the NBA next year. And from what Augustine has said about Durant, I'm not believing it just yet. If Durant is going back to college he will tell us not his team-mate. Maybe it's just a plan to try to make him stay.

[---]

If Durant is going back to college he will tell us not his team-mate

I disagree. With all the hype about him and his status and the NCAA tournament about to start, the last thing he needs is distractions. Talking to the media wouldn't be the right way to go. If he is staying he would probably tell his team and keep it under covers so he can focus on winning a championship.

I still don't believe it though, as DJ said, "Kevin's a humble guy, so he's probably going to say he's coming back whenever he's asked that question".

Imagine if Oden and Durant stay. Durant has apparently said he will plus everyone knows his body isn't ready (eat something!), Oden hasn't been at full health at any point and hasn't been able to show what he is capable of because of that, so there are reasons for them to stay. Then imagine the 08 Draft...

The likes of Derrick Rose, Greg Oden, Michael Beasley, OJ Mayo, Kevin Durant, Thaddeus Young, Bill Walker, Chase Budinger, Eric Gordon, Hasheem Thabeet and Kevin Love... Thats one hell of a draft.

OFFTOPIC: Acie Law's draft stock has sky rocketed Teams like Memphis or Milwaukee could really use a player like him.

[maes]

It's win-win to stay he's staying in college. If he had a potential agent in waiting, the agent would advise him to say that.

- It makes his character look better, improves stock draft, improves marketability
- If he does stay, he fulfills his promise
- If he goes pro, he can say he didn't want to disrupt team morale or distract the team. A team player, increase draft stock.

As dominant as Durant is in college, i think he should go pro and test his abilities on the next level. He's just playing with people out there. I think Oden is the one with more to gain by staying at OSU. He's still very very raw.

[Christopherson]

One reason I think both will come out this year is the fact that their draft stock can only get worse. You can't do better than being the number one pick. Now if the question was will they be better players by staying another year in college, I say yes. But draft stock only gets so high. By playing another year, they risk having an off season/injury which would only hurt their status in the next draft.

[beau_boy04]

One reason I think both will come out this year is the fact that their draft stock can only get worse. You can't do better than being the number one pick. Now if the question was will they be better players by staying another year in college, I say yes. But draft stock only gets so high. By playing another year, they risk having an off season/injury which would only hurt their status in the next draft.

I concur, specially having OJ Mayo, Michael Beasley, Derrick Rose and Eric Gordon seemingly for the 2008 Draft.

[Andrew]

If Durant does stay in school and Boston loses out on getting the first pick then it's going to be a heartbreaking end to a tough, gloomy year for the NBA's winningest club, what with their record, injuries and the passing of two Celtics legends.

As far as Durant's decision is concerned, he has until April 29th to enter his name and until June 18th to change his mind. No matter what his true intentions may be at this point, he may have a change of heart at the end of the NCAA tournament. If he declares he's got some extra time to think about it and change his mind. If he doesn't declare by April 29th then it doesn't matter what he decides, he'll have to wait until 2008 anyway.

[---]

Don't forget about Brandan Wright. I'm sure the Celtics wouldn't mind getting their hands on him.

[beau_boy04]

I think it would be a good choice in his part to stay another year in college. That'd definitely allow him to toughen up and strengthen his abilities and work on his weaknesses.

Figure, MJ stayed in college for 2 years, if I'm not mistaken.

[Indy]

Bullshit.

[Andrew]

Figure, MJ stayed in college for 2 years, if I'm not mistaken.

Three years.

[ThaSpecialist]

I think all these kids should be heading to college for 2-3 years minimum, just to actually work with a decent shooting instructor.

I'm so exhausted with seeing these young brats making millions who clang from 15 feet like it's a 33 footer or something.

I think guys like Durant/Oden coming out prematurely has everything to do with the league being more about athleticism anymore, and less about jump shooting and moving the ball around to find the open guy. (hence why you have all these guards trying to break down double teams regularly)

[nylia]

well. durant is a pretty good shooter now. and i dont think oden needs to learn how to shoot at this point, he's already a 60+% shooter using his off-hand.... so, i dunno.

but yea. good reason for durant to stay is so that he can bulk up (but he can do that come summer before nba season starts)

for oden, he can stay to perfect his post moves. i think if he comes back 100% next year, he'd be POY

[3P]

I think all these kids should be heading to college for 2-3 years minimum

They won't. First they want the money imeditly and also they don't want to get injured and have no carrer with no pay-check. Some of these guys whole future depend on making the NBA, and they won't take the risk.

[ThaSpecialist]

well. durant is a pretty good shooter now. and i dont think oden needs to learn how to shoot at this point, he's already a 60+% shooter using his off-hand.... so, i dunno.

but yea. good reason for durant to stay is so that he can bulk up (but he can do that come summer before nba season starts)

for oden, he can stay to perfect his post moves. i think if he comes back 100% next year, he'd be POY

maybe not so much as Oden and Durant .. but there are definately some kids in the pro's these days that cannot shoot for beans, that 2-3 years with a college shooting instructor would of done wonders for.

I'd say the NBA is more difficult to learn to properly shoot amidst in comparison to playing team's like Colgate and Marist that most D1 bench warmers gain valuable experience against. In the NBA things move way too quickly to remember form, properly spotting up and setting your feet .. which is what a lot of these young inexperienced ballers (even Lebron still struggles to set his feet) fail to do .. and what guys such as Hamilton and Duncan who stayed in college have made an art out of doing.

I think all these kids should be heading to college for 2-3 years minimum

They won't. First they want the money imeditly and also they don't want to get injured and have no carrer with no pay-check. Some of these guys whole future depend on making the NBA, and they won't take the risk.

This is true, but that's life.

And for the sake of the game, which has gone down the shitter in the last 10 years due to kids entering the draft with nothing but potential and athletic ability, that's why it should be declared a rule or something. Not even a year is enough.

Scores and shooting are down because the L is a circus of scrawny freaks jumping around and drawing fouls.

Also the reason why Europeans are getting drafted like crazy. Because they're working with professional shooting coaches at 15-16, and by the time they're of age/ability to play in the NBA shooting is the last thing they need to learn. Which is how it should be for all players outside of the power positions.

[Indy]

Airwolf, you're right that there are a lot of bad shooters in the NBA, but you can't be serious that you think its because they didn't go to school for as long as you think they should have. Two of the best shot-makers in the league came straight out of high school in Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett. Those might be the 2 best midrange jump shooters in the league.

Show some evidence and give some examples, because I think you are way off base, and that's one of the most ridiculous arguments against players coming out early.

[ThaSpecialist]

Airwolf, you're right that there are a lot of bad shooters in the NBA, but you can't be serious that you think its because they didn't go to school for as long as you think they should have. Two of the best shot-makers in the league came straight out of high school in Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett. Those might be the 2 best midrange jump shooters in the league.

Show some evidence and give some examples, because I think you are way off base, and that's one of the most ridiculous arguments against players coming out early.

Indy,

Here is a small recent list of examples

Travis Outlaw
Gerald Green
Sebastian Telfair
Monta Ellis
Josh Smith
Shaun Livingston
Dorell Wright
Darius Miles

Are these guys even semi-automatic when left open beyond 18 feet? Most of them aren't scoring unless they're getting in the lane. Too bad, because knocking down 75% of their free throws is asking for a miracle as well. (only Green and Telfair are doing it on the list -- Lebron is even shooting sub 70%) This is the charity stripe we're talking about here, man.

I'm not so sure about labeling Kobe as such either. 45% on the career isn't much to brag about -- considering how often he dunks/lays the ball up as well to get up to that 45%. But that's not exactly "sharp shooting".

Nor is sub 35% from down town. Guys like Kobe jack up a lot of shots, and so you see them making a lot of shots to hit 30 pts by the 4th Q giving the illusion that they're really hitting. Unfortunately percentages don't lie, and in the NBA these guys play enough for their percentages to justify their abilities. Indy, T-mac gives the illusion that he can shoot, but he's shot 44% from the field throughout his career and scored 22-24 ppg. That's not a shooter -- that's someone that shoots a lot to get 22-24 pts a night.

It may seem "ridiculous" and "off base" because you're not a shooting coach that recognizes poor rotation, poor form and a rushed release .. the use of too little leg and too much upper body .. etc.

The actual "counter" for the argument I make is usually that the game's Defense has sped up over the years, and that it's more difficult for shooters to get open, get set, and release. Believable, especially with the wing span and jumping ability of some of these young, athletic leap artists that come into the pro's and pump up their egos during the dunk contest before disappearing on a bench somewhere, but when you watch the game you're still seeing guys as wide open as can be .. clanging something fierce.

Sad but true.