Collison to return to UCLA

[LPKingsFan]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3369359

Interesting, but not entirely surprising. His stock slipped a bit from the top 10, 15 level where he had been at the start of the season. I've always been a fan, but Rose picked him apart pretty well and I think that hurt him in the eyes of many scouts. Not good news for my Stanford Cardinal, however.

It does mean, on the other hand, that Westbrook is a lock to stay in the draft. Wouldn't mind the Kings taking him at #12 if he was available, depending on what bigs are also on the board.

 

[fnordius]

Doesn't much matter to us, I think, since he wasn't a very popular choice for #12, or any pick above that, so it'll only affect our second round picks.

I'm not sure why he's bothering, though. He impresses me as one of the draft candidates who is least likely to improve with another year in college.

Maybe he just didn't like all the competition this year.

 

[Gary]

I am pretty surprised because it's not a good PG draft shis year.. You have Westbrook, Rose, Bayless who aren't undersized, and then you have Augustin, Lawson who are. Chalmers is kind of a combo.

Jerime Anderson and Jrue Holiday are in UCLA next year, and it might mess up his position even more having to give minutes to either of them.. Plus it might even mess up their "one and done" if Collison takes their minutes.

 

[sactownfan]

He's gonna be a lame NBA player... huge bummer he dropped out... maybe he can lose in or before the finals again.

 

[Arby's Roast Beef]

I sense a little bit of Jacque Vaughn in Darren Collison. Not a sexy NBA prospect, but a very steady one--nice college player, NBA role player. Let's hope he doesn't go the Chris Thomas route (potential first round pick as a sophomore, decided to stay in school until his senior year where he flopped and subsequently went undrafted).

 

[fnordius]

I am pretty surprised because it's not a good PG draft shis year..

Yeah, but assuming BPA means anything at all, my feeling is that this year is shaping up to be one heck of a deep draft. Not a lot of superstars necessarily (although a couple of obvious candidates for that stand out), but just in terms of guys who have good shots at being solid starters for a long time.

I don't think he liked the idea of going at #20.

 

[Vlade4GM]

I am pretty surprised because it's not a good PG draft shis year.. You have Westbrook, Rose, Bayless who aren't undersized, and then you have Augustin, Lawson who are. Chalmers is kind of a combo.

Jerime Anderson and Jrue Holiday are in UCLA next year, and it might mess up his position even more having to give minutes to either of them.. Plus it might even mess up their "one and done" if Collison takes their minutes.

Even though his stock was really low, I thought he was going to declare just because he's able to graduate this year I think. He probably figures that his stock won't get any worse and just wants to stay in college and have one final year.

 

[LPKingsFan]

I would have liked to nab him with another pick later in the first round. I think he could pan out to be like Rajon Rondo, who it's becoming clear we should have picked over Douby. Still think we should pick up another first rounder, somewhere in the 17-30 range. Speights, Lopez, Thompson would all be solid picks there, and I think Westbrook or Augustin would be my pick at 12 if available. I'm sure if we were looking to deal a veteran such as Artest or Miller to one of the teams that suffers a disappointing first round exit, we could be able to get their pick.

 

[Vlade4GM]

I would have liked to nab him with another pick later in the first round. I think he could pan out to be like Rajon Rondo, who it's becoming clear we should have picked over Douby. Still think we should pick up another first rounder, somewhere in the 17-30 range. Speights, Lopez, Thompson would all be solid picks there, and I think Westbrook or Augustin would be my pick at 12 if available. I'm sure if we were looking to deal a veteran such as Artest or Miller to one of the teams that suffers a disappointing first round exit, we could be able to get their pick.

Rondo is much more athletic than collison, Collison doesn't have Rondo's upside.

It sucks we didn't pick Rondo, he was the best PG in that draft going in and ever since, I never expected us to take him though because Petrie doesn't go for guys like Rondo. However, there were still good PG prospects that fit what Petries likes like Farmar, Williams, and Rodriguez.

 

[mbkings10]

I sense a little bit of Jacque Vaughn in Darren Collison. Not a sexy NBA prospect, but a very steady one--nice college player, NBA role player. Let's hope he doesn't go the Chris Thomas route (potential first round pick as a sophomore, decided to stay in school until his senior year where he flopped and subsequently went undrafted).

That is exactly who i would compare Collison to. He could be a nice bench player for a good team to spell the starter 10-15 minutes. A nice defensive role player, but I don't really think anything better than that.

 

[RIP miyagi]

I am pretty surprised because it's not a good PG draft this year

I disagree, i believe that it is a very good PG draft. Bayless, Rose, and Augustine are all very solid players and have potential for greatness. I doubt the class will be as good as the Deron Williams, Chris Paul, and Raymond felton class, but then again nobody really knows.

 

[bajaden]

I disagree, i believe that it is a very good PG draft. Bayless, Rose, and Augustine are all very solid players and have potential for greatness. I doubt the class will be as good as the Deron Williams, Chris Paul, and Raymond felton class, but then again nobody really knows.

I think Gary was talking about depth. Bayless and Rose are going in the top 5 or 6. Augustine is the only one left who would project into the first round. Collison probably would have been a first round pick, simply because of the lack of depth in the draft. Yes, I know, Westbrook is there. I'm just not sure he's a point guard.

 

[Kingster]

Excellent! The Bruins are going to have one heckuva backcourt next year.

AND, though I like him a lot in college, I'm not real keen on him at #12 with the Kings pick.