Originally Posted by
Nugget
Not to completely side-track the thread, but I think the proposition that Kyle would have been "darn-close" to being a top 10 pick coming out of HS is, to put it mildly, absurd.
First of all, he wasn't eligible for the draft coming of out of HS -- his class was among those who had to wait at least a year.
And, looking at the first draft he could have been in (2008), I think he would have barely cracked the first round, unlikely to have been taken anywhere before #29, if that.
Here's the order of that draft. Where does one realistically see Kyle (at the time a 6-8 PF, who had not shown any SF skills, other than being a decent outside shooter) going in this draft? I can't see how he would have gone before Donte Greene.
2008 NBA Draft
1. Derrick Rose (Fr- same class as Kyle)
2. Michael Beasley (same class as Kyle)
3. OJ Mayo (same class as Kyle)
4. Russell Westbrook, So
5. Kevin Love, Fr (same class as Kyle)
6. Danilo Gallinari
7. Eric Gordon (same class as Kyle)
8. Joe Alexander
9. DJ Augustin
10. Brook Lopez
11. Jerryd Bayless, Fr (same class as Kyle)
12. Jason Thompson 6-10 PF Rider
13. Brandon Rush
14. Anthony Randolph, Fr (same class as Kyle)
15. Robin Lopez
16. Marreese Speights
17. Roy Hibbert
18. JaVale McGee 7-0 C Nevada
19. JJ Hickson (same class as Kyle)
20. Alexis Ajinca 7-0 PF/C France
21. Ryan Anderson
22. Courtney Lee
23. Kosta Koufos 7-0 C Ohio St., Fr. (same class as Kyle)
24. Serge Ibaka
25. Nicolas Batum
26. George Hill
27. Darrell Arthur
28. Donte Greene 6-9 SF Syr. Fr. (same class as Kyle)
29. Detroit DJ White
30. Boston JR Giddens.
And, just for fun, assume Kyle had been eligible out of HS and gone in the 2007 NBA draft?
Who in the top 20 could be realistically been taken before?
2007 NBA Draft:
1. Greg Oden
2. Kevin Durant
3. Al Horford
4. Mike Conley
5. Jeff Green
6. Yi Jianlian
7. Corey Brewer
8. Brandan Wright
9. Joakim Noah
10. Spencer Hawes
11. Acie Law
12. Thaddeus Young
13. Julian Wright
14. Al Thornton
15. Rodney Stuckey
16. Nick Young
17. Sean Williams
18. Marco Belinelli
19. Javaris Crittenton
20. Jason Smith 7-0 PF Colorado St.
21. Daequan Cook
22. Jared Dudley
23. Wilson Chandler 6-7 SF DePaul
24. Rudy Fernandez
25. Morris Almond 6-6 SG Rice
26. Aaron Brooks
27. Arron Afflalo
28. Tiago Splitter 6-11 PF Brazil
29. Alando Tucker
30. Petteri Koponen 6-4 PG Finland.
Admittedly, that draft got a little odd in the last 5-8 picks of the first round (Jared Dudley at 22 and Alando Tucker at 29, for example). But, I find it noteworthy to look at some of the guys who slipped into the 2nd round that I find it hard to believe Kyle would have gone ahead of coming out of HS, such as Marcus Williams (#33), Nick Fazekas (#34), Big Baby Davis (335), Jermareo Davidson (#36) and Duke's own Josh McRoberts (#37).