Ford: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Will Declare For NBA Draft

[Built Ford Tough]

Just to put an end to those rumors about him staying:

 

Kentucky freshman forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will enter the 2012 NBA draft after the Wildcats' season ends, multiple sources told ESPN.com on Thursday.

 

"He hopes he'll be able to announce right after they win the NCAA championship," one source said. "But even if they don't win it all, he's coming. He knows he's going to be a top-5 pick. He can't pass that up."

 

Back in early March, Kidd-Gilchrist told reporters that he would forgo the lures of the draft and stay in school.

 

"I'm graduating here," he said then. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying at Kentucky."

 

The 6-foot-7 Kidd-Gilchrist is averaging 11.8 points and 7.6 rebounds in 31.3 minutes per game.

 

"He's the type of kid that you always want on your team," one NBA general manager said. "Coaches love him, his teammates love him and he does all the little things that matter on the court. He cares about winning and that's it. I doubt he ever looks at a box score."

 

http://espn.go.com/nba/draft2012/story/_/id/7723624/2012-nba-draft-kentucky-wildcats-michael-kidd-gilchrist-enter-draft-source-says

[Flash]

Should've waited till the season ended at least.

[Phightins]

 

 

Although I won't believe this officially until I hear it come from his mouth.

[The Lone Granger]

#2 or #3 overall pick would be my guess. The kid has tremendous potential, he could become a superstar in the NBA. Like a buddy of mine and I have discussed, if he falls somehow to Cleveland, that team is stacked for the next 10 seasons assuming they can re-sign all their young talent. Can you imagine a lineup of;

 

C: Anderson Varejao

PF: Tristan Thompson

SF: MKG/Alonzo Gee

SG: Alonzo Gee/MKG

PG: Kyrie Irving

 

In my opinion, that would be pretty sick. Of course they'd have to package some picks to move up in the draft in order to snag Gilchrist, but they would be stacked for quite a few years to come if that happened.

[Flash]

IMO he's a great player but I don't see his ceiling being that high. He's a safe pick though and I think a team like Washington would benefit greatly from having a piece like him in place.

 

On a different note though..how overhyped was this class coming into the season? It seems that right now outside of Davis, MKG and Barnes there's no real sure things especially with how poor Drummond and Perry Jones looked this season.

 

IMO the late first round/early second rounders are going to have good value this year though. Its a very deep draft in terms of quality in the late first but there's not really too many "elite" talents.

[Check my Stats]

I wouldn't even call Barnes a sure thing to be honest.

[DunkinDerozan]

Although he doesn't have a lot of offensive upside, and he's never really going to be an allstar, i still think he could be a great pickup. He's known as being a great leader and prsensce in the dressing room, and he's very solid defensively as well. With the raptors already having guys like bargnani, derozan and valanciunas, they don't really need a top level scorer. Any team that wants to go far in the playoffs wants a guy like him on their team.

[Built Ford Tough]

On a different note though..how overhyped was this class coming into the season? It seems that right now outside of Davis, MKG and Barnes there's no real sure things especially with how poor Drummond and Perry Jones looked this season.

 

Happens every year, and every year people eat it up. I'm as guilty of it as anybody.