Dakari staying would have been a win/win

[jman3715]

Was Dakari leaving last year a mistake?

Looking at the big men in college this year and the playing time available on our team, Dakari staying would have been a big win/win for both our team and his draft status. Wish the big guy would have stuck around another year.

 

[Ineverplayedthegame]

Could be just sitting on the bench next to Humphries.

 

[loublue22]

Would certainly trade Skal for him

 

[NCukcat62]

You are correct. Out of all who went was the biggest head scratcher. Definitely would of completed our team plus help him. But oh well, he's a favorite of mine so I hope he has a long pro career.

 

[DwayneMeighan]

Not sure staying in school, having to deal with classes and stupid NCAA rules is a win for anyone who has NBA dreams. If you're a 1st round draft pick, then it's best to leave as soon as you can. Dakari gets to eat, sleep and breathe basketball now and is getting paid to develop his skills, instead of staying at UK and developing less for free, juggling class work, and only being allowed to be coached a certain amount of hours per week.

Not to mention, the team invested in him will give him access to a whole network of coaches, trainers, dietitians etc... that can coach, train, shape, and develop him without meaningless limitations. He'll now be given every single available option and opportunity to succeed, something staying in school would have never afforded him. Not sure where people get this idea that a player can develop more by staying in school than they can by going to the NBA.

 

[5iveStarRecruit]

Are we all forgetting how bad he was for majority of last season?

He was so unathletic it was painful to watch. Another body would've helped, but he wasn't changing this team & he always had 0% chance of being a 1st round pick.

He got selected where he was always projected. 2nd round, in the 40s.

 

[cats2010]

Not sure staying in school, having to deal with classes and stupid NCAA rules is a win for anyone who has NBA dreams. If you're a 1st round draft pick, then it's best to leave as soon as you can. Dakari gets to eat, sleep and breathe basketball now and is getting paid to develop his skills, instead of staying at UK and developing less for free, juggling class work, and only being allowed to be coached a certain amount of hours per week.

Not to mention, the team invested in him will give him access to a whole network of coaches, trainers, dietitians etc... that can coach, train, shape, and develop him without meaningless limitations. He'll now be given every single available option and opportunity to succeed, something staying in school would have never afforded him. Not sure where people get this idea that a player can develop more by staying in school than they can by going to the NBA.

He may develop, he may not. I do believe the point was that if he had returned and had a great year, he could have seen his draft stock rise to 1st round guaranteed money. Right now he has no guarantee at all and is playing in the D-League for D-League Salary which is not much at all.

 

[Louis_Skunt]

I was just thinking about this today. We'd be undefeated if he wouldve stayed, and would have a shot at a title.

 

[DwayneMeighan]

He may develop, he may not. I do believe the point was that if he had returned and had a great year, he could have seen his draft stock rise to 1st round guaranteed money. Right now he has no guarantee at all and is playing in the D-League for D-League Salary which is not much at all.

You're right, he may or may not develop, but that wasn't my point. My point was that where he is now will give him better options and a better opportunity to develop.

Sure, D-League salary is not much at all, but it's a hell of a lot more than staying in school. Not to mention, all of the other b.s. that come with staying in school.

As for Dakari's draft stock rising, I seriously doubt it. Imo, he was never going to be drafted in the 1st round, even if he had stayed four years.The NBA is moving away from the type of player he is, and fast. Staying longer would have only delayed the inevitable, and set his bank account back two years worth of salary.

 

[*Bleedingblue*]

You're right, he may or may not develop, but that wasn't my point. My point was that where he is now will give him better options and a better opportunity to develop.

Sure, D-League salary is not much at all, but it's a hell of a lot more than staying in school. Not to mention, all of the other b.s. that come with staying in school.

As for Dakari's draft stock rising, I seriously doubt it. Imo, he was never going to be drafted in the 1st round, even if he had stayed four years.The NBA is moving away from the type of player he is, and fast. Staying longer would have only delayed the inevitable, and set his bank account back two years worth of salary.

Where are you getting at with this money talk? You have to be something to get money in the nba.
If he has no contract then he is making min wage money in the D league. Think their are 3 categories of pay. 13,000 19,000 and 25,000.
Looking at that I'd much rather stay in school 1 more year and get my degree.

Also I doubt he would get much more pt than he did last year and I doubt Humphries would be here.
Humphries is better than Dakari, dakari on the floor was a liability 90% of the time. He may have been 7' but played like he was 6'2". He is not that good, but one of the best kids you could meet. Wonderful human being.
Best thing he could do is gain some more weight as he was better as a freshmen than a soph.

 

[CatColumbia]

Not sure staying in school, having to deal with classes and stupid NCAA rules is a win for anyone who has NBA dreams. If you're a 1st round draft pick, then it's best to leave as soon as you can. Dakari gets to eat, sleep and breathe basketball now and is getting paid to develop his skills, instead of staying at UK and developing less for free, juggling class work, and only being allowed to be coached a certain amount of hours per week.

Not to mention, the team invested in him will give him access to a whole network of coaches, trainers, dietitians etc... that can coach, train, shape, and develop him without meaningless limitations. He'll now be given every single available option and opportunity to succeed, something staying in school would have never afforded him. Not sure where people get this idea that a player can develop more by staying in school than they can by going to the NBA.

Ding, Ding, Ding! Finally somebody on this board that gets it. Blows my mind how most people think you don't develop when you are in the D-League. Dakari did what was best for him and we should move on.

Would you guys rather be doing an internship or get paid 200,000 per year??

 

[DwayneMeighan]

Where are you getting at with this money talk? You have to be something to get money in the nba.
If he has no contract then he is making min wage money in the D league. Think their are 3 categories of pay. 13,000 19,000 and 25,000.
Looking at that I'd much rather stay in school 1 more year and get my degree.

I know exactly how much money D-league players make. I never said he was getting rich, just that it's a whole hell of a lot more than what he would make staying in school. And, yes, you might much rather stay in school and get your degree, but we aren't talking about you, are we? Different strokes for different folks.

I'm sure Dakari was well aware that he could have stayed in school and got his degree, but as we see, that evidently didn't matter to him, because I'm also sure he was well aware that staying in school more than likely wouldn't have helped his draft stock either, so he decided it was best for him to leave.

Again, one - two years worth of D-League pay is a lot more than one - two years worth of no pay. Just like one - two seasons worth of unlimited D-League development is better than one - two seasons worth of limited college development.

 

[BengalWACO]

I looked at his film from Oklahoma D League and he seems to be developing pretty nice. I hope he makes the league soon!

 

[K_TIME]

Ding, Ding, Ding! Finally somebody on this board that gets it. Blows my mind how most people think you don't develop when you are in the D-League. Dakari did what was best for him and we should move on.

Would you guys rather be doing an internship or get paid 200,000 per year??

THe problem is Dakari isn't making 200k...more like 30k.

Room and board at UK year round isn't much less than 30k...count in price of education (i know it sin't an asset to b-ball players)...Dakari had a ton to stay at Uk for and continue both his dream of NBA and have a fall back plan of college education.

 

[cats2010]

Ding, Ding, Ding! Finally somebody on this board that gets it. Blows my mind how most people think you don't develop when you are in the D-League. Dakari did what was best for him and we should move on.

Would you guys rather be doing an internship or get paid 200,000 per year??

Sorry sport, there is no ding ding ding somebody finally gets it. With that reasoning no player should ever go to college and instead opt straight to the D league now which can be done.

DJ is not making $200,000, he is making maybe $25,000 at best. He does have around the clock access to development however which is the only part of this I will concede. Perhaps he could have developed more his JR year at UK and worked into the first round and got a guaranteed 7 figure contract, or perhaps not and he ends up in Europe. Either way he is not piling up cash in his bank as a a DLeaguer, I can promise you that.

 

[qwesley]

Tough watching Brice Johnson breaking out as a senior. DJ would have made a huge difference.

 

[Ineverplayedthegame]

Playing in the D league is like dropping out of Business school and going to work at Lowes. The pay is the same and you may end up CEO just like you might end up in the NBA.

 

[AirRaidFan]

I agree he would be a nice option. As it is, I make more than him and I can't jump.

 

[CatColumbia]

Sorry sport, there is no ding ding ding somebody finally gets it. With that reasoning no player should ever go to college and instead opt straight to the D league now which can be done.

DJ is not making $200,000, he is making maybe $25,000 at best. He does have around the clock access to development however which is the only part of this I will concede. Perhaps he could have developed more his JR year at UK and worked into the first round and got a guaranteed 7 figure contract, or perhaps not and he ends up in Europe. Either way he is not piling up cash in his bank as a a DLeaguer, I can promise you that.

Gotcha. For some reason I thought all D-League players made the minimum NBA contract which is around 200,000. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[ManitouDan]

Man , I sure have a different take than most on this , IMO he's tons better than hump and Skal couldn't carry his jock . Would have made a poop ton of difference in this years team , and he puts up good numbers ( 10 and 8 ??) and actually gets that 1st round money . Kid screwed it up .

 

[UKBrassowTipIN]

Playing in the D league is like dropping out of Business school and going to work at Lowes. The pay is the same and you may end up CEO just like you might end up in the NBA.

Not really anymore. It's developed more into a true minor league system like in baseball. More and more players are seeing development time in the d league until their needed to be called up, as all the d-league teams are now single affiliated or owned by one franchise each. No, he probably isn't making alot of money..but it could change and he could get called up, be on short term contract, etc or he could go to europe. Would like to have him, but it's his life.

 

[Hoskins91]

He's like the twins in that he was what he was. It would be nice to have him, but I question how much it would have really helped him.

 

[irishcat1965]

Would I have loved to have him back? Sure. Great kid too. But to act like he was playing much better last year than Skal is this year is revisionist history.

 

[Nubb16]

Would I have loved to have him back? Sure. Great kid too. But to act like he was playing much better last year than Skal is this year is revisionist history.

Skal averages barely over 3 RPG as our starting center and half of our games have been against scrubs. Dakari averaged almost 5 RPG for the season as a backup in 5 MPG less than Skal. This team lacks rebounding and a post presence Yes, would loved to have had him back.

 

[bucsrule8872]

If he had come back half the people who want him back right now would have been complaining that he is playing too much. They would say he was too slow, slowing down the team, we can't run and gun with him in the lineup, he gets too many minutes that Labissiere needs to get better. Yada, yada, yada. That is just the way it is.

 

[1991greywildcat]

Trey Lyles is the one I was hoping would of came back, I feel he would of been a lot better player if he would of and he wound definitely helped UK in every area they struggle in..

 

[dave5164]

With Trey Lyles and Devin Booker being projected in the Top 15 lottery picks last year we all knew they would probably head to the NBA. Devin Booker's hot streak during the stretch he was on fire hitting from 3 last year and playing great ball with Ulis moved him up in the Top Ten Mock Draft Boards last year. If it wasn't for them being around the top 10 they both might have come back this year. Now if Booker would have come back don't know if we get Jamal Murray with Ulis and Booker at guards. The player that I didn't understand putting his name in the draft was Dakari Johnson. He had improved some on his game but Lee was just as good as Dakari last year and he decided to stay. Dakari Johnson would had more minutes this year at Center and could have continuing to improve his game. He would have been scoring more points and rebounds and would have probably been in most Mock Draft Boards 1st Round for 2016. He would have helped us alot underneath and would have fared better out West vs. UCLA and better vs. OSU. It would have been a Win-Win for both him and Kentucky this year.

 

[Ineverplayedthegame]

Not really anymore. It's developed more into a true minor league system like in baseball. More and more players are seeing development time in the d league until their needed to be called up, as all the d-league teams are now single affiliated or owned by one franchise each. No, he probably isn't making alot of money..but it could change and he could get called up, be on short term contract, etc or he could go to europe. Would like to have him, but it's his life.

Most players that are sent to the D league to be developed have a contract with some guaranteed money. D leaguers with no NBA money make somewhere between $15,000 - $28,000. If you worked full time at minimum wage you would make $15,080. If you are at the top of the pay scale, you're making equivalent of $13.50 a hour. Seems a lot more like Lowes money than a professional athlete to me.
He no doubt did not anticipate this when he chose this path, but it is how it can and did turn out. If he didn't like school and wanted to make some money playing ball, then he is, but probably not as much as he expected.
Dakari may still have a long and profitable career as a professional athelete even if not in the NBA but not if he just stays in the D league at D league scale