The reasons behind Latvian prospect Kristaps Porzingis pulling out of the NBA draft are becoming more clear after the news broke on Sunday.
Porzingis was thought to be safely within the first round, making it a bit surprising that he'd withdraw from the draft. What's more, according to ESPN's Chad Ford, Porzingis actually had a guarantee from the Oklahoma City Thunder at No. 21, meaning he wouldn't slide past that point and could very well have gone higher.
In that same report, however, Ford reveals the likely reason why Porzinigs, still just 18, withdrew:
However, Miller said that Porzingis was concerned he wasn't ready to make the transition to the NBA, wanted to return to Sevilla in Spain to continue developing and was confident he could go even higher in the 2015 NBA draft.
"He's very talented. He wasn't ready, but we would've seriously considered drafting him anyway," one NBA general manager told ESPN. "If he continues to develop his game, get more minutes and his body develops, I think he could be a top-five pick in 2015. He has that kind of talent."
If the camp for Porzingis got word that teams see him as a top-five pick in 2015, and especially if he had planned to stay in Europe for another year before coming to the NBA anyway, the move makes some financial sense. The No. 21 pick in this year's draft would have a salary beginning at $1.17 million, while the No. 5 pick in the 2015 draft would earn a salary starting at $3.12 million. Over the life of a four-year rookie deal could be as much as $10 million.
Teams will surely be disappointed, however, as Porzingis was a tantalizing prospect even without further development time. He's an athletic near-7-footer with 3-point range who loves to play above the rim and has solid defensive potential. Those are kind of rare.
