Julian Wright Entering NBA Draft
I think that the immediate and long-term financial benefits derived from a guaranteed contract make a compelling case for turning pro as soon as you’re a highly probable lottery pick. Nor is it a bad idea to turn pro in a year when Phoenix (58-19, 2nd seed in West), Detroit (49-27, 1st seed in East), and Chicago (46-32, 2nd seed in East) each project to have top-15 picks (as of today) in the draft.
I also think that, if you assume that Julian Wright has room to improve as a basketball player (and I do), it’s likely that he will improve more and at a quicker pace if he’s playing basketball professionally than as a student-athlete at the University of Kansas, playing (at most) 20-25 meaningful games in between limited practice time while taking a heavier-than-average course load in pursuit of early graduation.
Here’s Julian’s stats from the past two years.
Points, assists, turnovers, blocks, and steals listed per 100 individual possessions
| Year | %Min | eFG% | FT% | PPWS | Pts | A | TO | BS | S | OR% | DR% |
| FR | 50.3 | 57.8 | 55.7 | 1.17 | 24.3 | 5.1 | 5.7 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 9.2 | 14.2 |
| SO | 68.3 | 55.3 | 61.3 | 1.14 | 25.2 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 11.0 | 20.0 |
He will be missed.
Also, Julian’s 06-07 stats in comparison with those from some other big men projected to go in the first round.
| Name | %Min | eFG% | FT% | PPWS | Pts | A | TO | BS | S | OR% | DR% |
| Noah | 64.6 | 60.7 | 66.3 | 1.28 | 27.8 | 5.2 | 5.8 | 4.2 | 2.6 | 13.3 | 24.6 |
| B Wright | 66.3 | 64.6 | 56.7 | 1.29 | 29.4 | 2.0 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 2.0 | 8.8 | 15.8 |
| J Wright | 68.3 | 55.3 | 61.3 | 1.14 | 25.2 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 11.0 | 20.0 |
| Horford | 66.1 | 60.8 | 64.4 | 1.27 | 28.5 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 1.6 | 12.2 | 27.0 |
| McRoberts | 87.2 | 50.9 | 66.4 | 1.10 | 22.5 | 6.0 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 2.0 | 7.6 | 19.4 |