Kevin Huerter Remains In NBA Draft
This past Wednesday afternoon, 19 year-old Maryland Terrapin sophomore guard Kevin Huerter announced on his Instagram that he would remain in the 2018 NBA Draft.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjaI5GahnDf/?utm_source=ig_embed
Making the NBA is the opportunity of a lifetime, but everything thing in life has pros and cons. Lets take a deeper look.
Pros
Money
CBS Sports Mock Draft has Huerter to be selected 24th by the Portland Trailblazers. This would include a guaranteed contract. Last year the 24th pick made 1.3 million dollars in their first year. Below is the the 2017- 2018 Rookie Scale. The money increases each year and if you play better then your contract, best believe you will get an ultimate payday.
| Pick | 1st Year Salary | 2nd Year Salary | 3rd Year Option Salary | 4th Year Option: Percentage Increased Over 3rd Year Salary |
Qualifying Offer: Percentage Increase Over 4th Year Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,855,200 | $6,949,900 | $8,121,000 | 26.1% | 30.0% |
| 2 | $5,238,800 | $6,218,300 | $7,266,100 | 26.2% | 30.5% |
| 3 | $4,704,500 | $5,584,000 | $6,525,000 | 26.4% | 31.2% |
| 4 | $4,241,700 | $5,034,600 | $5,882,900 | 26.5% | 31.9% |
| 5 | $3,841,000 | $4,559,100 | $5,327,300 | 26.7% | 32.6% |
| 6 | $3,488,600 | $4,140,900 | $4,838,700 | 26.8% | 33.4% |
| 7 | $3,184,700 | $3,780,100 | $4,417,000 | 27.0% | 34.1% |
| 8 | $2,917,600 | $3,463,100 | $4,046,500 | 27.2% | 34.8% |
| 9 | $2,681,900 | $3,183,300 | $3,719,700 | 27.4% | 35.5% |
| 10 | $2,547,700 | $3,024,100 | $3,533,500 | 27.5% | 36.2% |
| 11 | $2,420,400 | $2,872,900 | $3,357,000 | 32.7% | 36.9% |
| 12 | $2,299,400 | $2,729,400 | $3,189,300 | 37.8% | 37.6% |
| 13 | $2,184,400 | $2,592,900 | $3,029,800 | 42.9% | 38.3% |
| 14 | $2,075,300 | $2,463,200 | $2,878,400 | 48.1% | 39.1% |
| 15 | $1,971,300 | $2,339,900 | $2,734,100 | 53.3% | 39.8% |
| 16 | $1,872,900 | $2,223,000 | $2,597,700 | 53.4% | 40.5% |
| 17 | $1,779,200 | $2,111,900 | $2,467,600 | 53.6% | 41.2% |
| 18 | $1,690,300 | $2,006,300 | $2,344,400 | 53.8% | 41.9% |
| 19 | $1,614,100 | $1,915,900 | $2,238,800 | 54.0% | 42.6% |
| 20 | $1,549,500 | $1,839,200 | $2,149,000 | 54.2% | 43.3% |
| 21 | $1,487,500 | $1,765,700 | $2,063,200 | 59.3% | 44.1% |
| 22 | $1,428,100 | $1,695,100 | $1,980,700 | 64.5% | 44.8% |
| 23 | $1,371,000 | $1,627,300 | $1,901,500 | 69.7% | 45.5% |
| 24 | $1,316,200 | $1,562,200 | $1,825,600 | 74.9% | 46.2% |
| 25 | $1,263,500 | $1,499,700 | $1,752,500 | 80.1% | 46.9% |
| 26 | $1,221,600 | $1,450,000 | $1,694,300 | 80.3% | 47.6% |
| 27 | $1,186,300 | $1,408,200 | $1,645,500 | 80.4% | 48.3% |
| 28 | $1,179,100 | $1,399,600 | $1,635,300 | 80.5% | 49.0% |
| 29 | $1,170,500 | $1,389,300 | $1,623,400 | 80.5% | 50.0% |
| 30 | $1,162,100 | $1,379,300 | $1,611,800 | 80.5% | 50.0% |
Career Season
In his last season as a Terrapin, Huerter averaged 14.8 points per game and was the team’s second leading scorer. He was very efficient from the field shooting 50% and 41% from beyond the arc. At 6 ft 7, he will bring a team good height and length. He impressed at the combine, especially with his shooting. Teams will always need a shooting specialist. In his junior year he was expected to make a huge leap. It could also just be his time to make the next step and join the NBA.
Cons
Playing time
The NBA is very competitive and it will be a challenge to even see the floor on a consistent basis in your first year. Say if Huerter gets to play for the Trailblazers, he will be in a backcourt with two excellent guards in Damian Lillard and Cj McCollum. The pace is faster and its difficult for rookies to adjust to all the traveling, learning play books and etc. If he is riding the bench it may hurt his confidence and could impact his game. When you go from being the man to just a role player.
Bust
Even with a good combine and sophomore outing, he could end up being a bust. Some players are just good in college and never translate in the NBA. Staying in college would help with experience and flaws in his game that will be exposed at the next level. Being only 19 in the NBA will be a great challenge. The only thing that will tell is time.
Featured Picture Credit
(Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
