Kyle Singler is a Duke legend, and that will never change. He is cemented himself as part of the lore of one of the nation’s best college basketball programs. We love him for his trick shots.
But where he fits in the NBA is a much trickier subject. Much more controversial.
In an ideal world he’d a stretch four, a spot up shooter. Problem is he hit just 32.1 percent of his three point shots last season. That’s concerning.
David Thorpe at ESPN and some scouts have kind of lumped him in as a poor man’s Gordon Hayward — smart and can shoot but not athletic enough to create his own shot at the NBA level (Hayward can). It took a while for Hayward but he started to find his NBA niche by the end of the season, Singler may be able to as well.
Rotoworld’s Steve Alexander and ESPN’s Chad Ford have Singler picked in the second round. Over at DraftExpress he is currently pick No. 24 (the Oklahoma City Thunder). His workouts with teams over the next month are going to be key to seeing just where he goes.
At 6’8” he’s got good height for an NBA forward, but he does need to get stronger and put on some muscle (he has done that somewhat but he needs more). His reputation is as a spot-up shooter has taken a hit from what he did from beyond the arc, but also got the reputation as a good midrange shooter and he needs to be more consistent from that area to impact the NBA. Last season he shot just 49.7 percent on two pointers.
He needs to hit those shots because Singler is not athletic by NBA standards and is not going to be a three exploding to the rim for fantastic dunks at the next level. He’s not a great finisher around the rim. He’s not a guy getting to the line all that often. He’s likely going to be a spot up guy who can develop into a good role player — he’s a capable passer and has a good hoops IQ.
How much court time he gets will really depend on defense (and who drafts him). He’s not quick laterally and if he is a three then he will be covering a lot of quick guys. If he can’t, he will sit a lot. It’s that simple.
But you could see him becoming sort of a Peja Stojakovic type (the current version, not the Sacramento version) if he can become a consistent outside shooter at the NBA level. A guy who can come in off the bench and knock down shots and give you a boost.
In this draft, that might have him picked near the end of the first round, although second round is a distinct possibility. It’s all going to come down to the workouts.