If Miles Bridges came out in this draft, he would almost certainly go in the lottery. DraftExpress has the 6'6" forward going 11th right now, and plenty of scouts think that may be too low.
However, it looks like he may be staying in school another year, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical at Yahoo sports.Barring a late change of heart, Michigan State forward Miles Bridges, a projected lottery pick in the 2017 NBA draft, plans to return for his sophomore season, sources told The Vertical.
Despite coach Tom Izzo, family and even Spartans NBA alumni and professional agents encouraging him to leave, Bridges is telling everyone that it’s his intention to bypass the draft, sources told The Vertical.
Nevertheless, Bridges could take through the weekend to finalize his decision, sources said.
This would be a blow to the touted depth of this draft.
It is not unheard of for 19-year-olds to suddenly change their minds. Frankly, it’s the norm. However, if Bridges isn’t comfortable coming to the NBA yet and wants to spend another year in school, he should. It’s his decision. Generally, coaches and NBA teams thing lottery-level picks like Bridges should come out — there is an injury risk that could hurt his draft stock next year, plus he’s taking a year off his window to get paid playing basketball. That said, it’s his life and Bridges should do what he wants with it.
Bridges is incredibly athletic and with a solid frame (230 pounds), he plays bigger than he is, he’s a good passer (he did a lot of shot creation for Michigan State this season) who also is developing a solid shot (38.7 percent from three as a freshman). He has the physical tools to stick around in the NBA for a long time.
Whenever he decides to come out.