Miles Bridges is very likely to return. Is that a mistake?

 Its not a mistake if your coached by Tom Izzo. Everyone improves there everyday. Think about how much Draymond Green, Adrien Payne or Denzel Valentine improved there. Valentine made just below  0.4 three pointers per game shooting 28 % as a freshman to 3.4 made at 44%. He went from 2 assists in 20 minutes to 7 assists in 33 minutes. 

Michigan St. is one of the few programs you cant fault a guy for staying if that player needs to improve. If Bridges can tighten up his handle, and work on his playmaking he has superstar potential. I didnt think he liked how the season ended at MSU with Josh Jackson besting him in such a spirited matchup. 

Not to mention the oplurtunity to play with a more experienced Michigan St. team with Jaren Jackson coming in who is a lottery talent and are hot on the trail of Bowen and Mccoy. Gavin Schilling was a medical red shirt and would have really helped their team this year and the freshman class will now be a sophmore class. 

 Hes not ready yet, I think coming back and working on some stuff would be a great move for his development.

Brian Bowen is waiting on if Miles returns or not.. This will certainly effect Bowens college selection

Yeah I don’t think staying is a bad option. Not everyone has to be a one and done, staying has affected Rabb and Allen but Michigan St. and Izzo is a much better place to improve than California, and I don’t think it’s outlandish to say that Grayson Allen’s potential is obviously limited and not nearly as high as Bridges’s is.

Michigan State was already looking good for next year but if he comes back, they could be a preseason top 5 team. I wouldn’t want to play them

Personally I would do these 3 things if I was Bridges:

At least test the draft waters(Just not hire an Agent) get some feedback on what you can improve on to be successfull at the next level and see what the consensus on how high you could legitimately go in the draft..

Look at next years draft and see what the overall depth at you position is-If heaps of wings/forwards  then this year makes more sense to come out due to SF/forward being a little skinny in this years draft. If I have read correctly next years draft is forward heavy as F*ck which means he could even fall to the second round if he comes out next year..

See who is picking where before you make the final decision..Sometimes a lower team can lead to a longer career vs going higher on a bad team with no direction or who have a lot of players at your position

Beacause right he has two things going for him Potential and Age which works in his favor right and could see him going higher than next year and to any of the following teams right now(especially with next years draft being forward heavy/wing heavy)

Kings(their second lower pick),Heat,Magic,Nuggets(if Gallo walk and the move WIlson),OKC,Spurs,Nets,Pacers and maybe a team like either the Knicks or Mavs who could trade down or for another pick somehow..

 I’d never say it is a mistake for a player to stay in school and continue to mature and develop as a player and a person for another year. This is a personal decision and it’s impossible for a casual observer to know everything that goes into it.

However, I would say that it would definitely be a risk for bridges not to declare. He is a possible lottery and basically guaranteed first round pick right now. If he gets injured or underperforms next season, he could be leaving a lot of money on the table. I agree with the previous post that he should at least test the waters.

Miles Bridges staying another year is a HUGE mistake.  He is projected as a lottery pick and likely will NOT improve his stock by waiting another year.  In fact, his stock may slide and that could cost him millions of dollars (see Ivan Raab).  Even worse, he could get injured and lose his first round status altogether.

The bottom line is that he is in a once-in-a-lifetime position as a projected lottery pick.  He needs to go now while he has the buzz.  Anything can happen in a year, and most of the things that will happen will lower his draft stock.  Comparing him to Adrien Payne is laughable.  Adrien Payne did improve tremendously over his 4 years at MSU, but Bridges is light years ahead of where Payne was as a freshman.  Payne wouldn’t have been drafted by the crappiest NBDL team after his freshman year.  He had no choice but to keep improving.  If you think that Payne, or anyone else, wouldn’t have come out if they were projected as a lottery pick then you are not thinking clearly.

 Financially it is a bad decision.  Maturation and growth wise it’s a great decision.  Tom Izzo has repeatedly been successful with much less talent than the Duke’s, Kentucky’s, and Carolina’s.  I can pretty much guarantee he will not be a lottery pick next year.  

Miles will be coming back for another year of college basketball siiiigh.

In my irrelevant humble opinion he should have atleast tested the waters without an agent. I think he would thrive in the interviews as well as individual workouts. He could have moved into the latter top half of the top10 I think. i also think the workouts give you a feel of what the NBA expects and ways to improve in those areas. Plus I wanted to see that althletism in the big show(selfish really)

AS well as the injuries I worry about pecentage slumps (esp from 3). A lot of guys after returning from a stellar year will feel pressure to now have to impress scouts with new wrinkles to their game that dont quite work yet and hurt their stock that way, trying to do too much.

NBA training is  just better imo as far as development but atleast he will have a better team , around him next year and you cant knock a guy for enjoying the college experience and wanting to make a mark. There are just so many things to lose. 

Best of luck to him though and it would be a great story to see him cutting down the nets nxt season

Miles will be coming back for another year of college basketball siiiigh.

In my irrelevant humble opinion he should have atleast tested the waters without an agent. I think he would thrive in the interviews as well as individual workouts. He could have moved into the latter top half of the top10 I think. i also think the workouts give you a feel of what the NBA expects and ways to improve in those areas. Plus I wanted to see that althletism in the big show(selfish really)

AS well as the injuries I worry about pecentage slumps (esp from 3). A lot of guys after returning from a stellar year will feel pressure to now have to impress scouts with new wrinkles to their game that dont quite work yet and hurt their stock that way, trying to do too much.

NBA training is  just better imo as far as development but atleast he will have a better team , around him next year and you cant knock a guy for enjoying the college experience and wanting to make a mark. There are just so many things to lose. 

Best of luck to him though and it would be a great story to see him cutting down the nets nxt season

 Another year under Tom Izzo on a stronger Mich St team gets Bridges big time exposure.

The 2017 Draft is so deep in Guards & Wings that Bridges is being lost in the shuffle a bit.

I could see Bridges as a Top 5 pick in 2018

I know some have cited Ivan Rabb as a cautionary tale but how about Kriss Dunn & Buddy Hield who were projected as Late 1st round picks in 2015 (mid 20’s) & they returned to school, Dramtically improved their game & then became top Lottery picks in an admittedly much weaker Draft.

Timing is Very important in life

With bridges off the board is that secure for og onunoby a place in the lottery instead of him? I evaluate them as very similar players, compare both to Richard Jefferson type…

 It is obviously a bad decision.

Even if he climbs in the lottery (a big if), he still won’t make more money given his lost year should be considered one of the years he has under non-rookie contracts later in his career (i.e. $15+ M allegedly, which is more than the difference between #1 salary and his likely #7-11 in this year’s draft salary).

People argue against it speaking development, but I think it’s wrong. Only comparable players to make these kind of decisions I can think of where Steven Adams vs WCS, and I think Adams developped more in the NBA than WCS in college. Almost all prospects, from one&done busts to upperclassmen successes, would likely have had the same development regardless of that choice. The fact that Adams and WCS were similar prospects in 2013 speaks more to me given WCS lack of development in the NCAA.