While many believe Kansas star Darryn Peterson will be the No. 1 overall pick in June’s NBA Draft, he continues to give teams tanking to land him reason to be worried.
While the race to get playoff spots is a top story in the NBA right now, the battle to the bottom has gained even more attention of late. As many as eight teams are not hiding their goal of losing as many games as they can to improve the number of ping pong balls they will have at May’s NBA Lottery.
The reason why? What basketball experts believe is one of the best draft classes in a very long time. AJ Dybansta (BYU), Cameron Boozer (Duke), Caleb Wilson (North Carolina), and Peterson are all viewed as prospects with serious potential to be the face of an NBA franchise for the next decade. However, the Jayhawks star has garnered a lot of buzz as the player most likely to go No. 1 overall.
It’s understandable why, because when the 19-year-old is on the court, he looks phenomenal. However, staying on the floor consistently has been a problem for the freshman star. Of Kansas’ 26 games this season, Peterson has already missed 11 of them with various ailments, like ankle and hamstring issues, a consistent problem with cramping, and even a touch of the flu recently.
Is Darryn Peterson engaging in personal load management?
At first, basketball fans thought it was just bad luck. However, this week, Darryn Peterson gave Kansas supporters reason to believe he may be doing his own version of load management.
During the Jayhawks’ win on Tuesday against Oklahoma State, Peterson was on a heater. Scoring 23 points in just 18 minutes. Then, after hitting a three on his first shot in the second half, he immediately turned to head coach Bill Self and asked to be taken out and never returned.
Kansas didn’t need him, and they still won going away by a score of 81-69. But his coach’s confusion about why he asked out has many wondering about Peterson’s dedication.
“It’s a concern. I thought we were past it, but obviously we’re not. It’s certainly a concern. You get into the NCAA Tournament, you’re playing a team just as good as you, and you need to have all your best players available,” Self said after the game. “All it takes is for one day like that to derail not only a game, but a season. Yeah, it’s concerning, but we’re making progress with it.”
There is a possibility that Darryn Peterson is trying to stay healthy for the NCAA Tournament after dealing with injuries all season. There is an even better chance he wants to avoid a serious injury before being the No. 1 pick in June. Which is his right to do, but it does bring up questions about his desire to be a great player and winner, night in and night out.
Teams like the Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans, Brooklyn Nets, Indiana Pacers, Washington Wizards, and Dallas Mavericks will all have a chance of landing the No. 1 pick in June. They will invest good money and resources into the hope that he can turn their franchises around. However, if he lacks the heart to be great even when he is not a 100% healthy, or has a business-first mentality as a teenager, they should wonder if he is willing to do everything necessary to improve their franchises.
