But What if Jabari Doesn't Declare...

Could Jabari opt to play in front of the Cameron Crazies for another year?

It's been a whole 24 days since the Duke Men's Basketball Team was upset by Mercer in the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament. In that time, Duke's biggest star and top 3 pick in the most hyped draft since 2003, Jabari Parker, has yet to declare for the NBA draft. Many sources have indicated that Jabari is taking his sweet old time deciding if he wants to build a "legacy" at Duke or take the money and start the next step in his career. Personally, I think that it's a no-brainer that he should declare and it's pretty ironic that I'm encouraging someone not to stay in school. With all that being said, ultimately Jabari doesn't consult me on his decisions and he will decide what he thinks is best for him. So if the unthinkable happens, and Jabari decides to stay at Duke for another season, here are some of the
ramifications that we will see happen in this year's draft and beyond.

Mock Drafts Will Shift

Basically every mock draft has some combination of Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid and Jabari Parker sitting in the top 3. Here are some examples:

• http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft/2014/
• http://www.cbssports.com/nba/draft/mock-draft
• http://www.nbadraft.net/2014mock_draft
• http://hoopshype.com/draft.htm
• http://www.thehoopstuff.com/hoopstuff-2014-nba-mock-draft-joshs/
• http://www.nbadraftroom.com/p/2014-nba-mock-draft.html

Had enough yet? 

Jabari is considered to be the most NBA ready of the "big three" and for good reason. Mechanically he is flawless and can already stroke from anywhere on the court. He has an offensive repertoire that would already be 1st class in the NBA. He's also not some slim jim like Kevin Durant was coming out of college; Jabari Parker lifts bro. He wouldn't be able to finish at the rim through contact like he does here if he didn't. 

With all that being said, if Jabari doesn't declare for the draft, it obviously makes this highly anticipated draft much less desirable. It will still be loaded but Parker is an enormous part of the equation because he is seen as one of the three guaranteed superstars. Success in the NBA is determined by collecting as many superstars as possible. Everyone else being projected to be picked after Parker like Dante Exum, Julius Randle, Aaron Gordon, Noah Vonleh, Marcus Smart, would all move up with a chance to take that third spot. That's bad news for the value of the Sixers 2nd lottery pick, as well as their 1st one.

The Tank Doesn't Stop Here

There has been a lot of controversy in the NBA this year about whether or not it is ethical to "tank" or lose on purpose in order to acquire a high draft pick. The problem is so prevalent in the NBA because one superstar player can change the organizations future very quickly. Since this draft is so highly regarded, there have been many teams showing symptoms of tanking, including the Sixers. 

So if Jabari decides not to declare for the draft, it could be argued that many teams would decide not to tank in the future because the obvious risk of a potential star player not declaring for the draft has been realized. I believe that the complete opposite would happen. NBA teams would continue to tank next year in the same blind hope that Jabari will declare for next year's draft, along with another crop of potential superstars that could end up declaring.

Jabari Parker excusing himself from the draft this year will not suddenly make teams decide that tanking was/is a bad idea. If anything they will tank even harder next year because there will only be one top prize, Jabari Parker. The tanking problem is a very tricky one for the NBA and can almost certainly not be stopped without changing the current lottery system.

Duke Will be the Preseason #1 Overall

On an unrelated to the NBA note, Duke will easily be the preseason #1 overall in the AP and Coach's poll when they come out next year if Jabari doesn't declare for the draft. Duke is already ranked #1 in S.I.'s very early preseason poll and that's assuming Jabari leaves. The program will be returning players like Rasheed Sulaimon, Quinn Cook and Amile Jefferson who are veteran leaders the team will need to be in order to counterbalance the #1 recruiting class in the nation coming in. The class includes the #1 ranked center in Jahlil Okafor and the #1 ranked point guard in Tyrus Jones. If Jabari comes back then the team will look almost unstoppable on paper. 

One has to wonder if all that firepower will backfire and make the team too good for its own good...