Should Michigan's Isaiah Livers Go to the NBA

Even though we have no sports going on right now, there are still a ton of prospects declaring for the upcoming NBA draft.

Quick little side note, I have never been as excited as I am to watch current NBA players play each other in NBA 2K this Friday. I know it's just them playing a video game, but it is going to feel so cool to see these guys, some of them super stars, playing a basketball video game. I'm pumped. Anyway back to my original point.

This is always the time of year when players declare for the NBA draft. In fact, the only guys who don't at this time are the ones still in the tournament. Since there is no tournament this year though, which still feels so god damn weird, it seems more and more guys are declaring. One such player, who declared yesterday, took me by surprise though.

Isaiah Livers, from Michigan, declared yesterday. He did leave the door open to return, which I like. But still, he has potentially entered his name in the upcoming draft. I am surprised for a good amount of reasons, but none more so than how important he is to the team currently. I watched them all the time this past year, and Livers was, by far, the best player on the team. He was also the most important, and I felt like he was going to be the perfect upperclassmen leader for the incoming group of pretty solid to very good freshman that Juwan Howard has recruited. You could tell just how important he was when they rushed out to a quick 7-0 start, beating Gonzaga along the way, and pushed themselves all the way to number 4 in the country. Livers then got hurt a little bit after that, and they struggled. They missed his shooting, defense, free throw shooting and leadership. Having him out there, with Zavier Simpson, was comforting. When Livers missed time, it was frightening as a fan. He came back after they struggled, and he healed, and Michigan then went on a solid winning streak, which secured them a spot if there was a tournament this season.

Livers is a solid team player that I was counting on, for whenever basketball comes back, for the next generation of players coming to Michigan. I looked to him as the guy that was going to be the captain, the coach on the floor, the leader. And, he still has that chance. He hasn't signed with an agent, he said he is leaving the door open to return. He has talked about how he could easily be convinced to return. He is truly "testing the waters".

Now, and I am not going to dump on this kid because he is a great player, and I wish nothing but the best for him, but I do think, if he stays in the draft, he is going to have a similar outcome that some former Wolverines have had when they left, what I consider, a little too early. Nik Stauskas and Trey Burke were lottery picks, and leaders on a team that went to the title game. Trey Burke was National Player of the Year. Stauskas was a killer from three. They both left after two years, and Burke is already a journeyman bench guy, and Stauskas is out of the league. Mitch McGary was on that team as well, and he was out of the league before his third season. Those guys weren't fully ready, with Burke maybe being the only exception. But he is just so small. Even take a guy like Glenn Robinson III. He seemed to be most NBA ready, and he is best known as a bench guy, and won a pretty awful dunk contest two years ago. Even last season, when Ignas Brazdeikis and Jordan Poole left, I didn't hate on them for it, but I also didn't think they were ready. And I think I was proven right, at least so far this year. Both have been, mostly, in the G League all year while it was still going on. They just didn't seem ready.

In fact, the only recent guys that have had a career that has lasted are two guys that stayed until, at least, their junior season. Both Tim Hardaway Jr and Caris Levert are solid NBA players that have been in the starting lineup for the majority of their careers. But, they had all that time in college. I would hope, if Livers stays in the draft, he has a career like they do, but I think he has stuff to work on still. He is an okay three point shooter, but not consistent enough. He is a good defender, but he does get beat up by bigger guys. He can slash to the rim very well, but that seems to be how he has gotten himself injured this past year. I'd like him to stay, work on his jumper a bit more, get a little thicker and show that he can lead a team filled with top prospects. He wouldn't be the household name, if all the kids that verbally committed stay with it, but he would be the most important guy. He would be the glue to a team that could be a potential top 10 team.

Who knows what is going to happen with this particular draft. There may not even be one, and this could be a moot point. But, if there is one, and Livers stays in it, I will miss him greatly. I didn't know how much I actually liked him as a player until he declared for the draft. And not only do I like him, I truly appreciate all the things he does for my favorite team. I now get why he is so important, and why this team needs him so much. I hope he comes back, but if he doesn't, I wish him the best of luck.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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