Duke star and lottery-lock Jabari Parker said earlier today that he was still unsure if he would enter the 2014 NBA Draft and that he would meet with Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski before making a decision.
Parker was on ESPNLA 710 earlier and had some interesting things to say about the upcoming draft. Aside from mentioning that it would be a “blessing” to be drafted by the Lakers, Parker also gave some insight as to where he stands on his draft decision.
“It’s a very tough decision, especially potentially leaving behind my coach and the program that really helped me out this year, so I really have to keep them in consideration in this whole process,” Parker said Friday.
Parker, who refuted a report that he already has applied for student housing at Duke for next school year, doesn’t view a potential return to Durham as risky.
“I think there’s no risk,” Parker said.
It says a lot that Parker is still undecided weeks after his season ended. On one hand, it’s tough to see a player leaving a basically guaranteed top-3 pick to return to school, but Marcus Smart did just that last year.
On the other hand, look at what happened to Marcus Smart after he went back to school. Parker may believe there is no real risk in going back to Duke, but there is always a risk when turning down guaranteed money in front of you.
We should know in the next few days what Parker decides to do, it will be interesting to see how his decision affects draft boards across the lottery.
