NBA Draft Profiles: Kyle Singler, Duke

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Stats: 16.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.9 t/o's, 32.1% 3PT

Age: 23, senior

Size:

• Listed: 6'9", 225 lb
• Official: 6'7.5" (no shoes), 6'8.5" (with shoes), 6'10" (wingspan), 8'10" (reach), 228 lb

Strengths: The biggest strength to Singler's game is essentially what you would say about any player that spent four years in college and won multiple conference championships and a national title -- he's a proven winner, a well-rounded player capable of taking over in the Final Four while still willing to dive on the floor for a loose ball or take a charge. Singler is the kind of player that you want as your teammate. He's not going to disrupt a locker room's chemistry and, despite being one of the most highly-regarded players in the country throughout his career, was really nothing more than the nation's best role-player. That is the biggest reason that Singler projects as an NBA prospect -- he's already had to experience playing second, or even third, fiddle in college. Skillwise, there is a lot that Singler does well. He is a good, albeit streaky, shooter from deep, he is a capable ball-handler, he has solid size for an NBA combo-forward, and he is, at the very least, a hardworker on the defensive end.

Weaknesses: While there are a lot of things that Singler does well, there is not anything that he does at an NBA level. When Singler gets hot, he can knock down three or four threes in a row. But overall, he is quite an inconsistent shooter. He struggled for much of his junior season before playing like a first-team all-american the last month and a half. As a senior, his production dipped -- even with Kyrie Irving out -- and he finished the year shooting just 32.1% from deep. Singler is also stuck in that dreaded tweener category. He's not a power forward, but there are questions as to whether he is quick or athletic enough to defend on the perimeter in the NBA. There are also questions about what Singler's ceiling as a player will be. There hasn't been a drastic improvement to his game since his sophomore year in college, and at 23 years old, there is no guarantee that he will get all that much better. Is he ready to be a rotational player in the NBA right now?

Comparisons:

• Best Case Scenario: I like the comparison of Shane Battier. Both former Duke products, Battier has a similar size and athletic profile to Singler. They also have similar skill sets. Battier has made a career out of being a defensive stopper and a knockdown three point shooter. Singler isn't quite on Battier's level at either of those skills, but for him to survive in the NBA, he'll need to take on a Batter-esque role.


• Worst Case Scenario: Brian Cardinal. Cardinal is a bench player for the Mavericks, a guy that comes in to commit a couple of hard fouls here and there, knock down a three if he is left open, and basically be the team's head cheerleader on the bench. High-character guy, good teammate, the kind of 12th man that every championship team in the NBA has. Oh, and he made $37.9 million in the NBA. Not a bad worst case, I guess.

Outlook: Singler doesn't have a huge upside. He'll likely never be an all-star, and may never start an NBA game. But he is still an attractive prospect to NBA teams because of the kind of intangibles that he brings. Singler has already shown that he doesn't have an ego as a player. He is willing to play a role. Its essentially what he has done throughout his career at Duke. He plays hard, he plays smart, and he learned under one of the most respected minds in the college game in Coach K. In other words, he's not only a mature player physically, but he is a mature kid mentally. There is zero risk is picking Singler, as he is a known-quantity at this point. He can come in immediately, provide 10-15 minutes a game as a rookie, play some defense, hit some threes, and limit his mistakes. That should be worth a late-first round pick for a playoff team looking to shore up their rotation.

Draft Range: Late 1st to Early 2nd

And the experts say...

• Chad Ford: "NBA execs look for similarities for help in projections, so anything Singler can do to separate himself from Hayward would be great, and that starts with his perimeter shot. [Gordon] Hayward was good his first season and bad as a sophomore, and Singler is working on an "average, good, good, average" run over his four years. Combine a sharpshooter with the fighter/hustler Singler has proved to be in the past against a team like Michigan State? That's a guy every team will covet."


• Draft Express: "Though Singler is a proven winner and a relatively complete player at this point in his career, there are questions surrounding the extent of his upside, as he doesn't seem to have improved a great deal over the past few years. Not possessing the size or strength to operate effectively in the post, or the quickness and ball-handling skills to be a great shot-creator on the wing, there are some concerns about whether Singler is destined for a role as a one-dimensional player, one who is not particularly consistent at that particular dimension—shooting."


• Swish Scout: "Multi-Dimensional forward that can shoot from anywhere on the floor, plays with great energy, hustles, defends, has a great bball IQ and flat out makes plays. A Swiss pocket knife on the offensive end who could be an underrated NBA shooter/defender throughout his career after being taken in the second round of the 2011 Draft."

Highlights: