NBA Draft 2012: Kentucky's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Is a Risk

Kentucky players have made their Pentagonal Decision; all five are headed for the 2012 NBA Draft. Among these prospects, I have the most ambivalence about probable top-three pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. 

When we apply the cliche of, "No player's development will be more dependent on the team," the draftee in question usually has "character" concerns.

Think DeMarcus Cousins for that archetype. This year, I think that "team-dependent" label applies more to Kidd-Gilchrist than any other guy on the board—even Perry Jones.

This is not to say that MKG has character flaws, though. He's actually reputed to have Kevin Durant's annoyingly humble charisma. Kidd-Gilchrist also plays hard, extending his body towards the rim at full stretch, even when he's 50 feet from the hoop and sprinting. 

It's simply that Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has a limited skill set. He's also 18, so his limits could speak to limitless potential.

As it stands, he's a very effective player with a bad jump shot and a handle that always seems to be running away from him, like a poorly-trained dog on a leash. Athleticism and determination can compensate for a lack of refinement, especially at the college level. 

On the jumper, MKG crooks his dominant elbow at a fairly acute degree. The rotation is usually decent, but the shot is usually wayward, and that's all I have to say about it.

Teams hire shooting coaches for a reason. It's a specific discipline, and I won't pretend to know how to fix Kidd-Gilchrist's stroke.

What I do know is that certain teams develop this talent quite well. Kawhi Leonard shot worse from deep as a freshman than MKG's current .255 mark. Today, Leonard's nailing corner treys for the Spurs like a regular Bruce Bowen. 

Kidd-Gilchrist's handle problem may be a little harder to address, but there are coaches for that as well. His go-to move is a spin on drives to the hoop. NBA teams will do well to prep for this by exploiting the move for steals and charges. He will have to diversify, and on the right squad he will. 

In the meantime, MKG is an unpolished diamond, and at the NBA level, unpolished diamonds are merely rocks.