The University Daily Kansan
Monday, July 15, 2013
Page 15
COMMENTARY
Kansas should produce more talent, fewer trades
TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN
Jeff Withey dunks the ball against Kansas State at Bramage Coliseum Jan 22. Withey scored 11 total points with 10 rebounds. Kansas defeated the Kansas State Wildcats 59-55.
2,101 victories, 721 winning percentage, 56 conference championships and five national championships. The Jayhawks are used to excellence.
Even with the prestigious history, the Jayhawks haven't produced the NBA level talent that would be expected from a powerhouse.
In fact, there is a growing trend in the NBA, a trend of Jayhawks being traded. There are 15 current NBA Jayhawks and only three haven't been traded at some point in their career whether midseason or draft night. The three Jayhawks not to be traded: Nick Collison (Oklahoma City), Markieff Morris (Phoenix) and Ben McLemore (Sacramento).
Jeff Withey was the latest victim to fall to the trend as he was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in this year's draft and was moved a week later to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Withey joined five other Jayhawks who have been traded since the beginning of the new year. On that list are Thomas Robinson, who has been traded twice this year, Marcus Morris, Darrell Arthur, Cole Aldrich and Paul Pierce.
Robinson, Aldrich and Kirk Hinrick have all been traded twice in their careers. But no current Jayhawk has been traded like power forward Drew Gooden, Gooden, a former Big 12 Player of the Year, has been traded a whopping four times since he began his NBA career in 2002.
In the trading fiasco, one of Kansas' all-time greats in Pierce wasn't even exempt from the increasing trend. Pierce had played his entire NBA career donning the green jersey of the Boston Celtics, a 14-year career.
Mario Chalmers, Tyshawn Taylor and now Withey were all traded before they even played a minute in the league. Both Taylor and Chalmers
were traded on draft day.
When the picks of Chalmers and Taylor were selected, that pick had already been traded but NBA rules don't approve trades immediately so both were drafted by a different team prior to being with their current teams of the Miami Heat and the Brooklyn Nets respectively.
This growing trend is no indication of how the Jayhawks are taught or play at the University, but it is increasingly odd that of the current Jayhawks in the NBA, very few have enjoyed a career without being traded.
— Edited by Megan Hinman