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NBA Draft: Caris LeVert’s Uncertainty is Headed to the Pros

By Tyler Fenwick

Dec 12, 2015; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines guard Caris LeVert (23) takes a free throw on a technical foul against the Delaware State Hornets in the first half at Crisler Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 12, 2015; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines guard Caris LeVert (23) takes a free throw on a technical foul against the Delaware State Hornets in the first half at Crisler Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /
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It’s likely that former Michigan basketball player Caris LeVert will be taken in Round 2 of the upcoming NBA Draft, meaning his uncertainty is turning pro.

With the 2016 NBA Draft finally here, many teams are going to reach out and pluck former college talent that may prove to be brilliant—or devastating.

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That’s especially true for Caris LeVert, who battled through multiple injuries throughout his collegiate career, but when healthy, he was a very exciting player to watch for Michigan basketball.

Which LeVert will a team draft Thursday draft?

After playing 34 minutes per game and averaging 12.9 points per game (43.9 percent shooting) during his sophomore season of 2013-14, there was a lot of hope that LeVert would be a star of the future.

Then it was learned that LeVert had played through a stress fracture in his left foot for most of the season. On one hand, it was encouraging because he performed that well while not at 100 percent. On the other, more depressing hand, there was the risk of further injury.

LeVert suffered a fracture in the same foot the next year, ending his junior season. And then there was another fracture this past season—all in the same foot.

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Had LeVert left after the 2014-15 season, the first one cut short, he was probably still going to be a first-round pick in the 2015 draft. He opted to stay, and it didn’t pay off.

Now most draft experts are projecting LeVert to be taken in Round 2 of Thursday night’s NBA Draft, a dramatic step down from where he could have—maybe should have—been.

Still recovering from foot surgery in March, LeVert hasn’t been able to do a full workout for scouts.

“The big concern is, obviously, the medical,” ESPN draft analyst Chad Ford said on a conference call today. “He’s not able to work out. There’s concern in the medicals that were taken (at the NBA draft combine) in Chicago about some of the process of him getting back.”

LeVert recently penned a letter on The Players’ Tribune to NBA general managers in which he addressed (among other things) his injury issues.

"A foot injury? A walking boot? That’s not going to hold me down. After everything I’ve been through, I’m well-equipped to overcome challenges, believe me. Actually, wait, don’t believe me. Give me a few more minutes, and let me convince you."

LeVert also said in the letter that his health is “almost there.”

When LeVert was at his best—a speedy, lengthy, capable ball-handler with great vision and good range on his shot—he was an all-conference player in the Big Ten. At his worst—hobbled and on the bench in a suit and tie—he sat not playing, draft stock plummeting.

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An NBA team is going to take a risk on Thursday night and draft the 6-foot-7 guard. What they’ll actually be getting is still a complete mystery.

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