5 transfer options for Michigan Basketball post NBA combine
It’s looking like Michigan basketball is going to need to add at least one player from the transfer portal and here are five options to consider.
Soon enough, we will know what Michigan basketball’s roster situation looks like for next season. The deadline to withdraw from the NBA draft is fast approaching, but I wouldn’t expect either Caleb Houstan or Moussa Diabate to return.
Houstan has been projected as a first-round draft pick according to some mock drafts, and a number have him going in the top 50. It’s possible he won’t leave unless he knows he’ll be a first-round pick but it doesn’t feel like he’s going to come back.
Diabate should also see his stock rise after an impressive performance at the NBA Draft Combine and I’d be really surprised if he returns. It’s hard to predict these situations but Houstan and Diabate seem to be trending up with NBA interest, so it’s safe to assume they are gone.
If that’s the case, Michigan basketball will likely look to the transfer portal for additional help for next year’s roster, even though with U-M, the options can be limited.
Ideally, graduate transfers and players coming off their freshman season are the best options, but we’ll take a look at five potential transfer portal fits for Michigan, post-NBA combine.
Emoni Bates
There’s nothing concrete to indicate that Michigan basketball is interested in Bates. It’s been reported by everyone close to it that the Wolverines aren’t.
That’s why Louisville has surged to the lead in his recruitment. But Bates hasn’t pulled the trigger on a commitment and you wonder if he’s waiting to see what happens in Ann Arbor.
Surely, he wants to capitalize on NIL but at Michigan, as Hunter Dickinson has shown, you can do that, but it’s not going to come in the form of an up-front promise.
If Michigan loses two NBA talents in Diabate and Houstan, few could fill that void better, at least from a talent perspective than Bates, who did average more than a (made) 3-pointer per game last season at Memphis.
Bates would have to accept a lesser role and he would really have to prove to Juwan he was ready to buy in because this U-M squad wants to hang some sort of banner next season and you need to have the right culture to make that happen.
If the staff thinks he will mess with that, then they should pass. But Bates potentially playing alongside Jett Howard and Hunter Dickinson is still exciting. And if things work out a certain way, you never know, it might be reconsidered.