The NBA Allowing Dalton Knecht To Fall to the No. 17 Pick Is Criminal and Will Haunt the League for the Next Decade

Look at this guy. If I told you he was the 17th pick in this year's NBA Draft, you'd probably ask some questions like, "Did he go to a Division III school? Was he convicted of a heinous crime? Did he average seven points a game last year and come out of nowhere?"

Nope, he was a Naismith Trophy finalist at Tennessee who averaged 21.7 PPG shooting 45.8% from the field and 39.7% from three with eight 30-point games. He was the best scorer in the country and almost single-handedly dragged the Vols to the Elite Eight. His only defect is that he's a polished, professional-ready basketball player instead of an 18-year-old.

I understand why NBA teams want young, high-upside prospects who have the tools to become superstars, but Knecht was very clearly a player that you could plug into your lineup from day one and have him produce. Especially in an age where it seems like teams have finally come back around to seeing the value in players who spent multiple years in college but are clearly just great basketball players — Jalen Brunson, Jimmy Butler, Donovan Mitchell, Kawhi Leonard — I was shocked Knecht fell so far when he was clearly one of the three or four best players available in the draft. Is it really that much better to get a raw teenager who you hope becomes something in four or five years rather than getting Knecht at 23 years old already able to do most of the things you'd want?

I don't know, man. I sure hope all those other teams are happy with their lottery picks of guys like Tidjane Salaun and Bub Carrington. Maybe one day they'll turn into the player Knecht already is.