NBA Draft 2021: 5 players that would benefit from another year at school

2. F Trey Murphy III, Virginia

Trey Murphy III’s first season at Virginia could also be his last, as the forward has declared for the 2021 NBA Draft. He is maintaining his NCAA eligibility at the moment, though, which is the right decision for Murphy.

Murphy made his impact felt in his first season after transferring over from Rice. He averaged 11.3 points per game, a slight decline from the previous season that can be explained by the size of his role with the Owls previously. He also hit 43.3 percent of his three-pointers.

If Murphy does return to the Cavaliers, he would be filling a much larger role than he had previously. Sam Hauser, Jay Huff, and Casey Morsell are all goners. Murphy would suddenly be one of the best players on the roster a season after he started 80 percent of his games.

Armaan Franklin and Jayden Gardner are coming, but Murphy should still be an X-factor for the team. He was one of their best shooters, hitting 62.0 percent of his two-pointers and 92.7 percent of his free throws. He finished in the top three of the ACC’s true shooting percentage and top five in the league’s turnover percentage.

Murphy could slide in as a second-round pick this year, but there’s also a decent chance he goes undrafted. If he proves to be a star in college next season, the early to mid-first round should be calling his name in 2022.