By Niki Bakouli
He never said he didn’t want to go to the NBA. He said he prefers to be an NBAer, when he will be sure that he can do a really good job. That’s why, after the lock out ended, the four year Duke starter and the MVP of the 2010 NCAA Final Four Kyle Singler spurned the Detroit Pistons, the team that selected him in the second round, with the 33rd pick at last year’s NBA draft. He preferred to play one full season in Spain, going from CB Lucentum Alicante to Real Madrid.
Pistons did whatever they could to convince him to come back, but his mind was already set and as he confessed back then to huffingtonpost.com “I was a little selfish, cause I wanted the best for my self. I wanted to be happy”. When they asked him about the risk of this being his last chance to play in the NBA, he said “I would be disappointed. But, I am happy with my decision and the opportunity to play a lot more here, in Spain. There is no real rush”.
Time went by, but the Pistons never lost their desire to keep an eye on him. As Kevin Grigg – the Vice President at Detroit Piston’s Public Relations department – said to eurohoops.net “our organization has closely monitored Kyle this entire season and will continue to do so through the remainder of his season in Spain”. Something the NBA teams are doing with the players they really want to become their members –the ones who trust they can help them.
And though Mr. Grigg didn’t confirm the info about the presence of Pistons scouts at “Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid” for Real’s game against Asefa Estudiantes this Sunday, it’s a common secret in Spain that Detroit still wants him to go back to US and play for them. The question only Kyle Singler can answer is if this time he would feel happy with the decision of becoming an NBAer.