Later today, Adam Morrison will be at a news conference, announcing that he’s going to hire an agent and declare for the NBA draft. Every year at the draft, there’s someone who inevitably slides… and then ESPN will spent the next two hours delighting in their agony and shoving a camera in their face at every opportunity. I hope that doesn’t happen to Adam Morrison. There aren’t enough tissues.

I know a lot of you disagree, but… I’m still holding the crying against him. If I was a GM with a top-5 pick, it would be a factor. It’s not that he cried after losing. That wouldn’t even register as a blip on the radar. I have no problem with crying. But the fact that he cried while losing, i.e., before he lost… I think that’s a sign of some emotional immaturity. And that’s fine, he certainly wouldn’t be the first slightly immature guy drafted in the NBA. And I’m not saying he won’t be a good player, but I do believe the tears are a legitimate red flag. How’s he going to handle it if he’s drafted by Charlotte or Atlanta, and he’s losing 7 or 8 out of every 10 games?

That said, though, physically, he’s got the body and the skill to justify a top-10 or even top-5 pick. He’s shown a good understanding of the game, the ability to hit contested shots, a willingness to fight for tough rebounds and to work hard without the ball. Those things should be enough to make him a good NBA player. Whether or not he can be great will depend on whether or not he can improve his defense, and how he can expand his offensive repetoire. A lot of the shots he got in college, he just put up over a defender because he was bigger and stronger. Those shots aren’t going to be there against, oh, say… Bruce Bowen or Tayshaun Prince.