Manny Harris officially announced he's leaving the Michigan basketball team for the pros on Monday, choosing to eventually sign with an agent and end his amateur status.

The decision, though, isn't an obvious one like the pending ones to be made by sure-fire lottery picks John Wall of Kentucky and Evan Turner of Ohio State.

Five reasons Manny Harris is making a good decision:

Michigan guard Manny Harris said Monday he's leaving to play professional basketball. A good move? It depends on how you look at it. (File photo)

2) Michigan doesn’t seem like it’ll be better next year. Even if Harris stayed, the loss of DeShawn Sims and Zack Gibson depleted the Wolverines’ size. He’d be playing on a team where every night, he’d face double teams and with no one in the middle to make teams pay. It’d be a long year for Harris.

3) Team chemistry. There always seemed to be something off with this team - and too often Michigan appeared Harris-reliant to do, well, much of anything. Michigan often looked like it was standing around waiting for him to do something. If he were back again, it’d likely be much of the same without Sims to keep things in check.

4) He will make money. There’s no question Harris will be paid to play basketball next year - and likely for the next decade at least. So why not start getting paid now? Harris said he’ll come back to get his degree and that can happen in the off-season if he ends up in Europe. Making money is what college is about anyway - besides the education, of course.

5) It’s his dream. Most people in life struggle to reach their childhood dreams - or have them forcibly shifted along the way. Harris has a chance to fulfill his before he turns 21. Pretty much anyone would take that deal. Plus, he said he’s willing to go to Europe or the D-League to make it happen. Having that reality going in is a help.

Five reasons Manny Harris is making a bad decision: 1)Guaranteed money is not guaranteed. In order for Harris to receive guaranteed money in the NBA, he needs to be a first-round pick. Chances of Harris sliding into the first round are, as of now, small. That could change if he has phenomenal workouts - it has happened before.

2) A degree is good. Harris said Monday he’ll come back to complete the coursework requirements to achieve his college degree. But many times, college players who leave early for pro aspirations don’t finish their degree for years or not at all. That piece of paper is important.

3) He’s not NBA ready. Harris has holes in his game. He doesn’t go to his left often enough. His shooting - hamstring-hampered or not - is not strong enough yet to play the 2 in the league. Harris also needs to bulk up a bit. An 82-game season can grind on players. Injuries happen and with Harris’ game, if he were to make the league, he’d be beaten up a bit.

4) Once you go pro, you can’t go back. Every year, players make mistakes in declaring early. The one odd thing that stood out was Harris’ insistence on signing with an agent instead of going through the process to at least get some evaluations before making such a final decision. Going pro isn’t the problem. Not taking advantage of a window to make sure it is the correct decision could be an issue.

5) The D-League isn't fun. If you want to go back to playing AAU ball, where everyone is out for themselves, the NBA's D-League is for you. Should Harris not make a NBA squad, he'll likely find himself in Europe of the D-League, which travels to mid-sized towns on a limited budget. It isn't the lifestyle of an NBA player - not even close. But the talent level is better, which could help with improvement. He'd just do it in Erie, Pa., or Fort Wayne, Ind., or Springfield, Mass., instead of Ann Arbor.

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.