LW has to be at a point now where these two paths...
-- going overseas and trying to kill it there to a point an NBA team brings him back over and takes a chance on him, like what happened with Deonte Burton
-- staying at Iowa State, doubling down on his game and working on the aspects... PG skills and defense... that he lacks right now, coming one year closer to graduation (if one is to think about a life beyond basketball, if only a little), and leading the team
...probably have about equal chance of having him end up in the NBA.
If LW turns into apex LW in the next six-months, he has a legitimate shot to score 20+ PPG, lead the Big 12 in scoring and end up as first-team all-conference or even CPOTY, and he really could have an All-American level season. The supporting cast is there for him. He drops into the lineup as the alpha scorer the roster needs right now. Carsen Edwards from Purdue is a great example for the type of impact he could have nationally if he comes back.
All that plus a deep tournament run, and he would turn some heads.
He is not in a great situation right now. He has two paths to improve it, though both have their risks. He is only getting older. I hope he makes the better choice.
I would I have to think that the probability of getting a true shot at the NBA would be much higher if LW came back to college. I would look at Burton's path and call that an outlier because that just doesn't happen much. Plus Burton was out of eligibility so the situations really aren't comparable.