You're right, most of these types of guys don't go til the mid/late 1st - even the most favorable comparison above (Ron Artest) didn't go til the mid 1st, and those early 2000s Bulls teams were horrible. But Ron escaped and has been on winning teams ever since, and the only reason people get down on Iggy is cause he gets paid way too much on a mediocre team. As long as he doesn't get stuck in that NBA purgatory of overpaid "star" on mediocre team, his career will be fine.

(Which isn't to say I'll blame him when he takes an $80 million contract from the Bucks in three seasons, for basketball enjoyment purposes I hope he gets with an up and coming star like Kyrie or a decent team at some point)