NBA Draft Withdraw Deadline; many Warriors draft targets might return to college today
Deadline is 8:59pm Pacific
The Warriors currently have the #52 draft pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. This has been discussed thoroughly in our series 2024 Dub Nation HQ Draft Tournament.
The players that the Warriors are targeting with such a late pick must decide by tonight 8:59 pm Pacific whether to return to school for another year (if they are eligible) and aim to be picked higher next year.
Players who still have college eligibility have until tonight to withdraw from the NBA Draft and return to college.
This is much more of an issue than in previous years for the following reasons:
The NCAA granted all athletes an extra year of college eligibility if their school was affected by COVID. This makes more players than usual eligible to return to school since every four-year senior can now stay for a fifth-year. This factor won’t be relevant in another year or so.
Returning to school can be quite lucrative. Since 2021, the NCAA is finally paying allowing athletes to monetize their “Name, Image, and Likeness” (for instance, through spokesperson deals and school booster donations) earning them in some cases over a million dollars. So entering the NBA Draft, and getting picked in the second round and being offered a two-way contract could be taking a big paycut.
Which GSW Targets can withdraw?
Here is a great updated list of all prospects and their status:
Here are the players in our 2024 DNHQ Draft Tournament that are eligible to return to school (about half the field!).
Coleman Hawkins - reported to have withdrawn
Dillon Jones
Hunter Sallis - reported to have withdrawn
Isaiah Crawford
Jalen Bridges
Jamal Shead
Jamir Watkins - reported to have withdrawn
Jonathan Mogbo
KJ Simpson
Mark Sears - reported to have withdrawn
Payton Sandfort - reported to have withdrawn
Reece Beekman
I included Shead and Sears whom I kept out of the Tourney because they are short.
Also here are other nominees for the Draft Tourney who are eligible to return to school.
Alex Karaban — kept out of the Draft Tourney because I thought he would return to school — has returned to school. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/uconn-forward-karaban-clemson-guard-hunter-heading-back-to-school-after-withdrawing-from-nba-draft/ar-BB1nhyRK
Cameron Christie
Ajay Mitchell
NOT Enrique Freeman
Oso Ighodaro
Bronny James
I will keep updating this post.
Anyone who returns to school will be pulled from our Tourney. I will also add underclassmen who unexpectedly stay in the NBA Draft who otherwise would have qualified (Alex Karaban, I’ve been watching you…).
interesting tidbit:
the Nike + Curry + underArmour story
The True Story Behind Nike's Failed Meeting with Stephen Curry
https://www.si.com/fannation/sneakers/news/the-true-story-behind-nikes-failed-meeting-with-stephen-curry
I like Ant, but pretty weak that he walked off the court without shaking hands and then acted pretty childish in the post-game press conference. I get it, he's 22, he's disappointed, but I expected more.