Big 12 Players Have Until May 30 To Declare for NBA Draft
Big 12 players seeking to declare for the 2021 NBA Draft must do so by May 30, according to the NBA, which released more information about the pre-draft process on Monday.
The NBA Draft is now scheduled to be held on July 29.
Along with the deadline for declarations, players will have until July 19, just 10 days before the draft, to let the NBA know they intend to return to school, if they can.
These guidelines apply, naturally, to all NCAA players.
This calendar gives players that haven’t already declared for the NBA Draft considerable time to make a decision, and more than a month after the decision deadline to collect information from NBA scouts and general managers about whether they should stay in the Draft or return to school.
Just because a player declares for the NBA Draft doesn’t mean they’re surrendering their eligibility. Players like Baylor’s Jared Butler and Oklahoma State’s Isaac Likekele declared for last year’s NBA Draft to get an evaluation, but returned for another season.
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Four Big 12 players have already made decisions about the NBA.
The most definitive came from Texas forward Kai Jones, who declared last week he was leaving school and heading to the NBA. More importantly, Jones said he intended to hire an agent, which means Jones very likely won’t be returning to Austin. He is considered by many to be a first-round pick, and perhaps a lottery selection (among the first 14 players picked).
Three other Big 12 underclassmen have declared for the NBA Draft as of March 30 — Oklahoma guard De’Vion Harmon, West Virginia guard Sean McNeil, and West Virginia guard Taz Sherman. McNeil and Sherman left the door open to return. Harmon did not, but his Twitter announcement was brief and didn’t imply a position either way.
It is likely there will be more Big 12 players to declare for the draft in the near future for a couple of reasons. First, now that there is a firm schedule, there is more runway for players to be evaluated. Second, because of the additional year of eligibility granted to all players, all seniors have to declare for the NBA Draft as well.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
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