I read an article about Syracuse junior forward Wes Johnson deciding to forego his senior season and declare for the NBA draft (Orange fans I hope you weren’t surprised by this decision). The 6-7 swingman had a breakout season and should be a lock for a lottery pick. However, as I scanned a list of early entrants on CNNSI.com as of April 13, 2010, I began to shake my head and wonder to myself, “Why are so many of these players declaring?”
The reality is that many of these players are either not ready to make the jump yet or are simply not NBA material. What motivates some of these players to make such a bad decision? Is there an unscrupulous agent buttering them up, telling them they’re the next big star? Maybe they have real life financial difficulties, as is the case with a number of college athletes, and see a NBA paycheck as relief from these challenges. Regardless of the motivation, I’m 100% positive that a number of players on this list will fall into the following categories:
1) Will not get drafted at all and will end up on a NBA Summer League team, eventually getting cut.
2) Will get drafted in the 2nd round, play on the Summer League team, and get cut before the season starts. Second round players rarely make season opening rosters.
Many in these categories will either end up on a D-League roster or ply their trade overseas, which can be financially rewarding if you end up in the right situation (See Trajan Langdon- CSKA Moscow). Not only are these early entrants competing against a growing list of early entrants and graduating seniors, they’re battling for roster spots with seasoned and raw European players and domestic free agents still desperate for a chance.
Players like John Wall, Evan Turner, and DeMarcus Cousins should be out shopping for a Park Avenue tailored suit because they are guaranteed to be on draft day “Green Room” status, shaking hands early with David Stern. But, the majority of these players will be watching from someone’s living room at home, just hoping to hear their name called by an NBA exec not named David Stern in the 2nd round.
The sad reality is that history repeats itself and they’re will be some early entrants declaring next year that have no business making that decision. I understand the NBA is any basketball player’s ultimate goal, and it should be. However, it’s important that these college players have people in their corner that are going to be honest with them and say “You’re not ready.” More importantly, I hope the player listens.
