One of the top European prospects has pulled out of the 2014 NBA Draft, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. 18-year-old, 7-foot Latvian forward Kristaps Porzingis, who DraftExpress most recently had pegged as the 15th overall pick, will reportedly return to Europe for another year, believing he can boost his stock even higher in 2015.
Porzingis played 35 games for Cajasol Sevilla of the Spanish ACB league this season, averaging 6.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, and a block in 15.2 minutes per game. Porzingis was being touted as something of a project; he has the tools and the size to make a serious impact at the NBA level, but he's still considered very raw. There was a good chance that he was going to be stashed in Europe even if he he did get drafted.
But considering the rapidity with which he's been shooting up draft boards in recent weeks, the 11th-hour withdrawal comes as something of a surprise.
International players have until Monday to pull out of the draft.
