A weak 2016 draft class is more attractive to international prospects than a relatively thin 2015 one.
That's the likely reasoning behind more than 30 early-entry international players withdrawing from the 2015 NBA Draft. Monday marked the deadline for international prospects to withdraw and remain eligible for future drafts, and 34 of the 45 prospects who had originally entered their names opted to push their draft year back to 2016 or beyond.
International players under the age of 22 can choose which year to enter the draft, and the practice of entering the draft, gathering information about draft stock, and then withdrawing for a future year is commonplace. Kristaps Porzingis did just that last year, rising from a promise at the No. 21 pick in 2014 to a potential top-five position this year.
No prospect quite that vaunted withdrew this year, but there were several names thought to be on the first-round bubble who opted out. The thinking is probably that another year of development, plus what's believed to be a weak 2016 draft, could see the stock of some of these players rise.
The full list of withdrawals is available at DraftExpress, but here are some notable names:
- George Lucas de Paula, essentially a point guard version of Bruno Caboclo, will look to build on his 6-foot-5 height and 7-foot wingspan with actual skill development.
- Aleksandar Vezenkov, a 19-year-old Bulgarian power forward who won the hearts of some draft experts after leading the Greek League in scoring, could build his stock into the top tier of Euros for next year.
- Alpha Kaba and Timothe Luwawu, both French prospects, were almost certain to be chosen in the second round but will attempt to enter the first round with further refinement.
That leaves 11 early-entry international players in the draft - plus 47 college underclassmen and all eligible seniors - though not all are sure to be drafted. Teams looking to stash a player overseas for a season or more are now faced with far fewer - and less interesting - options in the second round.
