Lefteris Bochoridis

NBA Draft Withdrawal Deadline Updates

Monday was the deadline for players to withdraw from the NBA draft, and the league has announced the list of those who’ve pulled out. The deadline applied mostly to prospects from overseas, since any collegian who takes his name out of consideration at this point isn’t be able to return to NCAA competition. Mychal Ammons of South Alabama is the only U.S.-based player who withdrew, but he’d already signed a deal with an overseas club.

Yesterday’s reports identified several of the prospects taking their names out of the draft, as well as some high-profile players staying in, and we’ve added the previously unreported names of those pulling out to the top of the list below. For the complete register of early entrants denoting those who’ve withdrawn, click here.

Withdrawing from the draft

  • Ammons, Berkay Candan, Tomas Dimsa, Marko Ramljak, Alejandro SuarezDevon Van Oostrum are all out of the draft, the NBA announced.
  • Joonas Caven has pulled out of the draft, agent K.C. Callero tells Givony (Twitter link).
  • Matias Bortolin is withdrawing from the draft, his agent tells Sportando (Twitter link).
  • Ilja Gromovs will exit the draft, too, agent Arturs Kalnitis says to Givony (Twitter link).
  • Mateusz Ponitka has removed his name from draft consideration, Givony tweets.
  • Moussa Diagne and Guillem Vives will take their names out of the draft, agent Herb Ruboy says to Givony (Twitter link).
  • Rasmus Larsen has decided to exit the draft, as agent Doug Neustadt informs Givony (Twitter link).
  • OKK Spars Sarajevo teammates Nedim Buza and Adin Vrabac have decided to pull out of the draft, agent Alexander Raskovic tweets.
  • Lefteris Bochoridis has withdrawn from the draft, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM.

Remaining in the draft

  • Jokic isn’t the only prospect to flip-flop today.  Damien Inglis changed his mind and has decided to keep his name in the draft, agent Pedja Materic tells Jonthan Givony of DraftExpress (via Twitter).
  • Raznatovic, Saric’s agent, took to Twitter to confirm that his client will remain in the draft (hat tip to Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).
  • Nikola Jokic has changed his mind and will remain in the draft after all, Raznatovic tweets (hat tip to Chad Ford of ESPN.com).
  • Dario Saric will stay in the draft, a source tells David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link).
  • Vasilije Micic remains in the draft, agent Misko Raznatovic tweets.
  • Clint Capela will keep his name in this year’s draft, agent Bouna Ndiaye tells Givony (Twitter link).

Draft Notes: Craft, Wiggins, Bochoridis

Stanford star Josh Huestis‘ doesn’t have the gaudy numbers of other NBA Draft prospects, but he brings a lot to the table and is determined to hear his name called in June.  Soon after he checked in with Hoops Rumors to talk about what he can bring to an NBA club, it was reported that the Jazz will likely bring him in for an audition.  Here’s today’s draft news..

  • When asked by 97.1 The Fan if he has had any contact with NBA teams or a feel for how he’s regarded in NBA circles, Ohio State standout Aaron Craft replied that he has “an agent” and such matters are “his thing,” according to Zac Jackson of FOX Sports Ohio.  Craft is currently ranked No. 71 on DraftExpress‘ top 100 and No. 54 on Ford’s (Insider sub. req’d).
  • Joe Kotoch of SheridanHoops.com released his first 2014 mock draft.  Kotoch’s top five of Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid, Julius Randle, and Dante Exum doesn’t stray much from most projections but there are some interesting picks later on.  Of course, the upcoming NBA lottery will tell us a lot about where certain prospects could be heading.
  • Enea Trapani of Sportando caught up with Greek shooting guard Lefteris Bochoridis for a Q&A.  Borchoridis declared himself eligible for the draft late last month despite not being featured in the top 100 rankings of ESPN’s Chad Ford or DraftExpress.  The 6’5″ Bochoridis has averaged 5.2 points in 19.4 minutes per game for Aris BC in Greece this season.  The guard can still withdraw between now and June 16th and won’t be automatically draft-eligible until 2016.

Lefteris Bochoridis, Martin Peterka To Enter Draft

A pair of longshot European prospects are heading to the NBA draft. Greek shooting guard Lefteris Bochoridis has officially declared for the draft, as his agents at Lotsos & Associates tweet, while a source tells Eurobasket.com that Czech power forward Martin Peterka will declare, too. Neither Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress nor Chad Ford of ESPN.com list either of them in their top 100 prospects, but Bochoridis is No. 19 among international prospects born in 1994, according to Givony, who has Peterka at No. 44 among those born in 1995.

The 6’5″ Bochoridis has averaged 5.2 points in 19.4 minutes per game for Aris BC in Greece this season, and his three-point shooting has been anemic, as he’s hit just 23.5% on 2.1 attempts per contest. Peterka has put up 9.1 PPG in 20.8 MPG to go along with 5.0 rebounds per game this year for BK JIP Pardubice in the Czech Republic. Peterka has stretched the floor at 6’8″, nailing 41.0% of his three-pointers.

College was a consideration for Peterka, but he’s ultimately decided to turn pro. He won’t be able to play NCAA ball after officially declaring for the draft at this point, but he and Bochoridis could still withdraw from the draft anytime between now and June 16th. Bochoridis won’t be automatically draft-eligible until 2016, and Peterka can wait until 2017.