Can a player decline the draft and play wherever he wants to?

[KGtabake]

I have this question for quite some time now.
Let's say that a top talent from Europe (or Africa, Asia etc) wants to play in the NBA but does not want to declare for the draft because he wants to be able to sign with a team of his preference.
Let's assume that a talent like Doncic or Wenbanyama wants to control his own fate and he's willing to sign a contract without having the guarantee of the money a top pick gets in the draft. In other words, he wants to bet on himself and signs for minimum money.
Is it allowed? How does this work?

[CumberlandPosey]

if you are eligible you can be drafted.you dont have to declare.

[KGtabake]

if you are eligible you can be drafted.you dont have to declare.

The question is what happens if you don't want to be drafted. Can Wenbanyama choose not to be drafted and sign anywhere he wants to?

[SlimShady83]

YES! Insert pretty sure that's what Austin Reaves did recently for the Lakers undrafted and said he wanted only the Lakers

[PlatinumState]

Everyones automatically eligible after 22 but before that they have to send in papers for the draft. If youre not drafted you can negotiate and sign with any team. If youre drafted by a team you dont wanna go to.....only thing left is to bitch and moan like Steve Francis. Or stay overseas until they trade your draft rights to a team you prefer

[sisibilio]

if you are eligible you can be drafted.you dont have to declare.

The question is what happens if you don't want to be drafted. Can Wenbanyama choose not to be drafted and sign anywhere he wants to?

Nope. He can tell teams he won't play for them if they draft him though, or try to force a trade like Danny Ferry or Steve Francis did.

[UcanUwill]

This is what really hard to comprehending for us Euros, but as stated, You can't do that. Only players who go undrafted or their rights get renounced, only then they can sign as normal FAs tho they would be rookies. At certain age, players automatically enter the draft, guys like Wemby would be drafted even if they said they had zero interest in playing in NBA, similar of how Arvydas Sabonis was drafted.

I remember one year only 43 or so players declared for the draft, so we had a thread of some dummy asking, if I randomly declare, does that mean they have to draft me? And the answer of course is no, because thousands of players get available to draft automatically every year. They might not want to play in the NBA, but teams draft them cause they have to draft someone, and player getting drafted could not effect him in either way if he does not care. Like, for example, I believe some team, I think Kings, still have Dejan Bodiroga player rights, and they can still put it in trades, despite the fact Bodiroga retired 15 years ago.

[One_and_Done]

Yeh, you're boned basically. An anti-trust lawsuit would likely fail too (and rightly) because the NBA is not 30 businesses, it's one business with 30 franchise owners. It's no different to how there is a McDonalds in Dallas, a McDonalds in Cali, etc. Each McDonalds can have their wages and conditions set by the national office, and if you don't like it then go work for Hungry Jacks (i.e. another sports entertainment company).

[djw]

[...]and if you don't like it then go work for Hungry Jacks []...

Tell me you're from Australia without telling me you're from Australia...

[CumberlandPosey]

if you are eligible you can be drafted.you dont have to declare.

The question is what happens if you don't want to be drafted. Can Wenbanyama choose not to be drafted and sign anywhere he wants to?

you have no say in that.you either get drafted or not.its all dependent on your age with the known exemptions (college years,early entry etc).but basically you or me could have been drafted when our age is/was up.
back in the day when they drafted forever they too great players from other sports in later rounds for example.

you also dont draft players but what you "draft" is the right to start negotiations about a contract.

[durden_tyler]

Yes. But prepared to be blackballed by the league and its 30 teams. If you have much clout and power (say Wemby did this), then you might *win* but that also comes with consequences (some fanbases and teams will hate you, etc)

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

I thought there was a rule where you had to sit out and not play anywhere for a whole year? I used to know this like the back of my hand when we drafted Yi.

[boomershadow]

If, for whatever reason, a player does not want to play for the team that drafted him, he can choose not to sign the Required Tender. He cannot, however, simply decline a Required Tender and sign with any other team for the upcoming season. Remember, just by making a Required Tender, the drafting team keeps the player’s Draft Rights for a full year.[2] Instead, the player must forego signing the contract and remain unsigned until the next NBA Draft when his drafting team’s Draft Rights will expire. Then, the player would enter that next NBA Draft (the “Subsequent Draft) (Note: This only applies to non-Early Entry players. Rules for Early Entry players are described in the Section below.). If the player is drafted in the Subsequent Draft, the Draft Rights process starts all over again. If the player is not drafted, he will be a rookie free agent

https://moorebasketball.com/2016/05/30/how-it-works-draft-rights-and-signing-draft-picks/

[lambchop]

YES! Insert pretty sure that's what Austin Reaves did recently for the Lakers undrafted and said he wanted only the Lakers

This only works if there is limited interest. He informed the Pistons that he had no interest in playing there, given that they were the only team with serious interest at the time. If the Thunder had taken him at 6 instead of Giddey or the Spurs at 12 instead of Primo, he probably doesn't decline the offer.

[ForeverTFC]

In theory, every basketball player becomes automatically eligible at 22 years old (or 4 years after college if not international) to be drafted into the NBA, they don't have to officially declare. If they don't get drafted in that year, they are a FA.

So technically, yes a player can decline the draft by never declaring and hoping no one picks them at 22. However, a player like Wemby or Doncic is going to get picked at 22 years old, even if they threaten to never come over as the team will want to own their rights. So a player at their level will always have to enter through the draft.

[UcanUwill]

YES! Insert pretty sure that's what Austin Reaves did recently for the Lakers undrafted and said he wanted only the Lakers

This only works if there is limited interest. He informed the Pistons that he had no interest in playing there, given that they were the only team with serious interest at the time. If the Thunder had taken him at 6 instead of Giddey or the Spurs at 12 instead of Primo, he probably doesn't decline the offer.

Did he really do that, since it sounds balsy and rather stupid. Top picks refuse workouts and do stuff like this all the time, but they in no position to lose much. Guy like Reaves, it worked out for him at the end, but guys like that have no guarantees, if anyone wants to draft you, you take it, that could be your best chance ever.

[Lalouie]

I have this question for quite some time now.
Let's say that a top talent from Europe (or Africa, Asia etc) wants to play in the NBA but does not want to declare for the draft because he wants to be able to sign with a team of his preference.
Let's assume that a talent like Doncic or Wenbanyama wants to control his own fate and he's willing to sign a contract without having the guarantee of the money a top pick gets in the draft. In other words, he wants to bet on himself and signs for minimum money.
Is it allowed? How does this work?

i think he can sit out of basketball for X years kind of like statute of limitations

but if im luka and brilliant and everyone wants me and im 18, i'd make it known i quit basketball and i'd go work as a cashier until the nba forgets me and i go undrafted

[shrink]

And in your scenario, even if a prospect as exciting as Doncic or Wembanyama said there is no way he is signing with your team, somebody will certainly drop a top 60 pick on him, just to have his rights, and try to change his mind.

[lambchop]

YES! Insert pretty sure that's what Austin Reaves did recently for the Lakers undrafted and said he wanted only the Lakers

This only works if there is limited interest. He informed the Pistons that he had no interest in playing there, given that they were the only team with serious interest at the time. If the Thunder had taken him at 6 instead of Giddey or the Spurs at 12 instead of Primo, he probably doesn't decline the offer.

Did he really do that, since it sounds balsy and rather stupid. Top picks refuse workouts and do stuff like this all the time, but they in no position to lose much. Guy like Reaves, it worked out for him at the end, but guys like that have no guarantees, if anyone wants to draft you, you take it, that could be your best chance ever.

Yep. As a European that played with a bunch of Americans over the years, there's something about that American confidence that you simply can't teach or fake. Some will call them delusional, but I simply find it astonishing.

But why did he and his agency feel the Pistons were not a good option during that July 2021 draft?

It's reasonable to assume Reaves thought he would be a better fit with a win-now team in need of youth in the backcourt. The Pistons, coming off a 20-52 season, already had invested heavily in two young guards. Killian Hayes was coming off his rookie year and the team had just drafted Cunningham as the face of the franchise.

Reaves explained his agency had broken down teams into tiers. When he mentioned Detroit calling to potentially select him, Barnes did not have nice things to say about the franchise.

"That shouldn't be on nobody's tier ... if we being honest," Barnes said, which was met with laughter.

"You said it, not me," Reaves responded.

The Pistons, after listening to Reaves' agency and passing on him, pivoted and took Michigan forward Isaiah Livers at No. 42.

[Fadeaway_Jumper]

I wouldn’t refuse to be drafted to a team in the NBA if I was a projected top pick. Over the years we’ve seen many players still put up numbers on bad teams not move the needle much in terms of winning and still get paid. Guys like LaMelo, Bradley Beal, Zion (before this year) add nothing in terms of team success but still get the bag

If I played QB for the NFL it would be a different story. You have to rely so much on other people doing their job to do yours, that getting drafted to a horrible team can ruin your career before it started.