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NBA Draft Early Entries Start Selecting Agents

Javale McGeeIf there is a single website that is the premier source for the NBA draft, it has got to be DraftExpress.com. The site is ahead of the curve in finding out who will be entering the NBA draft early, at what slot players should be selected, and which agents players will end up signing with. I encourage you to keep up to date with the latest early entries and agent signings, by continuously checking out their 2008 NBA Draft Early Entry List. The only early entry candidate that has publicly hired an agent is Javale McGee, a 7’0 center out of Nevada. His representative is Roosevelt Barnes of Maximum Sports.

Many early entry players put their name into the draft pool to simply test the waters. An example of this is Shaun Pruitt, Senior center at Illinois, who put his name into the draft last year, but did not hire an agent. By not hiring an agent, Pruitt was able to come back to Illinois for his Senior season and attempt to prove himself once again on the court. If Pruitt had hired an agent, he would have forfeited his NCAA eligibility and not been able to play with the Illini this past year.

If an early entry player is sure to be a lottery pick, or at least a first round selection, he will often select an agent. First round selections are guaranteed contracts based on a slotting system, while second round players do not have to be signed by the NBA team that selects them. You can expect a player like Jerryd Bayless, Freshman PG at Arizona, to select an agent in the near future. He is practically guaranteed to be a lottery pick and has no intention of returning to his college team for his Sophomore year. On the other hand, a guy like Leo Lyons, Junior PF at Missouri, will probably not hire an agent. He will get some workouts, have scouts see him play, and most likely return for his Senior season.

There is no consensus on whether or not it is intelligent to enter your name into the draft if it is highly unlikely that you get drafted at all. The one point that everyone agrees upon is that it is completely irrational to hire an agent if you are not a senior and are not projected to be a top pick by a majority of commentators.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.

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