If 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.
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