If a superstar college player did not want to enter the NBA draft and just wanted to sign with his favorite team, could he do that? Let's say that Kenyon Martin was from Houston played at U of H and wanted to stay in Houston. Could he just skip the draft and sign with the Rockets? ------------------ Arkansas' Biggest Rocket Fan!
It does not matter what the player wants. The draft is about signing rights. If a player has no more college eligibility left, or has declared for the draft, the draft determines which team gets rights to sign him. At that point, no other team has rights to sign him. He can get outta it only by going 2 yrs w/o playing ball in ANY semi-pro, pro, or foreign league and thus becoming a free agent (underclassmen can go back to school as a student-only and reenter the draft after one yr). Let me rephrase that for emphasis. If you complete your college eligibility, NBA teams can and will vie for your signing rights no matter what, if they think you are NBA material. Once the rights are established in the draft, you cannot become a free agent unless you go 2 yrs without playing basketball. Good luck finding a team then.
Technically, I suppose a player could refuse to enter the draft and become a free agent but I don't think anyone has ever tested those waters and I don't think we want anyone to. ------------------ Save Our Rockets and Comets SaveOurRockets.com
What I find interesting is that they used to allow teams to take "hometown heroes" or guys who played college ball near a pro team's city. The Hornets would be unbeatable with both Hells and Devils. But, we'd have had Olajuwon and Drexler for their whole careers. Only problem would be that we'd be pretty weak right now. But Magic would've been a Piston, Jordan a Hornet, Bird a Pacer, Francis a Wizard, to give some examples. ------------------
Jeff, that hasn't been tested, because it can't. That would be called free agency. A player does not "refuse" to enter the draft once their college eligibility expires. A foreign player also does not "refuse" to be drafted. They can refuse to play in the NBA, but the NBA as a league has their way of determining who gets to negotiate the first contract with the player. That's the lottery. nba.com used to have this Section excerpted, now they only have underclassmen. This is covered under Section 4 of Draft Rules in the CBA.
What if a player can't come to terms with the team that has drafted him? Can he choose another team to negotiate with or must he go through that two year waiting period just to go somewhere else? ------------------ Nederland 2002 Qualifying Campaign (Damn those penalties!!!) Houston Rockets Space Center- Not just another ClutchCity.NET clone. We're that and more!
No!! btw: they are on a rookie-scale since the Glen Robinson hold-out. When you are on a salary scale, exactly what are these terms to agree on. The rule is: you can never become an NBA free agent, without first going undrafted on your first year of drafting status. Once drafted, you pretty much are never going to become an NBA free agent without signing and completing a contract. Simple as that. It is this cut and dry, because it has to be, otherwise there are loop-holes. There are no loop-holes. Those days are over. Don't bother looking.
The better thing to do would do like Steve did. If you make it clear b/f draft you want one team and one team only, you will be on that team come game 1. ------------------ "Chucky who? I thought we were talking about basketball?" Charles Barkley
Colby, Francis never said before the draft he wanted to come here. Actually he thought Chicagowould get him with the #1 pick. He just refused to play in Vancouver, but he never "chose" his destination. ------------------ "The world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams. It´s Heaven and Hell!"
Yes, but Heypartner... hypothetically if a player *really* wanted to play for his childhood favorite... and publicly proclaimed that any other team would receive absolute minimal effort... do you really think someone else would draft him? That may not be a technical loophole, but it's certainly an effectual one. ------------------ Shandon Anderson rocks. The lottery sucks. Playoffs 2001.
And sometimes, other athletes are drafted by NBA teams. Randy Moss/Twolves, which means, if Moss decides to play in the NBA, the Tpups have his rights. ------------------ In order to be a success in life, you need 2 things: 1. Don't tell everything you know.
