Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Julian Wright won’t get much of an offseason.
Now that he’s declared himself eligible for the NBA Draft, he’ll balance his 15 hours of schoolwork with traveling around the country to work out for NBA teams.
“I expect to be between 10 and 15, somewhere in that range,” the sophomore forward said.
In the NBA, rookies are given contracts based on when they are drafted. The 10th pick is guaranteed $3.3 million over two years, while the 15th pick receives $2.6 million over two years. All contracts include an option where the team can keep the player for a third season at a slightly higher rate.
“Money has never been my motivation,” Wright said. “I’m just grateful to have this opportunity.”
The NBA draft order will be determined on May 22, after the league’s regular season ends. Wright said that he will hire an agent toward the end of May, and that his family is gathering information on potential companies.
He is still eligible to return to college for his junior season as long as he does not hire an agent and withdraws from the draft by June 18. That does not appear to be a likely possibility, because unlike other players, he knows he will be one of the top selections.
“I don’t know if there’s really a need to test the waters,” coach Bill Self said. “There are enough people that like Julian in the top 15 picks that have him very high on their board.”
Wright had a strong season, starting 37 of 38 games and averaging 7.8 rebounds per game, but will have to make an adjustment to play in the NBA. Instead of playing under the basket, like he did at Kansas, he will move outside the paint and have the opportunity for more jump shots.
He’ll also have to build up his strength. An NBA season lasts 82 games, more than double the collegiate season.
“I know I’m in for a long development process,” he said. “I’m not ready for a full season right now. But I know that.”
Wright’s decision to jump to the NBA was a surprise, because he had said just weeks earlier that he was “100 percent” certain he would return to Kansas for a junior season.
On Monday, he said that during the season he was focused on playing for the Jayhawks, and after the season ended he was caught off-guard to learn that he would have options.
“I was kind of surprised I was being looked at seriously this year,” he said. “It’s hard. It was a tough decision.”
He said that his family helped him gather information about where he might be selected. Self has been out of town on recruiting trips recently, but visited with Wright when he was in Lawrence. On Friday, Wright stopped by the coach’s office to let him know he had made up his mind.
Self headed out of town for the weekend, with Wright planning to announce his intentions on Monday, but reporters found out about them before the weekend had ended.
Wright had one final meeting with Self on Monday, but the coach didn’t try to talk him out of his decision.
“If I were Julian, and I were in this situation, I’m not sure I wouldn’t have made the same decision,” Self said. “The only reason for him to stay would have been to get his degree.”
After this semester, Wright will be 30 credit hours away from graduation, and will continue to work toward that goal, even as he plays professional basketball.
He said that he couldn’t turn down the opportunity to play with the world’s best players next season, and is already watching NBA games of the teams that might have high picks in the draft.
pullquote
There are enough people that like Julian in the top 15 picks that have him very high on their board.
-coach Bill Self
It may seem like an early jump to outsiders, but Wright is feeling confident about his decision. In high school, he began playing on the varsity team as a sophomore. He started a majority of the conference games for Kansas as a freshman, and now, as a 19-year-old, he prepares to face the world’s best players as a professional.
Basketball notebook:
Rush in no hurry: Sophomore guard Brandon Rush is the other Jayhawk considering entering the NBA draft, but don’t expect a decision from him anytime soon.
“He’s still 10 days to two weeks away from knowing,” Self said. “It’s in his best interest to gather as much information as he can.”
Postseason banquet tonight: The team will hold its annual postseason banquet and awards ceremony tonight at 7. Tickets are sold out for the event, which will take place at the Holiday Inn Holidome.
Kansan senior sportswriter Michael Phillips can be contacted at mphillips@kansan.com.
— Edited by Joe Caponio
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Comments
hockeychump (anonymous) says...
I'm still not sure if I should be happy for his opportunity, or sad because now that he'll be joining the NBA, noone will pay attention to him anymore.
At any rate, it's a shame he's leaving.
God, professional basketballs sucks. We should just keep it at the college level.
April 10, 2007 at 11:35 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )