4 Auburn players officially listed as NBA Draft early entrants

4 Auburn players officially listed as NBA Draft early entrants

The NBA on Tuesday night released its official list of early entrants for this summer’s NBA Draft. In all, 242 players filed paperwork for early entry into the draft, including four Auburn players.

While Wendell Green Jr., Johni Broome and Jaylin Williams all previously announced their intentions to enter the draft, backup center Dylan Cardwell was also listed among those who filed the requisite paperwork to at least test the draft waters. The NBA’s release Tuesday night confirmed what Auburn coach Bruce Pearl mentioned just a few hours earlier while speaking to reporters before the first stop on the AMBUSH tour in Atlanta.

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“You’ve seen Wendell and Johni, Dylan and Jaylin all declare to make themselves eligible for the draft, which allows them to go work out, eligible to be invited to Chicago for the combine if that happens,” Pearl said. “That’s usually a very strong indicator about whether or not you have a good chance to be drafted. The NBA combine is the 14th, a few days before that is the G League combine, so that’s about the time you have to figure out whether you’re going to be invited to that so you know whether you’re going to be drafted.”

Early entrants have until 5 p.m. ET on June 12 to withdraw from the draft, but the deadline for players to withdraw while still retaining their college eligibility is May 31. Both Broome and Williams mentioned in their draft announcements that they plan to maintain their eligibility, leaving the door open for a potential return to the Plains for the 2023-24 season. While Green’s declaration carried a sense of finality to it, Cardwell is also expected to retain his eligibility for a return next season.

This marks the second consecutive offseason that Cardwell has tested the NBA Draft waters, giving him an opportunity to go through the pre-draft evaluation process and get feedback from league personnel on his stock and what areas of his game need to be addressed for him to be a viable NBA prospect. After declaring for the draft last year, Cardwell did not receive an invite to the NBA Draft Combine or the G-League Elite Camp before opting to return for his junior season.

The 6-foot-11 big man appeared in 32 games for Auburn this season, coming off the bench in all but one of those games. He averaged 3.7 points and 3.8 rebounds, as well as 1.3 blocks and 1.1 assists in 13.4 minutes per game while backing up Broome, the Tigers’ second-team All-SEC center. Cardwell finished the season shooting 74.7 percent from the field, including 75.7 percent from inside the arc. He’s a career 71.5 percent shooter, with much of his damage coming at the rim, and has averaged 3.5 points and 3.4 rebounds across 93 games for the Tigers.

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.