- Markelle Fultz (Washington)
- Lonzo Ball (UCLA)
- Jayson Tatum (Duke)
- Josh Jackson (Kansas)
- De'Aaron Fox (Kentucky)
- Jonathan Isaac (Florida State)
- Lauri Markkanen (Arizona)
- Malik Monk (Kentucky)
- Dennis Smith (N.C. State)
- Zach Collins (Gonzaga)
- Donovan Mitchell (Louisville)
- Luke Kennard (Duke)
- John Collins (Wake Forest)
- Frank Ntilikina (France)
- Justin Jackson (North Carolina)
- Jarrett Allen (Texas)
- Justin Patton (Creighton)
- Bam Adebayo (Kentucky)
- T.J. Leaf (UCLA)
- OG Anunoby (Indiana)
June 14 Update
Seven more invitations to the NBA Draft went out today, sources told DraftExpress. Luke Kennard, Donovan Mitchell, Justin Jackson, Justin Patton, Harry Giles, T.J. Leaf and Bam Adebayo all received Green Room invites, bringing the tally to 20 so far. Players have until Friday, June 16th to notify the NBA League Office about their intentions to participate in NBA Draft Media Day on the 21st and attend the NBA Draft with their families in Brooklyn on June 22nd.
June 10 Update
Three more invitations to the NBA Draft went out today, sources told DraftExpress. Frank Ntilikina, Jarrett Allen and John Collins all received Green Room invites. A few more players will be contacted by the NBA League Office on Monday with additional invitations to Brooklyn for June 22nd.
Ten players, including projected top-two picks Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball, have been invited to attend the 2017 NBA draft at the Barclays Center in New York on June 22nd, league sources told DraftExpress.
The invited players, in alphabetical order:
Lonzo Ball
Zach Collins
De'Aaron Fox
Markelle Fultz
Jonathan Isaac
Josh Jackson
Lauri Markkanen
Malik Monk
Dennis Smith
Jayson Tatum
The group of green room prospects is expected to reach up to 20 when ten more invites go out in the next few days, a challenging process for the NBA League office to undertake reflecting the uncertainty revolving around the draft. The likes of Frank Ntilikina, Donovan Mitchell, Luke Kennard, John Collins, Justin Jackson are expected to make up that group.
The process of deciding who to invite to the NBA Draft involves a significant amount of communication with GMs of teams picking throughout the first round, to ensure that players who are in the NBA Draft Green Room aren't sitting for very long under the bright lights of a national TV audience, as the second round approaches. Last year, Deyonta Davis (#31), Dejounte Murray (#29) and Skal Labissiere (#28) all waited quite a long time to hear their names called, a situation the NBA will certainly try to avoid.
Sources say the league office and many team front offices are struggling to get an accurate read on which players will make up the group drafted outside of the top 12-14 picks, making it especially difficult to nail down the final 6-8 players who will be invited.
There is a large contingent of 15-20 big men, which includes the likes of Ike Anigbogu, Jarrett Allen, Justin Patton, Harry Giles, T.J. Leaf, Jonathan Jeanne, Bam Adebayo, Isaiah Hartenstein, Anzejs Pasecniks, D.J. Wilson, Tyler Lydon, Ivan Rabb, Tony Bradley, Mathias Lessort, Thomas Bryant, Johnathan Motley, Caleb Swanigan and Kyle Kuzma all vying for spots in the bottom half of the first round.
It's unclear at the moment how many NBA teams will even decide to use a first round pick on a big man considering the direction the NBA game is heading, with positionless basketball being en vogue and the premium on size no longer being as pronounced as in the past. That should create compelling television on Draft night, but also quite a bit of confusion and drama among NBA teams, agents, players and their families.
The latest DraftExpress Mock Draft can be found here.
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