Rookie wrote:

nyk4ever wrote:because he never entered the draft. instead of going to smu, he decided to play in china. the only way you can sign with any nba team is if you enter your name into the draft, which he has never done. if you enter the draft and no one drafts you, then you are free to sign with anyone.

Did Priggioni have to enter the draft?

Was Mozgov ever in the draft?

Rookie wrote:

nyk4ever wrote:because he never entered the draft. instead of going to smu, he decided to play in china. the only way you can sign with any nba team is if you enter your name into the draft, which he has never done. if you enter the draft and no one drafts you, then you are free to sign with anyone.

Did Priggioni have to enter the draft?

No. There's a period of time that needs to lapse from the time a prospect's draft class becomes eligible before they can be a free agent. I think Alexy Shved did this when he signed with Minnesota.

nyk4ever wrote:

Automatic eligibility[edit]
Players whose 19th birthday falls during or before the calendar year of the draft, are at least one year removed from the graduation of their high school class, and who do not meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria:[11]

They have completed 4 years of their college eligibility.
If they graduated from high school in the U.S., but did not enroll in a U.S. college or university, four years have passed since their high school class graduated.
They have signed a contract with a professional basketball team outside of the NBA, anywhere in the world, and have played under that contract. You also must be released from your contract before you can leave college to go to the NBA

Those who have reached the minimum eligibility age of 19 and meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria:

They are least 22 during the calendar year of the draft.[12]
They have signed a contract with a professional basketball team outside of the NBA within the United States, and have played under that contract

if I'm reading correctly, the criteria is for eligibility for the draft. I can't see where it is required to enter the draft

BRIGGS wrote:He's an 18 year old. Once you are past 22 or have finished your college/amateur period here or abroad--you become an undrafted free agent. Before that--you have to qualify to be draft eligible.

It's a dumb rule but they want to protect the integrity of the college draft. If a guy like Mudiay could sign as a free agent that would destroy the draft entirely. Nobody will go to college at that point. Sign in china or Europe and then come over....the next question would be if all the good American prospects are overseas, then why even come to the nba?

Is a tangled Web