Underclassmen in the draft

Of course, Devon has thrown his name in the draft and that is probably a good move given that he has an excellent chance of making an NBA roster and hence significant dollars. But as of a few minutes ago when I checked, there were 138 underclassmen declaring for the draft. Now as best as I can tell at least 10 of the 60 draft spots will be going to international or graduating seniors and possibly as many as 14 spots. But lets say 10. That leaves 50 spots for these underclassmen. Pretty much the first 20 spots are a fait accompli. The remaining 10 1st round spots will come from a list of about 25 players. With a record 138 players announced (and ticking up daily) that just doesn't leave many spots. So there are a few questions that come to mind about these guys who are declaring.

1. Do they seriously think they have a shot to make an NBA roster?
2. Are they just sick of school and want to get out and earn a paycheck even it is in the G-League or overseas?
3. Who is feeding them the advice or are they just doing what 19-20 year olds often do and just blindly indulging their whims and desires?

I am hard-pressed to advise anyone who can leave school and earn FU money. But for most of these guys, they will at best, earn a decent paycheck to play basketball for 4-5 years and when they are in their mid to late 20's they will be without a job and have very little money saved if any. Sure, some are not serious students so I suppose they are just as well off earning a modest paycheck for a few years playing basketball since they will not seriously gain by staying in school. Each person has an individual decision and it is unfair to place all of these players in a single broad category. Some may have fine reasons for bolting. But with so many opting for the draft (record numbers) it does cause one to wonder what rationale is going into their decision making.

I totally agree with your post, Corpus. I think about that every year. I like how you asked 3 very specific questions. I really wish we could send out a survey to those prospects and to get their answers. But alas, all we can do is have some fun speculating.