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Former Wildcats have to wait longer until NBA Draft

By Eric Townsend

TUCSON, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 14: Nico Mannion #1 and Zeke Nnaji #22 of the Arizona Wildcats in action against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at McKale Center on December 14, 2019 in Tucson, Arizona. The Gonzaga Bulldogs won 84 - 80. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
TUCSON, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 14: Nico Mannion #1 and Zeke Nnaji #22 of the Arizona Wildcats in action against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at McKale Center on December 14, 2019 in Tucson, Arizona. The Gonzaga Bulldogs won 84 - 80. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /
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With the NBA restart kicking off in July, that will postpone the NBA Draft a few months, making our former Wildcats wait even longer until draft day.

It’s been a crazy few months for a few of our former Wildcats. After having the NCAA Tournament and season cancelled, all three of Arizona’s high-producing freshmen would then declare for the NBA Draft just weeks later.

And despite the myriad of ups and downs this past year, Zeke Nnaji, Nico Mannion and Josh Green were still determined to get to that next level, as they all showed a lot of upside and promise.

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Arizona Wildcats

We all knew it was likely coming, but at this point, I know fans are at least curious to see where they go. However, it seems like we may have to wait a bit longer before we know that.

Unfortunately as we all saw with the NCAA season being cancelled, the NBA season was affected as well, being put on an indefinite hold. However, it seems the season may be close to returning as the NBA’s Board of Governors approved a format to restart the 2019-20 season.

At the moment, the league is expected to resume play in Orlando on July 31, with the latest possible date of an NBA Finals game set for October 12.

So with the NBA season pushed out so far, naturally the NBA Draft and the accompanying workouts will be pushed out as well. As ESPN Senior NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported just days ago, the Draft Lottery will happen August 25, while the Draft will happen on October 15.

Probably not the outcome Nnaji, Green or Mannion were looking for, but it at least gives them more time to prepare and possibly improve their draft standings as well.

As things stand for all three now, Green is projected to go No. 23 overall to the Miami Heat, Mannion is project to go No. 24 overall to the Utah Jazz, while Nnaji is projected to go No. 27 overall to the New York Knicks according to Sports Illustrated in their latest Mock Draft.

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We will see if that happens and whether things drastically change from now until then.

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