Arizona could receive some roster clarification on Friday night with the deadline to enter the 2026 NBA Draft at 8:59 PM Mountain Standard Time. None of the prominent Arizona underclassmen has announced their intention to enter the 2026 NBA Draft.
Freshman combo guard Brayden Burries is a projected lottery pick and expected to enter and remain in the 2026 NBA Draft. Freshman forward Koa Peat has a difficult decision to make about entering the 2026 NBA Draft or returning to Arizona for his sophomore season.
Peat is projected anywhere from 11th to completely out of the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft, depending on the mock. The first-year salary for the 11th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft was $4,762,600. Second-round picks in the NBA Draft do not receive guaranteed contracts.
Peat was named one of the stay or go decisions that could define the 2026 College Basketball offseason by CBS Sports. The decision for Peat will be to balance the amount he would make in salary versus how much he could make in Name, Image and Likeness with Arizona.
Today is the deadline for players to declare as Early Entry Candidates for the 2026 NBA Draft.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) April 24, 2026
See below for more draft-related key dates ⬇️ https://t.co/YNqcCo3zPH
Players with decisions but expected to return
Freshman forward Ivan Kharchenkov and redshirt junior center Motiejus Krivas have decisions to make. Kharchenkov is expected to return. Krivas is projected as a late first-round pick on some mock drafts and he could decide to enter his name in the NBA Draft with the hope of receiving a combine invitation and then make a decision.
Krivas is more likely than not to return to Arizona for the 2026-27 season. If he competes in the NBA Combine next month in Chicago, Krivas could decide to stay in the draft with a good performance. Krivas is not projected to be selected in 2026 in consensus NBA mock drafts.
The return of Kharchenkov and Krivas provides Arizona with the foundation for a top 10 team in 2026-27. If Peat returns, Arizona would likely be a top-three team entering the 2026-27 season. Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd probably has a contingency plan.
Kharchenkov did not sign with Arizona until June of 2025. The German became a key player as Arizona advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 2001. Lloyd is one of the best international recruiters and Arizona could go that route to enhance the 2026-27 roster instead of a high school prospect or transfer.
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