With both the NCAA Tournament and NBA regular season done and dusted, it’s now time to turn our attention to the NBA Draft, where the Dallas Mavericks are set to have multiple first-round picks and three selections in the draft overall. The process over the next few weeks gets a bit murky, but these are the important dates you might want to keep in mind.

• Now through April 21st: The NCAA Basketball transfer portal is open. Players do not have to have their destination selected by the 21^st, but they must enter the portal by 11:59 p.m. ET on April 21st. You will see several players declare for the draft while leaving the option open to return to school while entering the portal at the same time.
• The early entry deadline for underclassmen to declare the NBA Draft is April 24th. Any player who is not a senior must declare for the draft by this date.
• The NBA Draft Combine will take place from May 8^th through the 17^th from Chicago. Most players who declare for the draft but leave open the return to college will make their decision during this time, based off of feedback from NBA teams.
• The NBA Draft Lottery is May 10th. There are several tiebreakers that need to be worked out in both the Lottery and the remainder of the first round. The NBA will break those ties on April 20th.
• The NCAA’s early entry withdrawal deadline is May 27^th, meaning any player that declares for the draft on or before April 24th must decide whether they are staying in the draft or returning to college by this day.
• The NBA Draft will take place June 23rd and 24th at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The draft will be televised on ESPN, starting at 7:00 p.m. CT on both nights. The first round of the draft on June 23rd will also be televised on ABC.
• NBA Summer League in Las Vegas runs from July 9^th through the 19^th.

With that housekeeping out of the way, here is a running list of some notable NBA Draft decisions that have been or will need to be made between now and then.

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Top end guys expected to declare

• AJ Dybantsa (F, BYU)
• Darryn Peterson (G, Kansas)
• Cam Boozer (F, Duke)
• Kingston Flemings (G, Houston)
• Darius Acuff (G, Arkansas)
• Brayden Burries (G, Arizona)

It would be a genuine shock if any of these guys came back to school. All six of them should be gone in the top ten selections.

Notables who have already declared

• Caleb Wilson (F, UNC)
• Keaton Wagler (G, Illinois)
• Mikel Brown Jr. (G, Louisville)
• Labaron Philon (G, Alabama)
• Yaxel Lendeborg (F, Michigan)
• Christian Anderson (G, Texas Tech)*
• Dailyn Swain (F, Texas)*
• Ebuka Okorie (G, Stanford)*
• Allen Graves (F, Santa Clara)*
  • Also entered NCAA Transfer Portal
• Juke Harris (F, Wake)*
  • Also entered NCAA Transfer Portal
• Chris Cenac (F, Houston)*

*Legitimate chance that they return to school.

There are some really interesting scenarios here for Dallas, especially with their 30th overall pick. If the Mavericks go guard early, a player like Swain or Graves could be very intriguing with pick 30. Swain is a do it all slashing wing, while Graves translates as a four or small ball five who can step out and shoot. If the Mavericks strike out on guard early, a player like Anderson or Okorie makes much more sense. There are many options here, but we likely won’t know what is fully available until after the May 27th deadline for these guys to return to school.

Yet to make a decision

Koa Peat (F, Arizona)

I think Peat could use another year of seasoning, but we’ll see if the forward gets the guarantee he’s after.

Nate Ament (F, Tennessee)

Originally thought to be one of the five best players in the class, Ament largely didn’t live up to expectations this year. Could that lead to him returning to school?

Braylon Mullins (F, UConn)

The Elite Eight hero has a legitimate decision to make, as the sharpshooter was much more up and down this year than you’d want.

Mo Krivas (C, Arizona)

Krivas likely falls in the twenties of this draft, whereas he could easily be a lottery guy next year in a weaker class.

Morez Johnson and Aday Mara (bigs, Michigan)

This duo is also in that twenties range. Michigan is operating as if they’re gone, so we’ll see if they do actually come out.

Tyler Tanner (G, Vanderbilt)

Expect to see Tanner declare soon, but there’s a good chance that he returns to Nashville if he doesn’t get a strong guarantee somewhere in the first round.

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