Love should be on there
The NBA released its list of 195 U.S. and international players that applied for early entry to the 2024 NBA Draft, and as expected a pair of Wildcats were among the tally.
Just not the two that we expected.
Sophomore guard Jaden Bradley has thrown his name into the NBA Draft mix, presumably with his eligibility intact for college. That’s the route guards KJ Lewis and Caleb Love said they were taking in declaring for the 2024 Draft, while wing Pelle Larsson has passed on his final season of eligibility; he and forward Keshad Johnson are officially done with college basketball.
But Love wasn’t one of the 195 players on the list released Tuesday, despite announcing he had declared—with the option to return to Arizona—on April 16. Turns out that may have been an oversight, per college Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman:
Sounds like a few guys not on the NBA draft list – Caleb Love and Hunter Sallis – aren’t on due to clerical issue. But NBA is expected to add them to the list of guys eligible for draft process.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 30, 2024
I can say with 100 percent certainty the Arizona coaching staff is supportive of Caleb Love going through the entire process.
When stuff like this happens and I’m assuming the Hunter Sallis situation also, it comes down to the agents not doing the necessary paperwork.
— Jason Scheer (@jasonscheer) April 30, 2024
Bradley’s inclusion on the list comes without any public announcement, the same thing Larsson did a year ago before returning to the UA for a third season. By declaring, Bradley can get feedback from scouts and potentially get an invite to the draft combine in May before deciding by May 29 whether to return to college.
In his first season with Arizona, Bradley averaged 7.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists on 46.2 percent shooting, making 46.4 percent of his 3s and shooting 82.5 percent from the line. A reserve all year, Bradley averaged 11.6 points in five Pac-12 and NCAA tournament games including 18 against Clemson in the Sweet 16. His career high was 21 against ASU on Feb. 17.
The expectation is both Bradley and Lewis will return to Arizona for the 2024-25 season, while Love’s return is 50/50. If all three come back the Wildcats will have 11 players on the roster and two scholarships to fill, with one of those potentially going to 2025 commit Joson Sanon if he goes through with the reported intention to reclassify to 2024.