PJ Washington NBA Draft decision update

The NCAA deadline to withdraw from the NBA Draft is May 30th. Expect most, if not all of the Cats testing the waters to take their decision to said deadline.

That includes PJ Washington, whose father spoke with KSR about the impending decision. PJ plans to meet with the Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves this week, then meet with his family to make a decision, likely during Memorial Day weekend.

The plan all along has been for PJ to make his decision the week of the deadline, giving him ample time to meet with as many NBA teams as possible. He’s trying to get a first-round guarantee from someone, though it’s very hard to see that coming.

PJ has said he’ll come back to school if he doesn’t get said guarantee, but all the buzz around reporters and even NBA scouts is that PJ is leaning toward the draft, regardless of guarantees.

However, PJ hasn’t met with his family yet to make a final decision. While he may be leaning toward the draft, his family may convince him he needs another year of college. Perhaps that could come this weekend, though it’s unclear what the family prefers PJ to do.

All told, we should expect PJ to stay in the draft and be pleasantly surprised if he returns to UK. That’s typically the best approach with any UK player testing the draft.

Between PJ and the other two Cats testing the waters — Jarred Vanderbilt and Wenyen Gabriel — PJ looks like the most likely to leave for the NBA, though it’s possible UK loses two or even all three of them.

All of this is why the next week may define the 2018-19 basketball team.

Be sure to read KSR’s full post with quotes from Paul Washington on his son’s decision.

Here is a look at how PJ performed at the NBA Draft Combine, which was a big success by all accounts:

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