As collegiate stars retreat to campus and international prospects face looming deadlines, Houston's front office must pivot. Discover how these late withdrawals are forcing a draft board overhaul.
May 27th, 2026 marked the deadline for many collegiate players to make some potentially life changing decisions. This year that was the date set for anyone entering the NBA draft to make it official.
Will you test your luck on draft night, or go back to the NCAA in hopes of improving your stock? Those are the questions a large chunk of guys must have been asking themselves during this stressful period in their lives.
Particularly the young men expecting (or just hoping) to get drafted in the second round. If you’re not a sure fire pick, why not stay in college a bit longer and try again next year?
The logic certainly makes sense to me, especially with players getting legal NIL money in the past decade. There’s no need to rush to the NBA.
Unfortunately for the Houston Rockets, a number of players they’ve been linked to in mock drafts have made the decision to stay in college.
Andrej Stojakovic, son of former NBA All-Star and sharpshooter, Peja Stojakovic, is one of those names choosing to hold off on the big leagues.
While I wasn’t 100 percent in love with him as a prospect, as mentioned on Roundtable, it still could’ve been a solid pick. The same could be said about Matt Able, who I touched on in that same article.
Billy Richmond III is another one of the withdrawals from the NBA draft, choosing to return to play with the Arkansas Razorbacks instead.
This super athlete would’ve certainly fit the mold that Rockets’ GM Rafael Stone has seemingly gravitated towards. His age and athleticism lines up pretty well with guys like Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason.
It wouldn’t have been a surprising pick at all, as previously covered on Roundtable, but now Houston has to shift their focus.
One player we’ve already taken a look at is Luigi Suigo, or the Italian Wemby. That’s quite the moniker and high praise for sure, but will we be seeing him in the NBA next season?
According to VU Hoops, Suigo has until June 13th to withdraw. That’s only ten days before the NBA Draft, really complicating the process for any team looking to have him in the roster for the 2026-2027 season.
To complicate things even further, there’s a good deal of speculation that the Italian Wemby would go back to college if he isn’t going to be a top 20 draft pick, as previously covered on Roundtable.
With a majority of the players projected to go to Houston in the 2026 draft having big question marks over them, only time will tell what will really happen. There’s less than a month left and prospects are dropping off the table.
Stay tuned for more updates and player profiles to prepare you for what’s to come.
