How the NBA Draft deadline extension impacts Isaiah Livers’ decision

The NBA is officially back. Well, almost.

The league is gearing up to play games in Orlando starting July 31, and with that came the news of the 2020 NBA Draft being pushed back to Oct. 15. The NBA Draft Lottery, which is typically held in May, is now set to take place Aug. 25.

In a statement released shortly after this news broke yesterday, the NCAA released a statement which said players have until 10 days after the conclusion of the NBA Combine, Aug. 3, or whatever day comes first (since a day for the combine is not set in stone) to make a decision on whether or not they will remain in the draft or go back to school.

One Michigan hoops player, Franz Wagner, already announced his plans to return to Ann Arbor. But Isaiah Livers, one of the best players on the team, still hasn’t decided.

Livers has said all along his decision will come down to whether or not he gets a guaranteed contract. If he is able to go through the combine process, he will likely be able to get feedback from scouts, teams and GMs up close and personal. If he doesn’t, then he may have to go off his gut instinct, which may not be the best way to go about evaluating your future in the NBA.

This could have a huge impact on Livers’ decision to either stay in college for his senior season or bolt for the NBA. Hopefully whatever he does is the best decision for him, but selfishly, I’d love to see him in a Michigan uniform for one last season.

U-M transfer ready for next chapter

Michigan basketball reeled in a few transfers this offseason, one of which is Wake Forest guard Chaundee Brown. He averaged 12.1 points per game and 6.5 rebounds last season, and now brings his talents to the Big Ten for his final season in college.

Brown was recently interviewed by Patrick Welter of Spectrum Sports 360 and discussed his decision to head to Ann Arbor.

“Man, if you would’ve told me 10 years from now, 15 years from now that I’d have been going to Michigan, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Brown said. “It felt like home talking to (Michigan coaches). It just felt like I was talking to my family, so I came to that decision and I’m happy I’m there.”

Brown tested the NBA Draft waters before transferring to Michigan, and even if he has to sit a year, he plans to work on the weaknesses in his game so he can eventually make it to the next level.

Since the one-time transfer waiver has been tabled until at least next year, the university will have to submit a waiver themselves and see if they can get Brown on the court for the 2020-21 season. If he does get immediate eligibility, he has a good chance to be a consistent presence for the Wolverines right off the bat, at least in a heavy rotational role.

Check out the full interview with Brown here.

National Brews

• At least five football players for the University of Alabama tested positive for COVID-19. The players who contracted the virus were not named in any of the numerous reports.
• Former Detroit Tiger Torii Hunter came out and said he had a no-trade clause put in every single one of his contracts to never be traded to Boston due to racial slurs from fans in the city. “Every contract I’ve ever had. And I always wanted to play for them. It sucks.”
• In much better news, Detroit Pistons head coach Dwane Casey attended a protest in the city of Detroit on Thursday, along with other members of the team. The protests have been ongoing for a week now, and are in response to the murder of George Floyd.