Gonzaga wing Julian Strawther declares for 2023 NBA Draft

Well, Gonzaga may be losing one of the top pieces off its 2022-23 roster. On Monday morning in Spokane, Zags star Julian Strawther announced that he is declaring for the NBA Draft without mentioning the possibility of coming back.

Now, he may still consider a return, but his message as part of Monday’s news made no mention of leaving the door open to come back.

Here was his Twitter post announcing the news:

pic.twitter.com/qwzvpyrMe9

— Julian Strawther ✞ (@JulianStrawther) April 10, 2023

Strawther spent three years with the Zags. As a rookie, he played sparsely on the 2021 team that went undefeated up until the national title game. Then, the former top-100 recruit exploded as one of the team’s starters and its third-leading scorer in 2022. This past season, Strawther returned alongside Drew Timme to form arguably the best ow-two offensive punch in college ball. Strawther averaged north of 15 points a game and shot a career-best 40.8% from three.

Strawther spent three years with the Zags. As a rookie, he played sparsely on the 2021 team that went undefeated up until the national title game. Then, the former top-100 recruit exploded as one of the team’s starters and its third-leading scorer in 2022. This past season, Strawther returned alongside Drew Timme to form arguably the best ow-two offensive punch in college ball. Strawther averaged north of 15 points a game and shot a career-best 40.8% from three.

More on the 2023 NBA Draft

The 2023 NBA Draft is set to take place on Thursday, June 22, 2023, in Brooklyn at Barclays Center. Round 1 of the draft will be announced by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, while Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum is expected to handle the second round of picks.

To be eligible for the NBA Draft, players must be at least 19 years in age during the calendar year that the draft is held and at least one NBA season from their high school graduation date, or the date that would have been if they are not graduated. It is not required that player spend that one year playing college basketball, though. Players can play in either college, abroad, or the G League Ignite if they choose so.

While this is a significant change from what the rules once were, players are eligible to enter their names into the NBA Draft pool and explore their options by hiring an agent to go through the process, while still keeping their college eligibility. The deadline to make that move is on April 23 beginning at 11:59 p.m. ET. Players have until June 12 at 5 p.m. ET to withdraw their name from the pool and return to college.

The NBA Draft Lottery will be held on May 16, which is also the start of the NBA Conference Finals.