Okay, so I’ve been digging into this whole Tristen Newton thing, trying to figure out if he’s actually going to the NBA. You know, the former Burges High School basketball star? Yeah, that guy. It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster, let me tell you.
First, I started by just poking around online, seeing what the buzz was. There were a few articles, mostly from local news in El Paso, saying he was “declaring” for the draft. But then they all had this little detail about him “maintaining his collegiate eligibility.” That sounded a bit weird to me, so I kept digging.
I found out that this whole “declaring” thing is kind of a formality. See, there are these rules in the NBA, and to be eligible for the draft, players have to be at least 19 years old during the year of the draft. And if they’re playing college ball in the US, at least one NBA season has to have passed since they graduated high school. Newton seems to fit the bill, age-wise and all that.
Then, I stumbled upon some more recent stuff saying he had withdrawn from the 2023 NBA Draft. Apparently, he was testing the waters, seeing what NBA teams thought of him. I guess he didn’t get the feedback he wanted. It wasn’t that great because he decided to go back to college for another year, this time at the University of Connecticut. So I guess he hoped he could try again to be chosen this year.
From what I could gather, he played pretty well at UConn. And this year, he tried again and declared for the 2024 NBA Draft, which is what all those articles were talking about. He’s got a better shot this time around, it seems.
So, to answer the big question: did Tristen Newton declare for the NBA draft? Yes, he did. But it’s not as simple as just saying “I’m going to the NBA.” He had to go through this whole process, and there was a chance he could’ve stayed in college. It’s all a bit of a gamble, you know? You put your name out there, see if anyone bites, and if not, you can always go back to school. Tristen Newton played the game, and I guess we’ll see if it pays off for him in the actual draft.
