We are less than 48 hours out from the NBA Draft withdrawal deadline, and there is still no word from Andrej Stojakovic.
A decision has to be made by Wednesday at midnight EST. That is when the Illini wing has to decide whether to head to the NBA or come back to Champaign for one more national title run.
At this point, you have to think the decision is 50-50. If you knew you were coming back, a decision would have already happened. Stojakovic is definitely weighing his options, and if he were smart, he would be potentially creating more money for himself at the college level.
Even if Illinois does lose Stojakovic to the NBA, I would at least want him to land with a good franchise. There are a lot of land mines out there, and if he goes to someone like the New Orleans Pelicans, his career could be pretty short.
That isn’t the case in one of the latest mock drafts, though. Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo! released an updated two-round NBA Mock Draft.
O’Connor has Stojakovic, obviously, going in the second round. He has zero chance of getting picked in the first round, but a second-round selection is on the fence right now. That is one of the reasons Stojakovic should potentially come back to Illinois.
In the second round, with pick No. 24, Stojakovic is projected to land with Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
I would argue that the Warriors would be one of the better options among all of the teams potentially picking in that part of the draft. You have the Pelicans and Chicago Bulls right there, and those are two teams to avoid at all costs.
Stojakovic would have the chance to join a Warriors squad that has experience on the roster. Curry, Draymond Green, and former Illinois player Brandin Podziemski are all quality players for the team. Stojakovic could go into the situation, play a little for the Santa Cruz Warriors, and work his way up to the NBA.
Andrej Stojakovic’s teammate Keaton Wagler doesn’t have as favorable of an NBA Draft
While we all wait to see what Stojakovic does with his career, it is exciting to see which franchise could potentially land him. I love the Golden State fit. They need more wings.
Illinois is likely to have at least two players selected in the 2026 NBA Draft. Stojakovic is slated to go in the second round, but the first player off the board for the Orange and Blue is going to be Keaton Wagler.
Wagler is a consensus top 10 pick, and it seems that it is between the No. 5 and No. 6 pick in every mock draft I have seen. That is a big difference, too.
In the O’Connor mock draft, he has Wagler going No. 6 overall to the Brooklyn Nets. That is a brutal landing spot for Wagler, as the Nets are a nowhere franchise with zero hope. If he goes No. 5 overall, that would be the Los Angeles Clippers landing him. They have an owner who cares and some nice pieces.
Stojakovic has yet to decide, but regardless of what happens, my hope is that every Illinois player who is in the draft process lands with a quality team.
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