Izan Almansa Among Players Withdrawing From Draft

After five workouts with NBA teams, Reggio Emilia center Mouhamed Faye has decided to withdraw from the 2024 draft and will return to the Italian pro club, his agent Matteo Comellini informed Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). Last year, the 6’9″ big man averaged 7.9 points on 62.4% field goal shooting, while also contributing 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per contest in 30 games for Reggio Emilia.

Another international prospect, French guard Ilias Kamardine, also plans to withdraw from the draft this year, his rep Herman Manakyan told Givony (via Twitter). Kamardine spent 2023/24 with JDA Dijon in Pro A France. He played sparingly for Dijon last year, averaging 5.3 minutes per game.

6’10” former Illinois power forward Zacharie Perrin, now with SLUC Nancy in his native France, is also opting out of the draft, his agents Nicolas Dos Santos and Max Wiepking tell Givony (Twitter link).

Nineteen-year-old former G League Ignite big man Izan Almansa also intends to withdraw from the draft, his agents Wiepking, Jim Tanner and Guillermo Bermejo have informed Givony  (Twitter link). In an effort to become a first-round draft selection next season, the 6’10” Spaniard is looking to continue his career for a team in Australia or Europe for 2024/25. Across 32 regular season contests (30 starts), Almansa averaged 11.7 points on 56% shooting from the field for the Ignite, along with 7.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.7 steals per game.

Of these players, Almansa is the top-ranked prospect on ESPN’s current big board, where he was listed as the No. 49 prospect. Perrin is at No. 67, Kamardine is No. 80, and Faye narrowly made the list at No. 99.

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