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The draft is conducted under the eligibility rules established in the league's new 2011 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with its players union. The CBA that ended the 2011 lockout instituted no immediate changes to the draft, but called for a committee of owners and players to discuss future changes. As of 2015, the basic eligibility rules for the draft are listed below.
All drafted players must be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft. In terms of dates, players eligible for the 2015 draft must be born on or before December 31, 1996.
Any player who is not an "international player", as defined in the CBA, must be at least one year removed from the graduation of his high school class. The CBA defines "international players" as players who permanently resided outside the United States for three years prior to the draft, did not complete high school in the U.S., and have never enrolled at a U.S. college or university.
Early entrants
Player who are not automatically eligible must declare their eligibility for the draft by notifying the NBA offices in writing no later than 60 days before the draft. For the 2015 draft, this date fell on April 26. After this date, "early entry" players may attend NBA pre-draft camps and individual team workouts to show off their skills and obtain feedback regarding their draft positions. Under the CBA, a player may withdraw his name from consideration from the draft at any time before the final declaration date, which is 10 days before the draft. Under NCAA rules, players will only have until April 16 to withdraw from the draft and maintain their college eligibility.
A player who has hired an agent will forfeit his remaining college eligibility, regardless of whether he is drafted. Also, while the CBA allows a player to withdraw from the draft twice, the NCAA mandates that a player who has declared twice loses his college eligibility.
This year, a total of 48 collegiate players and 43 international players declared as early entry candidates before the April 26 deadline. On June 15, the withdrawal deadline, 34 early entry candidates withdrew from the draft and one early entry candidate is added, leaving 47 collegiate players and 11 international players as the early entry candidates for the draft.
Players who do not meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria:
They have completed 4 years of their college eligibility.
If they graduated from high school in the U.S., but did not enroll in a U.S. college or university, four years have passed since their high school class graduated.
They have signed a contract with a professional basketball team outside of the NBA, anywhere in the world, and have played under that contract.
Players who meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria:
They are least 22 years old during the calendar year of the draft. In terms of dates, players born on or before December 31, 1993 are automatically eligible for the 2015 draft.
They have signed a contract with a professional basketball team outside of the NBA within the United States, and have played under that contract.
In addition to every college players who has completed their college eligibility and every "international" players who was born on or before December 31, 1993, the following players would also be eligible for selection in the 2015 NBA draft:
The invitation-only NBA Draft Combine was scheduled to occur in Chicago from May 12 to 17. The on-court element of the combine was scheduled for May 14 and 15.
The NBA conducted an annual draft lottery to determine the draft order for the teams that did not make the playoffs in the preceding season. Every NBA team that missed the NBA playoffs had a chance at winning a top three pick, but teams with worse records had a better chance at winning a top three pick. After the lottery selected the teams that receive a top three pick, the other teams received a NBA draft pick based on their winning percentage from the prior season. The table below shows each non-playoff team's chances (based on their record at the end of the NBA season) of receiving picks 1–14.
The 2015 NBA lottery was held on May 19. The Minnesota Timberwolves, who had the worst record in the NBA and the highest chance to win the lottery at 25%, won the lottery. The Los Angeles Lakers moved from the fourth spot to second, while the Philadelphia 76ers got the third pick. The only team that moved out of the position altogether was the New York Knicks, who moved from the projected second pick to the fourth pick.
In the first round of the draft, each team has five minutes to decide which player they would like to select. During the five minutes, the team can also propose a trade with another team before making their final selection. The NBA commissioner then announce the selection and the player, wearing a basketball cap sporting the team's logo, comes up to the stage to be congratulated and presented to the audience. In the second round, each team has two minutes to make their picks while the deputy commissioner assumes the commissioner's role.
Miami acquired draft rights to Justin Hamilton and a conditional future first-round pick (protected top 14 in 2013–2015, else 2015 and 2016 second-round picks)
Denver acquired Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, a 2014 first-round pick, 2012 and 2013 second-round picks, the option to swap 2016 first-round picks, and cash considerations from New York from New York
Brooklyn re-acquired their 2015 second-round pick and also acquired a 2019 second round pick as a compensation for allowing Milwaukee to hire Jason Kidd as a head coach
Chicago acquired Andrew Bynum, Sacramento's conditional first-round pick, the option to swap 2015 first-round picks, Portland's 2015 second-round pick and Portland's 2016 second-round pick
^ Nationality indicates the player's national team or representative nationality. If a player has not competed at the international level, then the nationality indicates the national team which the player is eligible to represent according to FIBA rules.
Karl-Anthony Towns was born and raised in the United States. His father is American and his mother is Dominican. He represents the Dominican Republic internationally.
^ "Article X, Section 1(b)(i)". 2005 NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement. National Basketball Players Association. Archived from the original on February 27, 2008. Retrieved April 17, 2008.
"Article X, Section 1(c)". 2005 NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement. National Basketball Players Association. Archived from the original on July 31, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
"Article X, Section 1(b)(ii)(F)". 2005 NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement. National Basketball Players Association. Archived from the original on February 27, 2008. Retrieved April 17, 2008. (non-international players)
"Article X, Section 1(b)(ii)(G)(3)". 2005 NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement. National Basketball Players Association. Archived from the original on February 27, 2008. Retrieved April 17, 2008. (international players)
^ "Article X, Section 8(c)". 2005 NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement. National Basketball Players Association. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008.