Braden Smith might not be playing for the Indiana Pacers next season.
When the Pacers traded for the 38th pick in this year's NBA Draft and drafted local legend Braden Smith, it was supposed to be a joyous moment of connection. The Purdue basketball star and hometown kid playing with his hometown NBA team? Cue the Disney movie in a few years.
As the summer dragged on, however, things were never made official. The Pacers have the rights to Smith, yes, but they have not actually signed him to a contract. The NBA's official tracker shows every move that Indiana has made this summer; you see new contracts for Kelly Oubre, Larry Nance, Kobe Brown and Jalen Slawson. No Braden Smith.
What was merely a weird quirk is now an all-out problem, however. Until a couple of days ago, Smith's options were limited and his leverage essentially nonexistent. Now things have changed, and in a shocking direction: Braden Smith can now return to college instead of playing in the NBA.
Braden Smith can return to college
On Friday, a Colorado judge named Charlotte N. Sweeney granted a preliminary injunction to college players from "the class of 2022" to make them eligible to play in college sports this year. Most of that class, including Smith, played their fourth and final season of college basketball last season. They moved on to their professional careers because they were not allowed to continue playing in college.
Now that might be changing. The NCAA recently put a new rule into place to try and clean up all of the random challenges in court to get players eligible. Referred to as the "5 x 5" rule, college players are eligible to play for five years after they finish high school or turn 19, whichever comes first. No 28-year-olds returning to school, no grey-beard international players, no appeals to stay in college for six or seven years because of injuries or extenuating circumstances. Five years and out.
If that rule had been in place a year earlier, Smith and his peers would have had a choice to make: go to the NBA, or stay in college for a fifth season? While the rule would provide limits for many players trying to return to college basketball, it also gives many players a fifth additional year to play. Yet Smith and his class just missed the cutoff, so they were not eligible.
Or are they?
With Judge Sweeney's ruling, suddenly any players from the Class of 2022 are eligible to play. The NCAA intends to appeal the ruling, but their success rate in court the last couple of years has been quite poor. Dozens if not hundreds of college basketball players are now eligible to return to the sport.
A number of such players facing the prospect of playing in the G League or overseas are now pivoting right back to college, entering the transfer portal and seeking big fat NIL paychecks. Their decision was obvious in light of the ruling.
What will Smith decide to do?
Braden Smith, on the other hand, has a different decision to make. Despite being drafted by the Pacers, he could decide to go back to college. Multiple players have done that, proving the NCAA is powerless to stop them -- especially if they were automatically entered into the draft because of (previously) exhausted eligibility.
Would Smith want to do that? It is hard to imagine the Indiana native playing for anyone other than Purdue -- but would the Boilermakers welcome him back? If one of the greatest players in franchise history were to return, there would certainly be money that could be put together for him -- money that likely exceeded what the Pacers could pay him.
Starting the clock on his NBA career is tempting; making two or three times the money to be a superstar at Purdue for one more year is also extremely tempting.
The Pacers would still own his draft rights, so in a year they could pick things back up again. Smith would be a little older, perhaps a year better in some areas. The Pacers wouldn't be giving a roster spot to a rookie second-round pick and could look for another option for their 15th roster. It's not necessarily a bad thing for Indiana.
What will Smith decide to do? There has been no reporting yet; it's time to wait and see. As of Friday, however, the unthinkable has become the possible: Braden Smith could return to Purdue.
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