Delonte West will declare for this June's NBA draft at a 3 p.m. news conference today but he will not hire an agent, reserving the right to withdraw from the draft and return to Hawk Hill for his senior season if he chooses.

"We just want him to be in the best situation possible," Hawks coach Phil Martelli said.

6-8 Syracuse power forward Hakim Warrick has decided to return for his senior year at Syracuse.

Warrick spent most of his time this year in the post, showing off his excellent footwork and shot blocking abilities, but probabaly not convincing enough people that he has what it takes to make the transition to the 3 spot in the NBA. He did not make any three pointers over the past two seasons and displayed average ball handling skills.

"I thought this would be the best decision for me,'' Warrick told ESPN.com Thursday. "I can come back and graduate and we've got a good shot at winning the national title again.

Warrick cited Jameer Nelson as an example of a senior who can come back for his final year of college and elevate his stock. Nelson declared for the 2003 draft and later withdrew after hearing from scouts that he is a borderline 1st round pick.  Nelson improved his outside shooting and most importantly lead his team to a 27-0 regular season record.

Warrick was ranked 12th in our 2004 mock draft. Syracuse lost in the second round of the tournament to Alabama after an up and down season.

High school point guard Sebastian Telfair will reportedly declare his intention to enter the NBA draft at a press conference early next week, along with news of a shoe contract. "All I know is something's going off next week," Sebastian's father, Otis, said last night.

Telfair, unanimously one of the top two high school point guards in the country this season, has been expected to declare for quite some time. He lives in a very rough area and would obviously like to get his family a house in a less dangerous neighborhood. A guaranteed first round contract, worth anywhere from roughly one to three million dollars, combined with the shoe contract rumored anywhere from ten to twenty million dollars would most assuredly do the trick. RealGM's affiliate draft site, www.draftcity.com, currently has the 6'0" Louisville commit going 13 in their 2004 NBA Mock Draft.

Telfair is currently in Greece working out with his older brother Jamel Thomas, who played at Providence and now plays professionally in Europe.

High flying high school star SG/SF Dorell Wright has decided to delay putting his name in the NBA draft this year and instead fulfill his commitment to Depaul. Wright made a name for himself on the nation-wide level this year with excellent performances in the EA Roundball Classic in Chicago and the Jordan Capital Classic in Washington DC. He was projected by Draftcity.com to be drafted 25th in our 2004 mock draft. Depaul will have a very good team next year, so look for Wright to make a name for himself dominating Conference USA and possibly upping his stock to lottery pick status with a good enough showing.

-Jonathan Givony www.draftcity.com

RealGM.com's affiliate Draftcity has been informed that 6-11 Slovenian power forward Uros Slokar--from the highly regarded Italian club, Benetton Treviso--will announce his intention to enter the NBA draft tomorrow.

Slokar is a very aggressive and mobile post player who has been stashed away in Benetton's deep rotation for most of the year. But his talent and fundamentals (in particular, his versatility) have not been overlooked by the scouts. Slokar can post up on the low block, put the ball on the floor, or step out and hit the three with a beautiful lefty stroke--just not that consistently yet. He needs to put on some weight and improve his team defense, as well as gain some experience through playing time (which he has not seen that much of this season, on one of Europe's top teams).

According to his agent, Roger Montgomery, from Momentum Sports, Slokar's buyout has been worked out already, so look for him to be added to Draftcity's mock draft somewhere in the early 20s for now.

Slokar will certainly be an interesting player to keep tabs on once he makes it over the ocean. He joins what is turning out to be one of the deepest drafts in recent history, especially in terms of size, with 13 players listed at 6-10 or taller already projected among the top 30 picks.

7-4, 280 pound Puerto Rican teenager Peter John Ramos, who was introduced to the world exclusively by RealGM affiliate Draftcity.com in March, is now being heavily scouted by NBA teams in the lottery the past few weeks. Chicago, Orlando, Washington, Toronto, Charlotte and others have already sent scouts to watch him play-- along with non-lottery teams like Milwaukee (who would have to trade to acquire a pick) and San Antonio. Peter May from the Boston Globe shed some new light on Ramos this weekend, quoting an unnamed NBA executive that believed that Ramos would be a top-five pick in this year's draft. May is also reporting that former UNLV coach Bill Bayno has been tutoring Ramos recently in Puerto Rico, and he feels that Ramos is a better prospect then Pavel Podkolzine, whom Bayno also has worked with in the past. Ramos has been a man on a mission lately, saying that his inclusion in Internet mock drafts in the first round has given him special motivation and confidence to perform. Over the past three games in the professional Puerto Rican league, Ramos is averaging 26 points, 14 rebounds and 2 blocks per game.  

Ramos scouting report: http://www.draftcity.com/peterramos.htm

Article introducing Ramos: http://www.draftcity.com/articles/0006.htm

Dwight Howard, the high schooler Southwest Christian Academy who has declared for the NBA Draft, has hired Aaron Goodwin, the same agent as Lebron James, in a hope of following in the same successful steps.

"Aaron is a great guy and person," Howard said. "He is a mirror image of myself in that he has that drive to want to be the best. I think he will do what is best for me. I trust my parents in making the right decision."

Howard is expected to be one of the top picks, possibly first overall, this June.

Utah coach Ray Giacoletti has denied an ESPN.com report that said Andrew Bogut has made a decision to return to school for his sophomore season and not turn professional.

"Bogut will continue to "weigh his options. . . . He's going to go home when school gets out and think it over."

The report said Bogut had already signed up for fall classes but Utah sports information director Mike Lageschulte claims it is a common practice.

"If they wait until the fall," he explained, "they can't get the [classes] they want."

Bogut, who is 7-0, averaged 12.5 points and 9.9 rebounds last season with the Utes.

RealGM's NBA Draft Affiliate DraftCity.com has Bogut projected to #24 overall in their latest Mock Draft.

Darius Washington Jr will be attending the University of Memphis, not declaring for the NBA draft as reported by the Orlando Sentinel, according to his father.

"They took one quote with me talking about 'the next level' and ran with it," said Darius Washington Sr. "I'm giving you my word as a parent that my son is not turning pro. The next level for Darius is Memphis and to play for coach (John) Calipari. He will be in Memphis at the beginning of June to enroll in summer classes and he's going to play for coach Calipari next year."

Following the recent success of the NFL in court, expect NBA Commissioner David Stern to try to add a minimum age of 20 for players coming into the league as part of the next Collective Bargaining Agreement.

"We think clearly it is a subject you need to manage," Stern said Thursday. "There is nothing more focused and centered in the terms and conditions of employment than when someone can come into the business."

"We hope the age limit of 20 can be in the dialogue of our bargaining," NBA assistant commissioner Russ Granik said. ". . . It likely would result in opening up the opportunity for the younger players moved into the NBA developmental league. If you're a player who comes out early and [are] not drafted, it gives you some place to go.""We hope the age limit of 20 can be in the dialogue of our bargaining," NBA assistant commissioner Russ Granik added. ". . . It likely would result in opening up the opportunity for the younger players moved into the NBA developmental league. If you're a player who comes out early and [are] not drafted, it gives you some place to go."

The NBA Player's Union would have to agree before it could be added to the Collective Bargaining Agreement.