Play Now <br> <a href="https://picks.cbssports.com/college-basketball/ncaa-tournament/bracket" class="">Men's Brackets</a> <br> Play Now <br> <a href="https://picks.cbssports.com/college-basketball/ncaaw-tournament/bracket" class="">Women's Brackets</a> <br> <a href="/podcasts/the-early-edge-a-daily-sportsline-betting-podcast/" class="">A Daily SportsLine Betting Podcast</a> <br> <a href="/podcasts/fantasy-football-today-podcast/" class="">NFL Draft is coming up!</a> <br>Following Saturday's the early-entry deadline for this 2024 <a href="https://cbssports.com/nba/draft/">NBA Draft</a>, the NBA on Tuesday released its pool of early entry candidates. <br>We've been tracking the list of potential draft candidates all year long on <a href="https://247sports.com/longformarticle/the-march-madness-draftables-every-nba-ready-prospect-in-the-2024-ncaa-tournament-228842817/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Draftables</a>, a comprehensive list of prospects in contention to hear their name called this year. The list was designed to mirror the process of an <a href="https://cbssports.com/nba/">NBA</a> front office, so when it initially debuted in the fall, there is a long list of prospects that scouts were interested in. As the season arrived, and went on, that list evolved, not just by getting smaller but eventually by being sorted into various tiers. <br>In actual NBA front offices, these internal tiers are typically the basis for an eventual big board, which fluctuates with even more intensity in the final months, and even weeks, leading up to the draft in correlation with the waves of new information that reveals itself through the various components of the pre-draft process. <br>Below, we've tiered all players -- early-entry guys and those who are out of eligibility -- into four section. <br>In most drafts, the top tier of prospects represents the prospects that are already projected to have a chance to develop into All-NBA type players. In this draft, quite honestly, no such prospects have yet to reveal themselves. That means you could realistically call the top group tier two, or maybe even tier three, this year, but for our purposes, this group is comprised of the players that currently project as virtual locks to be taken somewhere in the first 14. <br>This draft isn't just characterized by a lack of star power at the top, but also by a lack of separation beyond that, meaning there are a plethora of scenarios that could plausibly play out on draft night. Tier II represents the players that could very well hear their name called in the lottery, but who currently do not project as sliding outside the first 30 picks. <br>There are 30 first round picks, and thus guaranteed contracts in each draft. Thus far we have already identified a total of 21 players who have a chance to be picked in the lottery, which theoretically leaves only 9 spots available in the rest of the first-round. Given how open this draft is, this long list of players could all be in contention for those spots. <br>Again, let's start with the math. We now have 58 possible players identified for 30 first-round spots, but there are actually only 58 spots in the entire draft. Now, there will be surprises in the months ahead. Some players will leave the draft and others will see their stock rise or fall. This last group includes the players who have a chance to be picked in the second-round or could sign two-way deals (non-guaranteed contracts permitting them to slide back-and-forth between their <a href="https://cbssports.com/nba/teams/">NBA team</a> and G League affiliates next season) even if they go undrafted. <br>The 2024 NBA Draft Lottery is May 12. The combine runs May 13-19. The early entry withdrawal deadline is June 16. The two-night NBA Draft is June 26-27. <br>© 2004-2024 CBS Interactive. All Rights Reserved.<br>CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc.<br>Images by Getty Images and US Presswire<br><br><a href="https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMinQFodHRwczovL3d3dy5jYnNzcG9ydHMuY29tL2NvbGxlZ2UtYmFza2V0YmFsbC9uZXdzL25iYS1yZWxlYXNlcy1saXN0LW9mLWRyYWZ0LWVsaWdpYmxlLXBsYXllcnMtZm9yLTIwMjQtZHJhZnQtc29ydGluZy10aGVtLWludG8tdGllcnMtZnJvbS1sb3R0ZXJ5LXRvLXJvdW5kLTIv0gGhAWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNic3Nwb3J0cy5jb20vY29sbGVnZS1iYXNrZXRiYWxsL25ld3MvbmJhLXJlbGVhc2VzLWxpc3Qtb2YtZHJhZnQtZWxpZ2libGUtcGxheWVycy1mb3ItMjAyNC1kcmFmdC1zb3J0aW5nLXRoZW0taW50by10aWVycy1mcm9tLWxvdHRlcnktdG8tcm91bmQtMi9hbXAv?oc=5">source</a>
