NBA draft: Decision on whether to turn pro is tougher than ever in 2011

This year, a prospect also had to consider whether he was willing to make the jump.

The NBA’s collective bargaining agreement expires at midnight on June 30, one week after the draft. Until a new CBA is in place, no interaction between players and their NBA team — not even via a third party — is permitted.

There will be no contract agreements, no summer leagues, no mandatory workouts, no voluntary workouts, no mini camps, no training camp and no sessions with team trainers or physicians. Most important, there will be no pay days.

No NBA player gets paid without a new CBA. These circumstances are stressful for league veterans and could become overwhelming for draftees, especially those who chose not to return to college.

Oklahoma City Thunder center Nazr Mohammed faced the same decision when he declared for the 1998 draft after his junior season at Kentucky. The NBA played just 50 games that season, which did not begin until Feb. 5, 1999.

Mohammed said uncertainty of the CBA did not influence his decision to leave UK, but it was tough for him to watch his college team play while the NBA was still in a lockout.

“I know in December I wish I was playing in college,” Mohammed recalled. “I was still in Lexington (Kent.) watching the guys play, and I wanted to be out there with them.”

Mohammed was the last pick in the first round (29th overall) and has played for seven different franchises in his 13-year career. He won a world championship ring with San Antonio in 2005 and has made more than $57.2 million in the NBA.

“It was a roll of the dice, but my career’s been solid,” Mohammed said of leaving college early.

Reserve guard Daequan Cook left after his freshman season at Ohio State and was chosen No. 21 overall in 2007.

“It would change my thinking dramatically,” Cook said of having to declare without a CBA in place. “With all that’s going on, it’d be a hard decision. To be on the safe side, you could go back to college and be even more productive. Once you make a decision, you’ve really got to stick with it.

“If I was in that position, I would probably stay (in school), more than likely. If you don’t get a paycheck, you’re still living your college life, so why not go back to college, actually play ball, and then just come back the following year?”