LSU's Trendon Watford Declares for 2020 NBA Draft; Will Retain Eligibility

LSU forward Trendon Watford is declaring for the 2020 NBA draft, he confirmed to ESPN's Jonathan Givony.

"I am announcing my decision to declare for the NBA draft," Watford said. "Thank you to all who have supported me throughout all the years and a special thanks to my family and friends who have been along this journey."

Watford also shared a statement on Twitter:

According to CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein, Watford's brother indicated he plans to retain his eligibility should he want to return to the Tigers for the 2020-21 season.

Watford averaged 13.6 points and 7.2 rebounds as a true freshman while shooting 48.9 percent from the field.

He helped put the Tigers in a position to reach the NCAA tournament had the COVID-19 pandemic not forced the cancellation of the event. ESPN's Joe Lunardi projected LSU to be a No. 7 seed in the Big Dance.

"The last four weeks have been tough," Watford said to Givony. "Not being able to compete with my brothers for a SEC championship and possibly a national championship hurt, but I do understand this pandemic and know our health comes first."

Leaving the door open to resume his college career would be a smart decision.

Givony and Adrian Wojnarowski reported some teams are pushing the NBA to move the draft back from its scheduled date of June 25. Among the concerns is the inability to conduct any in-person evaluations or workouts with draft-eligible prospects.

Watford would likely benefit from the traditional showcase events leading up to the draft. Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman left the 6'9" power forward off his most recent mock draft, and he was absent in Wasserman's big board as well.

Watford put up solid numbers, and his 2.2 three-pointers per game (26.9 percent from beyond the arc) illustrates his willingness to stretch the floor. His long-range shooting obviously has a lot of room for improvement, though, which is something he could address were he to spend a second year at LSU.

Having Watford would also put the Tigers in a position to improve next season. The team is losing leading scorer Skylar Mays, but head coach Will Wade has put together the No. 6 recruiting class in 247Sports' composite team rankings for 2020.