chad baker-mazara: "Never going to play in the NBA": Analyst makes bold claim on potential reason behind Chad Baker-Mazara's transfer decision

"Never going to play in the NBA": Analyst makes bold claim on potential reason behind Chad Baker-Mazara's transfer decision

NCAA Basketball: Final Four National Semifinal-Florida at Auburn - Source: Imagn — Chad Baker-Mazara has one more year of college eligibiity. - Source: Imagn

Chad Baker-Mazara entered the transfer portal on Thursday, leaving Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl with the task of replacing all five starters from last year's Final Four squad.

While Baker-Mazara was an important part of the team, ranking second with 12.3 points per game, college sports analyst Lance Taylor believes he is leaving the Tigers because of economic reasons.

Taylor shared his thoughts on "The Next Round" on Thursday.

"You've got these non-union representatives that are out there, and they are trying to make their money in these three years cause they know they can't represent at the next level. I think it's the same for Chad Baker. Going on 26, he's never going to play in the NBA," Lance Taylor said.

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Chad Baker-Mazara is already 25 years old. By the time next season ends, he will be 26. NBA teams usually don't select players of that age in the Draft. However, the Dominican player was one of the top players on what was the top-ranked team for most of the season.

Last season, Chad Baker-Mazara had career highs in points, assists (2.7), and steals (1.2). He also averaged 2.9 rebounds per game.

This will be Mazara's fourth trip to the transfer portal. The 6-7, 180-pound forward started his career at Duquesne before moving to San Diego State. After a year with the Aztecs, he went to Northwest Florida State College before transferring to Auburn ahead of the 2023-2024 season.

The Tigers will also have to replace star forward Johni Broome, Denver Jones, Dylan Caldwell and Miles Kelly used up their eligibility. Sixth-man Tahaad Pettiford will test the NBA Draft but could return for next season.

Bruce Pearl keeps rebuilding roster after Chad Baker-Mazara, others leave Auburn

After having over half a dozen players leave the program, including Chad Baker-Mazara, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl has wasted no time getting talent back. Pearl's most recent addition was Lincoln-Memorial wing, Elyjah Freeman.

The Division II forward averaged 19.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.4 assists last season. He is not the first player to join the squad, as Keyshawn Hall (UCF), KeShawn Murphy (Mississippi State), Kevin Overton (Texas Tech), and JUCO transfer Abdul Bashir.

Hall is considered one of the best players available in the transfer portal after averaging 18.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game last season.

The Tigers finished the season with a 32-6 record despite facing the nation's most difficult schedule. They also earned the top-overall seed for the NCAA Tournament and made it all the way to the Final Four, where they lost to the eventual national champion Florida Gators.

About the author

Allan Wolburg Robles is a College Sports journalist at Sportskeeda with over 17 years of experience in the field writing for publications including Reforma, Yahoo! OddsShark and Apuesta. Allan studied Communications at Anáhuac University, where he learned what would become the basis of a trade that was already a dream of his before starting college.

His favorite team is Army West Point as when he was young, Allan lived in West Point for a couple of years, went to pretty much every home game, a couple of Army-Navy games and even got to meet some of the players.

Allan's favorite players of all time include Tommie Frazier, who was unbelievable during the Nebraska dynasty of the early 90's. Tim Tebow was also a favorite, mainly because of his leadership skills, although he was also awesome on the football field. As a fan of defensive football, (or what's left of it), Sean Taylor could take over a game for Miami.

Allan has always considered himself a student of the game more than a fan of it. So the historical part and evolution of the game, as well as the ins and outs of what happens on the field, and being able to put it into words for the audience, are his biggest strengths.

Besides sports, Allan enjoys reading books, watching movies and spending time with his dogs.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash