Report: Burke And Hardaway To Go Pro After This Season [UPDATED WITH MULTIPLE DENIALS]



Melanie Maxwell/AnnArbor.com

Darren Heitner, a sports business writer for Forbes as well as a sports and entertainment attorney, reports via Twitter that both Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. are headed to the NBA after this season:

Source: Trey Burke will leave MICH early. Will interview 5 agents: Jeff Schwartz, Arn Tellem, Henry Thomas, Bill Duffy, Alonzo Shavers. — Darren Heitner (@DarrenHeitner) April 4, 2013

Source: Tim Hardaway Jr. will leave MICH early & very strong chance he signs w/Henry Thomas of CAA. — Darren Heitner (@DarrenHeitner) April 4, 2013

Burke's reported departure, of course, comes as no surprise. Hardaway was considered a 50/50 shot—even though he's been projected as either a late first-round or second-round pick, the upside (from an NBA perspective) of him returning for a senior season seemed marginal at best.

Of course, we learned last year that one report (or several, even) does not guarantee a player's departure. In this case, though, Heitner appears to be going on a lot more than an empty dorm room—he's tweeting a considerable amount of specific information about potential agent choices.

UPDATE: Burke's mother issues a denial of the report, saying that her son has yet to make a decision:

Just spoke with Trey Burke's mother, Ronda, who says "He has not made any decision" about going pro. — Eric Adelson (@eric_adelson) April 4, 2013

UPDATE II: The plot thickens:

@zhelfand spoke to my (trusted) source. Call from Hardaway Jr.'s father does not sway his position. — Darren Heitner (@DarrenHeitner) April 4, 2013

UPDATE III: As reader SFBlue points out, Heitner has a bit of a checkered history when it comes to his journalistic credibility. Considering it's pretty clear he didn't do his due diligence in reporting this story—a call should've been placed to the Burke and Hardaway families, at the very least—perhaps it's best we pretend this never happened.