Everything Yves Pons Said About the NBA Draft Process, Returning to Tennessee

Yves Pons weighed every single option when it came to his NBA decision, and today, he available to the media for the first time since making the announcement. We have everything he said about the decision here. 

On the NBA interview process: 

Instead of the workouts. we did interviews with the NBA guys. I got to have 15 interviews, and they mainly asked me about my life and my background. We talked a bit about basketball, but that was pretty much it. I'm just waiting on some feedback from the NBA guys.

On making the decision and waiting until the deadline:

Yeah, the process was really hard on top of making a decision. There were some days where I wanted to come back and some days where felt like it was time for me to go. There was a lot of ups and downs in terms of deciding.

 As far as the feedback from the NBA, they didn't even know which draft pick they were going to get or if there was going to be a combine. They told me they could not guarantee that they were going to draft me. They couldn't give us a clear answer.

On the morning of the deadline, I did not know what I was going to do because we were still getting some feedback from my agent and the NBA. It was hard to make a decision ahead of that so that's why we waited until the deadline and that's when I made the decision.

On the Pros and Cons:

I had a lot of different options to consider. It was not only about me and we had a lot of pros and cons. The first thing was, are we going to be able to have workouts or not? And with the feedback we already had, what if I go overseas? What if we do not have a season? We had to consider the NBA G-league and if they are going to have a season or not. What is it going to look like? Also, the financial point was really important for me too, and I had to sacrifice some stuff on my part to come back here. There was a lot of different options I had to consider.

On making the decision during the Pandemic and did how having COVID-19 played a part:

It was really hard. COVID-19 has made it really hard because I had to make a decision that I wasn't expecting to make. Then I expected to go workout with the teams and I felt like that was another part of the job I had to get done. Without the workouts it makes it extremely hard for me and guys like me in my position for the second round. It was really hard because it brought a lot of uncertainty. We did not have all the information we needed to make a clear decision. It was really hard because we did not know what it was going to happen or what could happen.

My decision was based on that. It kind of messed up everything, so we had to make the best decision for me and for my family. That's why it was really hard. COVID really changed everything.

On reaching out to former teammates Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield:

Yes, absolutely. I tried to talk to as many people as I could. I took information from anywhere, so of course, I called Grant Williams and we had a good conversation. I talked to Jordan Bone too and tried to talk to Kyle (Alexander) too. They really gave me some feedback because they have different contracts with the NBA. They had different perspectives on the NBA, so they really helped me out with this process and I'm thankful for that.

On how the coaching staff supported him: 

I'm thankful for my coaches, and they really supported me throughout the process. They tried to give me the most information. To me coming back, there are a lot of things I can work on to get better and put my game on another level. The one thing I got back from the NBA teams was my shots and three-point range—to make them more consistently and to make open threes, to really work on my balance--especially my turnaround jump shot. For my legs, I need to work on jumping straight. That was really it. Show them I care and that I can handle the ball.

On why he coming back was the best decision:

In my situation, and many other guys in the draft, it was hard to know if there was going to be an NBA G-League or not, because they did not mention the G-League at all. For guys like me, who would spend some of my rookie year in the G-League, it was hard to know where I would develop my game. They told me that I would spend a lot of time with the team practicing and stuff, but at the end of the day, we need to play basketball. We did not get any guarantee that they were going to draft me, or anything like that. So, for me that was the only way. Besides workouts, there was no way I could increase my stock. Even if I did, it was my interviews. It did not give me any guarantee that I would be drafted where I wanted.

On if he gave any serious thought into playing this year in Europe and then returning to play in the NBA in a year:

"Yes, that was a serious second option. Obviously with the COVID-19 here—in the other countries, they have it under control with less cases. Overseas, they know they're going to play basketball at some point and they're going to have a season because they have the cases under control. That was a serious case to consider. Financially, it was a good thing to go play over there."

On what about Tennessee made him want to come back to spend the next several months of his basketball career here:

"The different part was really on the top of my head. Even if I couldn't make it this year, I know how to develop my game. I could have done it in the NBA here, but knowing there is a lot of uncertainty about this season, going pro. I knew coming back here, we're going to have a season. We're going to have some coaches to be here. Our facilities will be open to develop my game, anyways. For me, that was the best option."