DJ Burns responds to reported NFL interest
The NC State Wolfpack have, as an 11-seed, made a run to the Final Four and become a darling of the NCAA Tournament. Perhaps no player on NC State has become a bigger darling than the team’s big man, DJ Burns.
Recently, there have even been reports that NFL teams have interest in Burns, if he either doesn’t want to continue playing basketball or has an interest in football. Now, during an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show, Burns has responded to those reports.
“I think that just comes along with our team being trendy right now,” DJ Burns said. “They always find something to talk about and I just happen to be one of the topics.”
At that point, Burns also confirmed to Patrick his intention is to try and make it in the NBA, saying, “That’s the plan.
Despite that, Dan Patrick pressed on, and asked if he would consider playing football if the NBA didn’t work out for him. However, again, DJ Burns shot down the idea and suggested playing abroad or finding a different way to stay around the sport of basketball before trying football.
“I’d probably explore some other options with basketball first before all of that, but I’m not a closed minded person,” Burns said.
DJ Burns also went on to add that no NFL teams have directly contacted him about potentially playing football, either. Still, as Jim Nagy, Director of the Senior Bowl, explained on Andy Staples On3, there is real interest in him from NFL teams.
“I put the initial one out and, yeah, I got, like, three texts back. They were like, ‘Yeah, we’re thinking the same thing,’” Nagy said. “Then, today after it really blew up, a buddy of mine, who lives in the research triangle area that scouts for a team, was like, ‘Man, you totally blew this thing for me!’. Like, his hope was that NC State got knocked out really early. Then he was just going to slide down the street and work DJ out, try to do it privately. But now this thing has kind of blown up.”
Shams Charania weighs in on DJ Burns’ NBA potential
During an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, NBA insider Shams Charania shared some thoughts on DJ Burns’ NBA potential.
A player with his stature, the way he’s built, a lot of his game is gonna have to be on development. He’s gonna have to develop into the proper shape. I don’t know, is he a four? Can he shoot? Can he play the five at the NBA level?” Charania said.
“Now more and more you’re seeing guys space the floor, you’re seeing uptempo style, guys playing faster. So I think for him development’s gonna be big, I mean obviously he’s got a very very unique build. He’s able to do very well along with Zach Edey at the NCAA level, but for them the biggest thing is gonna be now in today’s NBA how fast-paced the game has become. Guys at that position they’re stretching the floor, they’re shooting, they’re running, they’re going coast to coast. It’s just gonna be about if he can keep up at that level.”