UNLV freshman Rashad Vaughn reportedly planned to declare for the NBA draft, but he denied making a decision.
Apparently, it’s a done deal now.
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress:
UNLV freshman Rashad Vaughn has signed with agent Omar Wilkes of @OctagonBsktball
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) March 30, 2015
If Vaughn has signed with an agent, he has lost his college eligibility. Because god forbid a college player seek the formal advisement of a professional on this important and difficult decision.
Unfortunately, the rules are set to keep players at a disadvantage, and this pushes Vaughn full speed toward the NBA.
The scoring guard will probably be a second-round pick, though he certainly has a chance to work his way into the first round. The immediate key is his health. Vaughn missed the last month of the season after knee surgery. For what it’s worth, UNLV initially hoped he could return during the Mountain West tournament.
Obviously, it will be difficult for Vaughn to prove himself during the pre-draft process if he’s hobbled.
Either way, Vaughn isn’t ready to contribute in the NBA – but NBA teams have player-development coaches. As long as he gets drafted, he’ll have people committed to making him better. Plus, he’ll be getting paid market value, which should be more than he could say at UNLV.
It might be easy to dismiss this decision as foolish because Vaughn isn’t a first-round lock, but there are so many important factors unknown to the public that go into this decision – need for money, eligibility, happiness in college – that we can’t properly judge it from the outside.
Vaughn clearly felt this was his best move, and he’s going full steam ahead.
