Kansas Basketball: A look at star forward Dedric Lawson’s dominant season
By Chris Kern
What’s Next?
Dedric Lawson has some big decisions to make in the near future surrounding his basketball career. He could either return to Kansas for his senior season or he could declare for the NBA Draft and begin his professional basketball career. Questions about his chances to succeed in the NBA are valid, but he certainly has the tools to be successful somewhere playing basketball.
He does have a lot that he can work on to become better suited for the NBA, but if he isn’t able to improve his draft stock, should he return to school? He will be turning 22 coming into next season and if he returns to Kansas he would be 23 by the time he is a pro. His game is good enough to where he would get a shot right away.
A mock draft from late February by Basketball Insiders has four Jayhawks slated to get drafted, but none of them are Dedric Lawson. If he were to go undrafted that wouldn’t mean he made the wrong decision and that he should return to school instead. If he does declare for the draft he will know there’s a chance he goes undrafted.
There are plenty of opportunities for undrafted rookies to have success in the NBA. Just last year we saw Allonzo Trier go undrafted and he has made a big impact on the Knicks as he is averaging 10.9 points per game. You can also be very successful if you come from the G-League, formerly known as the D-League, as we have seen guys such as Hassan Whiteside and Danny Green have a lot of success after spending time in the D-League.
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No matter what happens in Dedric Lawson’s future both he, and the team have to take their respective steps forward. This was a disappointing season for the Jayhawks and they have to bounce back, with or without their star player. If Lawson does declare for the draft, expect many NBA teams to consider drafting him and at the very least, he will be a top target on the undrafted free agent market.