Kansas Junior Dedric Lawson Declares for 2019 NBA Draft; Reportedly Hires Agent

Kansas Jayhawks junior forward Dedric Lawson declared his eligibility for the NBA draft Monday:

Head coach Bill Self released a statement regarding Lawson's decision to turn pro, per Matt Tait of KUSports.com:

"Dedric had such a great year. There are not very many players who have played at Kansas, or players that I have coached, that average 19 points and 10-plus rebounds in a season. I feel like it is in his best interest to use this year as a springboard into his professional future. He could not have represented our program, the university or his family any better than how he did. All Jayhawk fans should be excited for him."

According to Tait, Lawson plans on hiring an agent. It's still possible that Lawson could change his mind and return to Kansas, namely if he goes undrafted, though his stock might be at its highest after he averaged an impressive 19.4 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks this season. 

Lawson is also already 21 and had to skip the 2017-18 season after he transferred to Kansas from Memphis. 

At the moment, however, Lawson is not universally considered a first- or second-round prospect. Sam Vecenie of The Athletic has Lawson as his No. 65 prospect overall, which would put him just out of the draft, while B/R's Jonathan Wasserman didn't list Lawson as one of his top-75 players on his March 19 big board. 

Jeremy Woo of SI.com was a bit higher on Lawson when he released his March 13 big board, however, putting him 54th overall. And ESPN.com has Lawson at No. 46. 

So it's possible that Lawson could go anywhere from the middle of the second round to being undrafted altogether, though with a solid combine showing and strong workouts, he could improve his stock. Certainly, his tape should be a plus after averaging at least 15 points and nine rebounds in all three of his college seasons.

He may not present the upside of some of the other draft prospects, but he's never failed to produce.