NBA Draft: Draft profile of Kansas forward Dedric Lawson

With the NBA draft happening tonight, where does Dedric Lawson rank amongst prospects looking for a future in the NBA?

A spot in the NBA is a dream for many young basketball stars and for many prospects, NBA Draft night is the biggest night of their lives. For Kansas basketball, many players have entered their names in the draft and many of them have returned from the process with a roster spot in the NBA.

For former Jayhawk Dedric Lawson, being drafted is a possibility, but nothing is guaranteed. The AP Third Team All American was a star in the crimson and blue, but certain physical attributes could be the part of his game preventing him from being drafted.

During his single season at Kansas, Lawson averaged 19.4 points per game, 10.3 rebounds per game and shot 49% from the field. He also was a threat from the three-point line, shooting 39% behind the arc.

The forward led the Big 12 in both points per game and rebounds per game and was the only player in the conference to average a double-double.

From an offensive standpoint, Lawson possesses a game that would translate well. He can score from nearly anywhere on the floor and is great at getting to the line and converting.

However, Lawson is also slightly undersized, standing at 6-foot-7 without shoes and is not the type of player to overpower players in the low post. At the NBA combine, he managed only 10 reps on the max bench press.

When put into a situation against a bigger, stronger defender in the low post, Lawson will likely struggle to shoot the ball. On the plus side, he is very crafty and has great court vision for his position, meaning he could very well get out of situations against big defenders.

Lawson is also a solid ball-handler and could develop to become an even better one with help from NBA coaches. His ability to run the floor may his most underrated part of his game, but there is still plenty of room to develop for him to become even close to a player such as Nikola Jokic.

The physical attributes are what is holding Lawson from being a no brainer draft pick.

At the NBA combine, he had the worst max vertical jump, the second worst shuttle run and third worst three quarter sprint. Lawson is not the type of athlete NBA teams are searching for and in turn, that severely hurts his potential.

The lack of athleticism holds Lawson back defensively as well because it makes it more difficult to keep up with offensive players. He is also not a great back to the basket defender anyways, which makes teams even less likely to draft him.

Overall, Lawson has offensive game that would translate almost perfectly to the NBA, but his physical attributes will make it difficult for teams to select him draft night. Speed, strength and shiftiness are not attributes that players magically develop either, those are all things that Lawson may never see in his game.

Lawson’s draft stock is a late second round pick, but if team is feeling a little crazy, he could go early in the second round, however that is rather generous. If Lawson were to be drafted, he would more than likely be one of the last players selected, but he could very well not be drafted at all.

If Lawson somehow got faster and stronger, he could become a legitimate star in the NBA, but because he simply does not have those attributes needed to be successful in the league, it wouldn’t be surprising if he found himself playing overseas 2-3 years from now.

The NBA Draft begins at 6 P.M. tonight.