It was quite an eventful 2019 NBA Draft as one former UCLA basketball player was selected, while two went undrafted, but were signed as free agents.
No one knew what would happen in this year’s NBA Draft in regards to three UCLA basketball players. Jaylen Hands, Kris Wilkes, and Moses Brown had all left the program and put their name in the draft, but there was not a lot of buzz around them in regards to selection status.
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On Thursday, as the draft was winding down, it was looking more and more like the Bruins would not have a player selected in this year’s draft, similar to the situation with the UCLa football team and the NFL Draft where Caleb Wilson was the very last selection.
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Then, with five picks left in the draft, it was the Los Angeles Clippers’ turn with the 56th (2nd round) selection which they used to select Hands.
A UCLA basketball player was finally selected, but that would only be the beginning of his journey into the NBA. Despite being chosen by LA, the rights to Hands were traded to the Brooklyn Nets, sending the former Bruin floor general to the Big Apple.
This is the third year in a row that a starting UCLA point guard has been selected in the draft following Lonzo Ball in 2017 and Aaron Holiday in 2018.
Unfortunately, Hands would be the only Bruin selected. Fortunately, he was not the only one taken.
After the draft, Wilkes was able to pick up a “two-way” contract with the New York Knicks and will also be heading to the Big Apple, albeit on the other side of the East River.
It was also confirmed that Brown signed as an undrafted free agent as he will be heading to the Houston Rockets.
https://twitter.com/BrooklynNets/status/1142082687710240769
This year’s NBA Draft did not go as expected for the Bruins, but it ends with all three players that made themselves available for the draft heading to the pros. Good luck and godspeed, Bruins!