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2015 NBA Draft: UNLV’s Rashad Vaughn

On Thursday night, the Chicago Bulls will have the 22nd overall pick. There’s a buzz generating around one of the youngest players in this year’s draft class, and surprisingly, he has a connection to new Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg. Here’s a look at UNLV guard Rashad Vaughn.

When you take a look at most mock drafts around the web heading into this week’s NBA Draft, most expect the Chicago Bulls to select a player to solidify their wing depth moving forward.

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Mike Dunleavy has yet to re-sign with the Bulls, and with the uncertainty of Jimmy Butler‘s contract situation, drafting a young perimeter player might be the best option for the Bulls this week.

One of the options for the Bulls at No. 22 could be one of the youngest players in the entire draft class: UNLV swingman Rashad Vaughn.

On Monday, there was a couple interesting draft notes about Vaughn from CBS Chicago’s Cody Westerlund:

A player like Vaughn could definitely be someone the Bulls have targeted on their big board come Thursday night, but who is Rashad Vaughn?

At times, Vaughn can be really streaky in terms of his shooting, but he’s what I like to call a certified “bucket-getter”. Per the guys over at DraftExpress, only 29 players in the last 15 years of college hoops have scored over 22 points with a 40-minute adjusted pace at the age of 18. Out of those 29, only eight of them didn’t make it to the NBA.

Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress wrote a scouting report of Vaughn’s offensive game:

"Vaughn can make shots in a variety of ways, be it with his feet set or off the dribble, coming off screens, pulling up out of isos, and on the pick and roll. He has excellent mechanics, and is very reliable in catch and shoot situations, sporting range out to the NBA line, and making 38% of his 3-pointers as a freshman, on a very high volume of attempts. At the bare minimum, he will be able to space the floor adequately at the NBA level, which has value in and of itself.But Vaughn is more than just a stand-still shooter. The threat of his jumper causes defenses to close out very aggressively, giving him room to attack the basket in a straight line, which he is capable of doing. He has the strength to finish around the rim or draw fouls, and the touch to throw in runners and floaters with very soft touch. When he wants to, he can also find the open man off the dribble with solid court vision. If the paint is closed off, he does a great job of creating separation in the mid-range area for smooth pull-up jumpers, which he loves to do out in one on one situations or out of the pick and roll. These are things most 18 year olds simply can’t do, and indicate a high degree of talent as a scorer."

This particular play from Vaughn showed me the scoring touch he has.

Yeah, you can’t teach that.

As exciting as Vaughn can be offensively at times, it’s not always at an efficient clip.

Per Givony again:

"As talented a scorer as Vaughn is, he still has quite a bit of room to improve on becoming a more efficient offensive player. His shot-selection in particular needs a lot of work, as he has a tendency to hoist up tough, off-balance and contested jumpers or floaters in traffic on a regular basis. He doesn’t have a great grasp of what his limitations are at this stage, and is not a willing passer, often going into ball-stopping mode, looking to go one on one when the offense is swung his way."

This is definitely noticeable when you watch more tape of Vaughn’s game. One huge issue that big-time scorers always have is making sure the ball doesn’t always stop when it reaches them on the offensive end.

Plus, even at 6-foot-5, Vaughn isn’t exactly going to excite you with his speed and athleticism. He still has room to grow as an 18-year-old, but with some basic numbers on the defensive end for a bad UNLV squad and a torn meniscus in February, the red flags are certainly there for Vaughn heading into Thursday.

Where the Bulls sit in the draft (22nd) is where playoff teams are trying to fill out their rotation for another push towards a title, and that’s what Rashad Vaughn is slated to be. He could be a player teams take a flyer on and use his scoring ability off the bench to help contribute.

One of the big discussions when it comes to the Bulls for the 2015-16 season is how the defense will look under Fred Hoiberg. Vaughn is a capable defender with quick feet, but per DX, the effort wasn’t always there.

“When he decides to get in a stance and stay in front of his man, he shows nice ability on this end of the floor. Unfortunately that’s not always the case, as he rarely proved to be a high effort, high intensity player, often being seen with his hands by his side, biting on fakes, or out of place in the pick and roll,” Givony wrote in Vaughn’s scoring report.

The Bulls have better options than Vaughn at 22, but with his slight connection to Hoiberg from the new head coach’s recruiting days at Iowa State, Rashad Vaughn is definitely someone to keep an eye on when the Bulls are on the clock.

Related: 2015 NBA Draft profiles on Justin Anderson, Jerian Grant and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

Next: Best options at each position for Bulls at No. 22

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