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Following his junior season, former Texas Longhorns point guard Isaiah Taylor vaulted himself into the most apparent high risk-high reward situation of his young career. Despite having a season of eligibility left and a glaring need for improvement as a shooter -- the obvious reason his name was left off nearly every draft board -- Taylor rolled the dice, declared for the 2016 NBA Draft and ultimately signed an agent, assuring the door for another season at Texas slammed shut.
NBA Combine invitations were disbursed and Taylor's next was left of the selective list. Now, his only hope is to convince an NBA staff he's ready for the league by way of pre-draft workouts and he got his first chance days ago with the Los Angeles Clippers.
#Texas Isaiah Taylor's first workout today at Clippers pre-draft. Started out nervous he said, but felt good. pic.twitter.com/vHjt8LVoV5
— MG Montemayor (@mgmontem) May 18, 2016
AJ Hammons (Purdue) & Isaiah Taylor (UT) @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/Tz4yNaKqHP
— Lainie Fritz (@KPRC2Lainie) May 6, 2016
If Taylor were to fight his way into the draft, it would almost assuredly result in a second-round selection. But being a second round pick wouldn't matter to Taylor, evident in his thoughts on the Warriors' Draymond Green and the Lakers' Jordan Clarkson, per the Los Angeles Times:
"Seeing them flourish in the NBA, I think that it really doesn't matter," Taylor said. "I think depending and deciding on going pro is just knowing when you're a pro. It's just a mindset."
It's unlikely the Clippers call Taylor's name in next month's NBA Draft, as they own the No. 25 and No. 33 picks -- a bit higher than Taylor's potential range. But if he impressed and goes undrafted, a Clippers summer league roster spot may have Taylor's name on it. But with more than a month to go before the draft, Taylor should see several more opportunities to impress and there's no shortage of teams in need of a reserve floor general.