Michael Frazier Michael Frazier will have a go at getting drafted this season. (USATSI)
Michael Frazier will have a go at getting drafted this season. (USATSI)

Florida's Michael Frazier II has officially declared for the 2015 NBA Draft, and signed with Andy Miller's ASM Sports agency.

This news was reported yesterday by CBSSports.com's Matt Norlander, but Frazier posted a note on Twitter to confirm the decision this afternoon.

Frazier is currently the No. 70 prospect on my 2015 NBA Draft big board. So, basically that puts him well within range of being a second-round pick, but probably not all that close to being a first rounder. He averaged 12.1 points-per-game this year, but his real NBA skill is his shooting ability.

To bottom line it, I'd put the odds of him being selected in this draft right at 50-50 right now. At 6-foot-4 with a 6-9 wingspan, Frazier shot 43 percent from behind the 3-point line for his college career. With the increased emphasis on spacing the floor in the NBA, a guy like him has value if he can continue to improve his skill level in other facets of his game.

Given where I and others have his stock, his announcement will probably lead to a lot of people questioning the decision. But here's the thing: Frazier probably couldn't have worked his way into the first round next season. Typically, teams don't select spot-up shooting, floor-spacing seniors in the first round. Prior to C.J. Wilcox's selection by the Clippers late in the first round last season, the last time a senior wing whose sole, true NBA skill was his ability to space the floor was Courtney Lee all the way back in 2008. Simply put, these types of players don't get drafted within the top-30 players as seniors. The upside just isn't quite there, and typically the downside is that the rest of their skills may never come along, and they never become NBA players. 

Now, he could have improved his stock to where he gave himself a better chance of being drafted. But honestly, I'm just not sure how important being a second round pick is. From the player's perspective, the contracts are not guaranteed. So while the team may feel more of a commitment to a second round pick because they used an asset to pick him, that pick still has to perform well in summer league and in offseason camps to get any sort of guaranteed deal moving forward. Even if Frazier (or any other potential second rounder) isn't selected, he'll still have the opportunity to do that, as guys like Matthew Dellavedova, Phil Pressey and Kent Bazemore have shown in the past few years.

Plus, there's just the sheer factor of money and injury potential. Frazier may have felt that it would be better to get paid for a year -- and believe it, he will get paid to play basketball somewhere, be it in the NBA or in Europe -- than to not be paid for a year, and risk injury and possibly the inability to earn money playing hoops. Given his status as a middling prospect, I certainly can't blame him for that either.

It seems like Frazier realizes that status as well. Here's DraftExpress' Jonathan Givony: 

That's an important factor here, too. This isn't a case of a borderline player getting bad information. It's a guy that knows he could go undrafted, but wants to start his career. And he's going to get a lot of opportunities to do that, even if he ends up not being selected in June.