Declaring for the NBA draft doesn't mean what it used to mean to me. Time was, when a player made the declaration, he was gone. Shut out the lights. Get me to the airport on time. Gone.

But now, not so much.

New rules now allow a player to go as far as working with an agent and still be able to retain eligibility if he doesn't like what he hears.

Advantage: student athlete.

So when we see that University of Kentucky guard Tyler Herro is going to test the NBA waters, we shouldn't be surprised at all. But we shouldn't automatically assume that's it.

It's why I used the term "exploration" in the headline.

That is exactly what Herro is doing. He's going through the draft process to see what evaluators have to say.

Keep in mind, though, that he's currently ranked 17th on the ESPN Top 100. That's a nice number. It's a number that could add up to a much nicer number--one that contains seven digits.

That's why I'm 70/30 on Herro staying in the draft.

But the world is full of surprises, so who really knows outside of Tyler and his family?

PJ Washington and Keldon Johnson have already declared. Johnson, too, hasn't ruled out returning to Lexington, although I'd be VERY surprised if that happens.

Washington? It's go time, I think.

And I wish him all the best.

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