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Juan Pablo Vaulet, the Argentine swingman drafted by the Nets Thursday, spoke in Greece Friday about the thrill he had when he woke up to the news.
"I woke up at 6 a.m. and I was a little nervous but then I found out and I was happy," the 19-year-old told FIBA.com. "This is a big motivation for me. I will work very hard to improve my level."
Vaulet is in Greece for the FIBA U19 (19 and under) World Championship. The first game of the tournament took place Saturday morning. ET and is available for free on YouTube. Argentina lost 74-64 to Turkey with Vaulet scoring 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting and grabbing four rebounds in 23 minutes.
The Group Phase takes place from Saturday 27 June until Tuesday 30 June. The Final Phase will then follow from Wednesday July 1until Sunday July 5. Once he's finished with his FIBA duties, Vaulet will fly to Orlando for the summer league.
About being drafted by the Nets, Vaulet said: "I have been told that this is a beautiful organization. And it's one of the best in the NBA. So I will work very hard this summer to meet the expectations."
Vaulet is not expected to play in the NBA this season, but remain in Argentina. He's viewed as the most promising prospect to come out of Argentina since the country's golden generation 15 years. The Nets acquired him on Thursday for two second round picks, in 2018 and 2019, as well as a reported $880,000.