The Case for and Against Drafting Jaylen Brown

Jaylen Brown is the biggest boom-or-bust prospect likely to enter the 2016 NBA Draft. Should the Philadelphia 76ers draft a player with physical skills to become an All-Star and the current basketball skills to be bench warmer?

There is a Jaylen Brown in every draft. A physically gifted player with below average shooting, ball handling, rebounding, post play, passing, or defense. No NBA prospect is perfect and every rookie will have one or several issues in their game they need to fix, but Jaylen Brown is a more unique case. Standing at 6’7″, 222 pounds, with a 7’0.5 wingspan, the 19-year old freshman from University of California would enter the league with the perfect body to play small forward. Brown has a quick first step of the dribble, could potentially win a dunk contest, and would enter the NBA as a good defender for a rookie with the potential to become a great perimeter defender.

Above is a Draft Express video showing Brown’s strengths before he played a game in college. Brown averaged 14.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3.1 turnovers per game during his one season with California. To say Brown struggled shooting would be an understatement. Brown’s overall field goal percentage was 43 percent, his 2-point shooting percentage was 48 percent, his 3-point point shooting was 29 percent, and he was a 65 percent free throw shooter.

I have never been impressed when I watch Brown, but I understand Brown is a raw prospect and I have seen flashes of what type of player he could become if he improves his ball handling and shooting.

Any team that drafts Brown must have extreme confidence in their coach’s ability to improve their players’ weaknesses. Articles by Ricky O’Donnell and Kevin O’Conner do a great job explaining the pros and cons of Brown that I would recommend to anyone looking for more information.

With all of Brown’s weaknesses and unimpressive stats, it is a true testament to his impressive physical talents that most mock drafts have him being taken high. Draftexpress.com has him fourth, si.com also has him fourth, and nbadraft.net has him taken ninth in their mock draft. Players like Buddy Hield and Kris Dunn are likely to have better rookie seasons and are significantly less likely to be a bust than Brown, but Brown has the possibility to become the next Jimmy Butler or Kawhi Leonard. Hield and Dunn are also more likely to be good role players than Brown is to become a star, but that’s what makes Brown such an interesting prospect for the Sixers.