On behalf of the Golden State Warriors, Blue Man Hoop selected Oregon product Troy Brown Jr. with the 28th pick in the 2018 FanSided Network NBA Mock Draft.
If the FanSided Network’s 2018 NBA Mock Draft is any indicator, the Golden State Warriors could possibly be in the right position at 28 to select potential lottery pick, Troy Brown Jr., out of Oregon.
For the past two years, the NBA division of the FanSided Network has held a live mock draft among its site experts, who are tasked with selecting draft prospects on behalf of the team he or she covers regularly.
Alongside Blue Man Hoop’s Andrew Ites, it was our distinct pleasure in our first year as co-experts to pick on behalf of the Dubs. Going into the draft, we simply had one question in mind to help us determine which prospect would be the best addition to the team:
“WWBMD: What would Bob Myers do?”
With Brown still on the board at 28, it was truly a no-brainer as to who the Warriors front office would likely be willing to take a chance on, especially considering he meets many of their glaring needs.
Brown’s original draft projections
As of June 4, Brown seems locked in as a mid-first round pick.
The Ringer has Brown going as high as 12 to the Los Angeles Clippers, for whom Brown actually has a workout scheduled on June 4.
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Brown’s lowest projection came from Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, who has Brown slated at 24 to the Portland Trail Blazers — another team with which Brown reportedly has a workout scheduled.
Jonathan Givony of ESPN had Brown at 19, as did Chris Stone of Sporting News, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic and Michael Scotto of The Athletic.
The latest mock draft from Basketball Insiders had Brown going as high as 18 and as low as 23, the latter of which is where sites like NBADraft.net, HoopsHype, currently has him.
CBS Sports has numerous analysts making mock drafts: Matt Norlander has Brown at 23 and Gary Parrish has him at 17, while Reid Forgrave doesn’t even have him listed!!!
Lastly, Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated had Brown slated at 21, and the latest from Joe Tansey of Bleacher Report has Brown at 16 with a high possibility of moving up into the lottery.
Overall, the consensus is Brown will likely be taken before the Warriors are even close to being on the clock.
2018 FanSided Mock Draft Results
Keeping the aforementioned mock drafts in mind, it’s perfectly understandable why Brown wasn’t even on my original prospect watchlist: I didn’t think it at all possible for him to slip to 28.
My original plan was to take a sleeper like Donte DiVincenzo, who was widely considered a late-first rounder before a great showing at the 2018 NBA Draft Combine. If DiVincenzo was gone, I at least thought guys like Kevin Huerter, Josh Okogie, Aaron Holiday or Jalen Brunson would still be on the board.
The following is exactly how the draft went:
- DeAndre Ayton
- Luka Doncic
- Marvin Bagley III
- Trae Young
- Mohamed Bamba
- Jaren Jackson Jr.
- Michael Porter Jr.
- Wendell Carter Jr.
- Mikal Bridges
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- Miles Bridges
- Collin Sexton
- Robert Williams
- Lonnie Walker IV
- Donte DiVincenzo
- Aaron Holiday
- Elie Okobo
- Zhaire Smith
- Kevin Knox
- Keita Bates-Diop
- Kevin Huerter
- Chandler Hutchison
- Jacob Evans
- Khyri Thomas
- Jalen Brunson
- Josh Okogie
- Dzanan Musa
- Troy Brown Jr.
- Mitchell Robinson
- Anfernee Simons
DiVincenzo somehow found his way up at 15 despite being a weird fit for the Washington Wizards, while the Phoenix Suns understandably took Holiday.
I’ve seen Huerter go as early as 21 to the Utah Jazz in a number of mock drafts, but I questioned the Los Angeles Lakers taking Brunson at 25 when their backcourt is already pretty set.
The Philadelphia 76ers took Okogie, which was also pretty understandable, then I incorrectly anticipated guys like Okobo, Hutchison and Bates-Diop slipping down to 28. By the time we were on the clock, plans “A” through “H” were already spent, and plan “I” was actually Rawle Alkins out of Arizona.
Then I noticed Brown was still available, and I just knew he was the perfect pick.
So…why pick Brown over Alkins?
Actually, in hindsight, this was ultimately a tough decision.
Like Alkins, Brown is well-known for his wing defense. The main differences between the two is Alkins is a much better spot-up shooter and has a larger frame, while Brown projects as a secondary playmaker and a skilled slasher.
In addition, I think it’s entirely possible Alkins can slip into the early-second round, where the Warriors would be more than willing to buy a pick for the sole purpose of adding him. If Brown slips all the way to 28, I don’t see how the Dubs can pass up the opportunity.
While it’s true the Warriors need more floor spacing in the second unit, what really sold me on Brown was his versatility.
As a freshman, Brown averaged 11.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.6 steals in 31.2 minutes per game. He shot 44.4 percent from the field and 74.3 percent from the free throw line, but only 29.1 percent from behind the arc (110 three-point attempts).
By comparison, Alkins averaged 13.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals in 31.4 minutes as a sophomore, shooting 43.2 percent from the field, 35.9 percent from long range (92 three-point attempts) and 72.4 percent from the charity stripe.
As much as I love Alkins’ motor and energy, I think the Warriors get enough of that with Draymond Green. What the Dubs really need is a guy who’s going to effectively fill in when veterans like Shaun Livingston or Andre Iguodala are out of commission.
Strengths
A former five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American out of Las Vegas, the thing I love the most about Troy Brown Jr. is his willingness and ability to dish the rock.
Averaging 4.1 assists per 40 minutes and 5.8 assists per 100 possessions, Brown is more than capable of running an offense. He can hit open cutters if need be, but he’s also a proven playmaker off the dribble.
The guys at Cowbell Kingdom did a solid video breakdown of Brown’s strengths as a passer, which include his ability to get the most out of the pick and roll.
Considering the Warriors normally run a heavy-movement offense, his overall vision and willingness to move off the ball would fit right into Steve Kerr‘s system.
Furthermore, his 6-foot-7 stature is more than ideal for passing over double teams or when going against smaller opponents, thus the reason why I see him as a possible replacement for Livingston or Iguodala should either of them miss any considerable time for whatever reason.
His 6-foot-7 frame and 6-foot-10 wingspan also helps on the other end of the floor, helping him smother smaller guards while also allowing him to contest some of the bigger forwards. That defensive versatility is exactly what we associate with Golden State’s switch-heavy defense.
And while he may not be the shooter some Warriors fans may be hoping for, his slashing ability more than makes up for it. If his drives don’t automatically translate to a bucket, I feel confident in Brown’s ability to stop the clock and draw fouls.
Weaknesses
On the other hand, free throw shooting is one of the many indicators we use to help determine whether a player has a good shooting touch, and Brown’s 74.3 percent from the line is less than satisfactory.
Unlike some NBA pundits, I have no particular issue with his mechanics, but I think it’d help if he retooled his shot as a much more fluid single-motion j, rather than a two-motion catapult. If not, then working on a midrange pull-up jumper would be the next best thing.
Many of the aforementioned mock drafts also make note of Brown’s lack of a first step and overall explosiveness, but I don’t see that as being a problem as long as he tightens up his ball handling.
The main thing is his shooting: if Brown is unable to knock down wide open jumpers at the NBA level, it could prove problematic for the Warriors if they’re unable to pick up a second unit floor spacer in free agency.
Next: Best takeaways from Game 2 of the 2018 NBA Finals
All stats accurate as of Tuesday, June 5, 2018 via ESPN and Sports-Reference.com.
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