2016 NBA Draft Scouting Report: Jaylen Brown

Jaylen Brown is one of the major enigma’s in the 2016 draft class, with some people viewing him as a top five prospect and other’s questioning if he’s worth such a high ranking. Hailing from Marietta, Georgia, Brown attended the University of California, Berkeley for his lone season in college. He went on to earn Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors averaging 14.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 0.8 blocks per game, while shooting 43.1 percent from the field, 29.4 percent from the three-point line and 65.4 percent from the free throw line, for the Golden Bears. Brown’s athleticism, frame and intellect will have some NBA front offices falling in love with him, but his lack of overall skill and feel for the game could scare others as well.

Offense

Brown is the perfect example of a prospect who has all the physical tools to be an elite NBA player, but the skills haven’t quite caught up yet to the physical ability. This duality shows immensely on the offensive end of the floor for Brown, where he utilizes his great strength and athleticism to score, rather than utilizing any skill.

He is at his best when the game speeds up and he can get out into the open floor, looking to attack in transition. Brown has the definition of an NBA body, sitting at 223 lbs, sporting a ridiculious body fat percentage of 5.1 and again great athleticism. He thrives in the in-between game offensively, attacking when the defense has yet to set and once he gets a head of steam behind him, Brown is extremely difficult to stop. Brown can explode off either one or two feet, possessing the leaping ability to finish above the rim and strength to power through contact.

Besides getting most of his scoring done in the open floor, Brown also is a very good slasher. He doesn’t have great ball handling skills, it’s one of the weaker parts of his offensive weaponary, but his athleticism and strength once again make up for that. Brown’s first step quickness is good enough for him to get by most wings and while he’s far from smooth with his ability to create his own shot, Brown does a good job of utilizing his strength by just bulldozing through most defenders and also showcases solid touch in the lane.

He’s not a guy who’s going to be able to consistently create in ISO situations against elite NBA wing defenders, but against smaller and slower forwards, Brown should have no problem attacking off the dribble and getting to the rim.

Possibly the most underrated and undervalued part of Brown’s offensive game, is his ability to score in the post. By no means is Brown a polished post scorer, but he knows he has an NBA body and utilizes that strength advantage to usual success when trying to score on the low block. Brown has solid footwork, you’ll see him utilize a nice dropstep in some of the GIF’s below and has the length (6-11.75 wingspan) to finish over most forwards and the strength to gain position against most forwards as well. If he can develop any sort of a fadeaway jumper or just mid-range game at all, Brown could become a matchup nightmare for opposing NBA teams on the offensive end.

When looking at Brown’s weaknesses, you have to start with his shooting or lack thereof. Brown shot only 30.1 percent on jumpers this season and only 26.9 percent of his field goal attempts were from beyond the arc, according to Hoop-Math. It doesn’t matter if he’s shooting from a standstill, off the dribble or on the move, Brown struggles to consistently hit shots. I have enough GIF’s to make an entire article on what’s wrong with Brown’s shooting stroke, because currently it’s not very good. However, I think the people who say Brown will never be a good shooter are being very shortsighted and aren’t looking at the entire picture.

Overall Brown’s shooting mechanics are pretty solid and fluid, it’s moreso a consistency issue with him. His release, follow through, elevation and balance always seem to be different on every shot attempt which is obviously a problem. The main concern with Brown’s shooting is his release, it’s the reason he misses most of the jumpers and three-point shots he takes.

Brown usually holds the ball a tad bit too long, releasing the ball when he’s starting to come down rather than releasing the ball at it’s highest point. This also makes Brown’s release alot slower than it needs to be, because of the extra pause holding the ball too long creates. He doesn’t follow through on every shot and he doesn’t get much elevation on his shot, causing a majority of his shots to end up short. Ultimately, I just don’t think Brown is a natural shooter, but this doesn’t mean he can’t ever develop into a competent one. Most of these issues that Brown have are very, very fixable and working with NBA coaches should only make that easier for a guy like Brown, who has a great work ethic.

The other big problems on the offensive end for Brown are his predictability as a ball handler and lack of natural playmaking ability. Brown is never going to be a playmaker in the NBA, he just doesn’t have a great feel for the game, good vision and isn’t a great decision maker. That’s not nearly as much of a problem as Brown’s ball handling ability. It’s not so much that Brown can’t handle the ball, but his lack of creativity as a dribbler really limits his ability to create his own shot. Brown forces the issue often offensively, rather than looking for an open man on drives, leading to poor shots on the offensive end.

Brown always usually goes to the right on drives, while utilizing a crossover dribble and tries to bulldoze his way to the rim. He also has a knack for picking his dribble up far too early, putting himself in tough positions when attacking off the dribble. Brown’s dribble is also fairly high, making it easier for defenders to steal the ball from him. His overcomittment to just trying to overpower guys is going to get him in trouble with most NBA wing’s and elite defenders.

This is the part of Brown’s game that concerns me the most, as I believe most of his shooting woes are simple fixes, I’m not sure I can say the same thing for his ball handling skills. Unless he improves his arsenal of dribble moves and becomes a more creative dribbler, I find it very hard to see how Brown will ever be able to score off the dribble against NBA defenders.

Defense

Brown’s physical tools really stand out on the defensive end of the floor, his combination of size, speed and length could help him develop into a premier defender in the NBA. Brown’s good off the ball defensively, but he shines while defending 1-on-1 on the ball. He has a good low stance, the first step quickness to stay in front of most guards and forwards, the strength to not get bullied by bigger forwards and the length to recover when he gets beat.

Brown might be limited on the offensive end, but defensively he should come in right away and contribute to an NBA team on that end of the floor. Possibly the biggest part of Brown’s defensive potential is his desire to become an elite defender and once again his work ethic, coaches and primarily defensive minded coaches will fall in love with him for those reasons.

Brown also is a very adequate post defender, adding to his defensive value as he could realistically guard four positions. This again is where his strength really helps him, he can hold his ground when fighting for position on the low block and has the length, sporting a nearly seven foot wingspan to contest shots against bigger forwards. Brown does go for shot fakes somewhat frequently when defending on the low post, but he also is intelligent enough to not foul and goes straight up to force a tough shot. This is part of his defensive game I expect to be utilized quite a bit in the NBA and should increase his value as a defender.

Brown’s defensive awareness is pretty good, his head is usually always on a swivel, but he does get lazy at times when defending off the ball. He’s a good communicator defensively, but he does get caught regularly cheating in too much off the ball, which leads to open perimeter shots for whatever man he’s defending. This doesn’t really concern me all that much and is something he should get better at almost immediately in the NBA, but it is an area Brown needs to work on.

Overall Outlook

I really like Jaylen Brown, he’s a different breed from most players and his intelligence is very impressive for just 19-years old. He has a perspective most young men don’t and that was on full display in the brilliant article that ESPN’s Marc J. Spears did on him for The Undefeated. This maturity and intelligence is what I think will help Brown develop into a very good, possibly even All-Star caliber player in the NBA.

His shot will improve, as mentioned earlier his shooting concerns have been overstated and the fixes to correct it are fairly simple ones. Brown will never become an elite three-point shooter, but I do see him becoming a respectable one and really blossoming his mid-range game. Brown would fit in very well with a high-tempo, transition oriented offensive team that will allow him to do what he does best currently, while still having time to develop his shooting and ball handling skills.

Defensively Brown will flourish into a upper echelon defender in the NBA, his combination of strength, athleticism and length, plus his desire and work ethic should make it easy for him to become that. Brown’s never going to be a primary, secondary or any type of playmaker for an NBA team, his decision making and feel for the game just aren’t there.

The thing that puzzles me the most with Brown is his ball handling, I’m very split on if he will ever develop into a good enough ball handler to score consistently off the dribble against NBA defenders. He’s very predictable and does favor his right hand, but he does show at times that he can finish with the left and keep a low, controlled dribble.

Ultimately the main issue with Brown is inconsistency which while concerning, is something that is very correctable by simply being more consistent with good habits. Brown’s personality, maturity and work ethic should be infectious to most NBA coaching staffs, making them really buy in on his potential. I personally however, don’t believe Brown will ever develop into a franchise changing or superstar player and don’t think he’s worth a top five pick.

Best case scenario for Brown is he becomes like Jimmy Butler, a well rounded scorer who consistently drops 20 points on a nightly basis and defends the opposing teams best wing player. Worst case scenario, he never develops a consistent shot or becomes a respectable ball handler and becomes a role playing transition scorer, who is primarily used as a defensive stopper.

Regardless of what he becomes, I truly am rooting for Jaylen Brown because he is a great ambassador for the game of basketball and the NBA. I sound like a broken record here but his maturity, work ethic, perspective and intelligence are very impressive and are traits that could easily make him develop into an elite wing. He truly is an NBA PR team’s dream and will be a fan favorite wherever he goes. Whatever team selects Brown on Thursday night should be thrilled, cause while they may be getting a flawed basketball player they’re getting a great young man and someone all people could learn from.