Raptors draft selection – Jaylen Brown, swingman

Here’s Jaylen Brown, a draft pick for the Raptors who looks like he’ll fit into our organization and city wonderfully.

Game 5 of the Raptors-Pacers series is set for Tuesday, night, but I’m too tense to write any more about that hot mess. Time to get back to my occasional series dealing with potential draft picks for the Toronto Raptors’ #9 (or thereabouts) selection in the June draft.

More from Raptors Rapture

• Scottie Barnes talks Raptors expectations after bumpy 2022-23
• Raptors’ Dennis Schroder completes Cinderella story, wins FIBA World Cup with Germany
• 3 players Raptors could replace OG Anunoby with at trade deadline
• NBA insider praises Raptors’ hiring of “star” Darko Rajakovic
• Raptors fans will love Markquis Nowell’s insane confidence on Instagram

The University of California is an academics-first institution which sometimes fields competitive sports teams. This past NCAA season, the Cal Bears rolled out a swingman who dazzled in his first and last university year. His name: Jaylen Brown.

The fact this fellow decided on Cal is a clue to his personality. He is a most intelligent and well-rounded young man who could have chosen any school in the U.S., as he was a highly prized high schooler out of Marietta, Georgia. Instead of faking his way through his freshman year like so many (in fairness, a lot of these young men are under pressure from their overheated and overpaid coaches, who view their kids’ academic responsibilities as little more than an annoyance), Jaylen was fully engaged in his studies.

We don’t spend enough time considering a player’s smarts when we try to project their potential as NBAers, an oversight I hereby pledge not to repeat.

You can’t be stupid and a NBAer. The intellectual demands are too great. When your coach draws up a play on his whiteboard, you need to be able to process the hoops notation (1 in-bounds, 2 fake a screen then hard left, 3 receive the pass with left hand and pivot on right foot….on and on) represented in Xs & Os. There’s film study of opponents, offenses and defenses which could change on every trip down the floor – you get the picture.

I’ve talked before about a player’s fit with his new team and city. We want players who want to be here. Brown definitely checked the box indicating openness to new experiences and places.

Let’s talk the fundamentals. Jaylen Brown will have turned 20 when next season starts; he’s 6’7″ (with a 6’10” wingspan) and weighs 225 pounds, so a slightly chunkier Terrence Ross. To my eyes, he looks more NBA-ready than TRoss was when he was selected at #8 in 2012. Brown was the leader of Cal’s offense, which admittedly isn’t saying a whole bunch other than he was ready, willing and able to shoulder a role a callow youth wouldn’t normally be asked to take on.

His game hasn’t many weaknesses that I could find. His jump shot draws the biggest criticism from scouts, and it will need a lot of repetition before being ready for prime time. His shot isn’t broken, but his form is inconsistent. His left-handed dribble likewise needs hours of work under a practiced coach’s view. I’m not convinced his range extends to the NBA 3-point line yet, and it must sooner or later. He shot 29.4% from beyond the shorter college arc.

Defensively he’s got all the tools, other than an occasional tendency to lose focus. The high-speed NBA game will cure him of that, I suspect.

Admittedly we don’t know how well he might handle himself when facing top-flight competition, as he didn’t have that problem in his college “career”. I doubt that will be a problem; I think he’s confident without being cocky, and has the physical gifts to match his prodigious intelligence.

The biggest problem for Raptors GM Masai Ujiri will be snaring this fellow. He’s zooming up the best mock draft boards; one of them has him at #9 (yay!) while another has him at #4 (boo!)

Finally, faithful readers know I’ve been pushing for our team to draft a power forward, and I’m not changing my religion. However, if the Raptors lose to Indiana, the roster is likely to be blown up, in which case the “best player available” argument has more force. If we’re rebuilding, we’ll need talented kids at every position.