Oregon Basketball: Troy Brown selected by the Wizards in the first round

The Washington Wizards snatched up Oregon Basketball’s Troy Brown with the 15th pick. What skills will translate right away and what does he need to address?

With the No. 15 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, the Washington Wizards selected Oregon guard Troy Brown. The 18-year-old – listed at 6-foot-7 with a 6-foot-11 wingspan – averaged 11.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in his one season in Eugene, with a 44/29/74 percent shot profile.

Here’s what you need to know about the newest Washington wing:

What he brings to the table

Brown will crack the Wizards’ rotation as a rookie because of his defense. As seen in his highlight tape below, the former Duck is an absolute pilfer on the perimeter. Not only does he sneak into passing lanes like a free safety, but he also is crafty enough to simply poke the ball away from opposing ball handlers.

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Pac-12 guards certainly aren’t the same caliber as the NBA players Brown will soon be facing, but his exceptional steal rate in college (89th percentile) and above-average length are positive signs for a wing with a defensive foundation. Brown was also an excellent rebounder at Oregon. He finished with the third-highest defensive rebounding rate among high-major freshmen that were also 6-foot-7 or shorter (77 such players qualified). John Wall and (to a lesser extent) Bradley Beal tend to loaf on defense, but Brown, Otto Porter, and Kelly Oubre make for a tantalizing defensive wing rotation in D.C.

Brown brings some offensive upside as well. He is a legitimate finisher inside (63 percent shooting at the rim) and the eye test and stat sheet show some real passing skills. Brown posted the 25th-best assist rate among high-major freshmen last year, only one of whom was taller than Brown at 6-foot-7 (Missouri’s Jontay Porter). Brown racked up at least five assists on nine occasions last year, which is especially impressive considering Oregon’s equal-opportunity offense. He won’t get many opportunities to run the show with Wall and Beal in town, but the Wizards have long been starved for additional secondary playmakers. Brown has a chance to fit that mold.

What he needs to work on

Brown is not much of a shooter to this point, which could be a problem in an offense based largely around Wall drive-and-kicks. At Oregon, Brown shot just 29% from beyond the arc and only 35% on two-point jumpers. His 74% free throw mark is indicative of a decent shooter, but Brown’s relatively funky motion may need some tweaks to really unleash his offensive potential.

There were also some games where he failed to leave an impression befitting that of a future NBA first-rounder. Brown shot out of the gates early in 2017-18, cracking double-digit scoring totals in 12 of his 14 games with Oregon. But once conference play got rolling, Brown began to fizzle, and by the end of the year, he was hardly noticed, as he averaged just 7.6 points in nearly 32 minutes a night during his final five games of the year, none of which came against NCAA tournament teams.

The Wizards didn’t draft him to be a primary scorer, but he also can’t be a total zero on that end of the floor either.

Overall outlook

Even in the middle of the first round, drafting in the NBA requires large amounts of projection. In selecting Brown, the Wizards are choosing to ignore the poor finish and to instead focus on the excellent defensive tendencies, as well as the offensive upside displayed in his 21-point outings against Colorado and Washington, and his near triple-double against Portland State.

Next: Breaking down Kings' pick of Marvin Bagley

Depth has long been an issue for the John Wall-era Wizards, but Washington looks to have found another wing to bolster their current rotation, or even open up the possibility of a trade elsewhere on the roster.

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