NBA Draft 2019: 10 most intriguing undrafted free agent prospects
By Sam Jarrett
Brian Bowen, SF, NBL
Signed a two-way contract with the Indiana Pacers
In terms of pure intrigue, Brian Bowen may be the most interesting name on this list. The former five-star recruit was set to enroll at Louisville before an FBI probe ruled him ineligible. He then transferred to South Carolina but, after being ruled ineligible there too, elected to take his talents to Australia and play for the Sydney Kings of the NBL.
Having played in Australia, Bowen entered the 2019 draft mostly as an unknown. Had he gone to college, however, he may have very well ended up as a first-round pick. Bowen’s best asset right now is his pull-up game and shooting stroke, which looks good but has yet to be very effective. He made just 34.2% of his 38 three-point attempts in Australia this past season but was a solid free-throw shooter at 76.2%.
Inside the arc, he converted 49.1% of his shots. Bowen likes the mid-range game, so it’s encouraging that he was able to make nearly 50% of his two-pointers despite many of them not coming at the rim. The biggest questions with Bowen right now revolve around two things: whether or not his shot will be consistent, and his strength. He has an NBA frame at 6’7 with a 6’10 wingspan but weighs just 190 pounds.
He knows how to use his length on defense but may not be strong enough to keep up with the physicality of NBA competitors. This is a problem on offense, too, as it means he’ll likely have trouble finishing through traffic near the rim. Even with all of the questions, Bowen has a lot of talent and a lot of upside. He signed a two-way deal with Indiana, and if his pull-up shooting and outside jumper prove to be legitimate, he could provide them with some offensive firepower off the bench in the coming years.
Top "value picks" from the 2019 NBA Draft. dark. Next
This year’s undrafted free agent class is loaded, and there were many players that were very difficult to leave off of this list. These players include Naz Reid, Zach Norvell, Josh Reaves, Justin Robinson, Zylan Cheatham, and Charles Matthews, among many others.
It isn’t very often that we see undrafted players have a significant impact on an NBA team, but if there were any year to produce multiple such players, this would be it.