Despite some concerns about his physical limitations, Jalen Brunson brings plenty of skills that the Utah Jazz could utilize if they wound up selecting him in the 2018 NBA Draft.
The long wait is over as the day of the 2018 NBA Draft is upon us! The Utah Jazz have no shortage of intriguing options to consider when they select at No. 21 overall (or perhaps sooner or later depending on certain trade possibilities), and so I thought I’d sneak in one more prospect in the waning hours leading up to the draft.
Today’s subject is Villanova guard Jalen Brunson. Much like another potential Jazz prospect, Donte DiVincenzo, as a member of the reigning NCAA Championship team, Brunson most certainly has a winner’s mentality. In fact, his competitiveness and craftiness have been among his top traits as they’ve helped him develop into an intelligent and effective player.
Brunson is excellent at running the point with good ball-handling and passing skills, but he’s also more than capable of getting his own. He averaged 18.9 points per game in his junior year at Villanova while shooting an impressive 52.1 percent from the field and 40.8 percent from deep. His efficiency speaks to both his intelligence as a playmaker and his reliable shooter’s touch.
The Villanova product was also extremely accurate from the foul line, which tends to be an indicator of how well his shooting will translate over to the NBA. He went 80.2 percent from the charity stripe last season and an even more impressive 87.6 percent the year before that.
I haven’t seen a ton of speculation in mock drafts or other reports that Brunson will end up in a Jazz uniform, but he most certainly is in their range. Not only that, but in a recent KSL SportsBeat segment, Jazz VP of Player Personnel Walt Perrin showered Brunson with praise as you can see in the video below beginning at the 11:15 mark.
Perrin had good things to say about nearly every aspect of his game, including his high basketball IQ (he called him one of the smartest players in the draft) and his versatile offense which isn’t just 3-point shooting, but includes driving, floaters, post-ups and a good mid-range game.
He also had some good things to say about his defense. Though some may be concerned with Brunson’s lack of size, he apparently makes up for it with strength and grit on the defensive end.
However, the biggest worry about Brunson in the NBA still may very well be be the struggles he could face when it comes to guarding elite NBA athletes. His size will limit who he can match up against, meaning that he’ll simply be used to defend opposing point guards, and even many of them will likely give him trouble.
Quote about Jalen Brunson from @SethDavisHoops most recent article. Best quote I've heard about an NBA Draft prospect:
— John Zall (@John_Zall) June 18, 2018
"He’ll help you win on a Monday night in the middle of January when it’s your third game in four nights and no one wants to play but him.”
His shortage of physical tools and limited quickness on the defensive end could result in him being overwhelmed by quick, athletic and/or bigger point guards. This means Brunson will need to either significantly enhance his defensive game or be enough of a positive on offense to mitigate some of that concern.
He isn’t a bad defender by any means, but will need to find ways to improve and overcome his physical limitations. Fortunately, that’s something he’s managed to find a way to do before. I loved the following line from Sports Illustrated’s breakdown of Brunson by Jake Fischer in which he stated, “He doesn’t have an ideal build for the NBA, but has always been able to compensate with his skill and moxie.”
Next: NBA Draft 2018: A final round-up of Utah Jazz mock draft picks
That so-called skill and moxie could very well be a determining factor that puts him high on Utah’s draft board. He obviously has plenty of NBA-caliber aptitudes that make him an intriguing pick. Throw in some crucial intangibles such as competitiveness, hustle, grit and a will to win, and you can suddenly see why Walt Perrin seemed so encouraged by the young point guard prospect.
The Utah Jazz are by no means suffering from a lack of options when they select in this evening’s NBA Draft. But if still on the board at No. 21, Jalen Brunson could very well be a scrappy, under-the-radar selection that would fit in nicely on the Jazz roster.