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Detroit Pistons: Is Bruce Brown Jr. the point guard of the future?

By Amaar Burton

(Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Detroit Pistons rookie Bruce Brown Jr., a second-round draft pick, could be the answer at point guard for the new-look franchise.

For the Detroit Pistons and every other NBA team, any overly optimistic or pessimistic analysis based on NBA Summer League games should come with a warning label: “It’s just Summer League.”

That said, I still don’t think it’s too much of a reach to say that during the Pistons’ summer run in Las Vegas, rookie Bruce Brown Jr. has shown flashes of what it takes to develop into Detroit’s point guard of the future.

In four appearances this summer, Brown is averaging 12.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. In Wednesday’s win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Brown was all over the court and the stat sheet: 15 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and five steals in 32 minutes.

Again, it’s just Summer League. But during the Minnesota game and at other points throughout his first professional foray, Brown has displayed a skill-set, mentality and athleticism that bring to mind a poor man’s Russell Westbrook. Think along the lines of Eric Bledsoe of the Milwaukee Bucks or Kris Dunn of the Chicago Bulls — both productive starting point guards in the league who fit into that Westbrook-inspired mold.

Listed at 6’5″ and 205 pounds, Brown fits the physical profile. He is as big as or bigger than Westbrook, Bledsoe and Dunn. He is a natural shooting guard who is strong enough to play that position in the league, but handles the ball well enough to at least warrant some experimenting at point guard.

In fact, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Pistons landed their backcourt of the future in the 2018 NBA Draft with a pair of second round picks: Brown and shooting guard Khyri Thomas.

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Brown was a versatile weapon at the University of Miami. He had two triple-doubles in his two seasons, and averaged 11.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He was regarded by many draft experts as a first-round caliber prospect, but thanks in part to a foot injury that cost him a lot of his sophomore year and not having an impressive jump shot (31.6 percent from 3-point range), Brown fell to the Pistons at No. 42 in the second round.

That is not typically where an NBA team looks to find stars or even starters, but plenty of high-level point guards in the league today were second round picks: 2016-17 Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon (No. 36), two-time All-Defensive Team selection Patrick Beverley (No. 42) and former MVP candidate and All-Star Isaiah Thomas (No. 60), to name a few.

Also, it must be noted that there are levels to that “poor man’s Westbrook” description.

Someone like Jordan Clarkson, for example, plays like a man who is pretending to be Westbrook and similar to a parody, he tends to display the worst parts of Westbrook’s game: over-dribbling, an often reckless single-minded approach, bad shot selection and worse shot conversion.

What someone like Brown can do is bring out the pieces of himself that reflect the best aspects of Westbrook’s game: Aggressive at the right times, pushing the pace and putting pressure on the defense, hunting for high-percentage shots, rebounding well for his position and making a difference as a defender.

The Pistons don’t need Brown to become that good right now, however.

Detroit has its starting point guard penciled in, that being 28-year-old veteran Reggie Jackson. The last two seasons have been marred by injuries for Jackson, but in his last full season (2015-16), he averaged 18.8 points and 6.2 assists per game while helping the Pistons make it to the playoffs.

Jackson is good, and he’s still young. But he has a big contract — two years remaining with an average salary of $17.5 million per year — and between that and the injuries, there are some vocal segments of the Pistons’ fanbase that wouldn’t mind seeing Jackson traded. Or they just don’t necessarily view Jackson as the team’s lead guard in the long term.

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If Jackson becomes expendable, Brown could develop into the right fit for new head coach Dwane Casey’s system.

In a recent interview that appears in a hype video on the Pistons’ Facebook page, Casey says, “My vision is to establish an identity with defense first and to be an exciting, 3-point shooting, attacking-the-rim team.”

Brown’s calling card going into the draft was his defense. He has the size, quickness and grit to guard up to three positions on the court.

Offensively, Brown isn’t much of a long-distance shooter. (Neither is Westbrook, Bledsoe or Dunn.) But he is effective when he aims to attack the rim, and like those aforementioned point guards, he can develop into a playmaker that finds the shooters on his team.

Don’t expect Brown to make a huge impact as a rookie. He has a lot of veterans in front of him on the Pistons’ depth chart. Jackson, Ish Smith and Jose Calderon are all experienced point guards. Luke Kennard, Reggie Bullock and Langston Galloway will be battling for minutes at shooting guard, along with fellow rookie Thomas.

And once again, it’s just Summer League.

Next: 2018 NBA free agency tracker: Grades for every deal so far

Nobody is predicting Brown will be the next Westbrook, the next Bledsoe or even the next Dunn. But these exhibition games are enough for a young player to at least show his potential. So far, Brown has shown that he might be a second round steal who could someday do much more for the Pistons than originally expected.

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