The San Antonio Spurs own one late first round pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, and the team should do what they can to take Virginia’s Malcolm Brogdon at pick No. 29 because he would be a perfect fit.
This past season in college basketball was the year of the senior because there were so man players dominating the college basketball world in their last year as a student athlete.
One of those players was Malcolm Brogdon, who played for the Virginia Cavaliers for four years. He was named ACC Player of the Year last season and he was a first team All-American. Brogdon averaged 18.2 points per game and he shot 45.7 percent from the field in his final season at Virginia.
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Brogdon improved every year he was there and he was the primary scorer for the team last season. He is a versatile two-way shooting guard that has a few limitations, but the San Antonio Spurs should use the one pick they have in the 2016 NBA Draft on Brogdon.
Their pick is No. 29 overall, and although that might seem a little high for Brogdon, he would fit the Spurs’ system perfectly because of his ability to affect the game on both ends and because he plays with such a high basketball IQ.
Not many players in this draft have as high as a basketball IQ as Brogdon, and this is why he would be a perfect fit on the Spurs coming off the bench and learning from some of the other veteran players.
Brogdon Breakdown
Brogdon’s game is polished and there is not much he needs to change. One limitation is that he is not very athletic, which could hurt him when guarding some extremely athletic wings at the next level.
You could compare Brogdon’s came with Kawhi Leonard‘s game when he came out of college, except Brogdon is a far better shooter than Kawhi was coming out of college (career 25 percent three-point shooter at San Diego State).
Kawhi is far more athletic than Brogdon though, and now he’s one of the best two-way players in the NBA because he is dominant on defense and because he can not shoot consistently from all over the floor.
Brogdon does many things that the Spurs will love, he is a pretty good passer and he knows when to take the right shot. He is also a very good defender and he great size at the 2-guard position.
Brogdon will also add shooting off the bench, and now that he is not the primary scorer, he should be able to shoot even better from the field and from deep.
Overall
Brogdon has been playing like a Spur since he started playing for Virginia. He is very unselfish and always makes great decisions on both ends of the floor. Brogdon has played against elite competition for four years, and he should be able to help out the Spurs right away if they take him at pick No. 29.
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The Spurs have a very deep and talented roster, and if they do make this pick, they should take a proven player that could fit into their system nicely. Brogdon is that player and he could have a nice long career with the Spurs.