Minnesota Timberwolves: Scouting Jordan McLaughlin
By Ethan Becker
The Bad
Like any prospect playing in Summer League, McLaughlin has some areas of his game that need some improvement.
McLaughlin has played in leagues associated with the NBA for two seasons now. In 2018-19, he was on the Brooklyn Nets’ Summer League team. He then joined their preseason roster and played just one game before moving down to the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s G League team.
The first red flag in McLaughlin’s game is a double-edged sword of sorts. As a defensive-minded point guard, he tends to pick up his man at the 3/4 court, and sometimes plays full-court defense. This tendency can go both ways, but he is putting up the potential to be burned by a faster or a craftier point guard.
Another issue in his game is his long range shooting. In the G League, McLaughlin shot 33 percent from 3, and in Summer League he has averaged just 25 percent over two years. In fairness, he did increase his Summer League 3-point accuracy from 22 percent in 2018 to 30 percent in 2019, but he still isn’t showing a deep shooting talent that is present in the current NBA.