NBA Draft Film Room: Can Troy Brown's ability as a playmaker cover for his average athleticism?

In the lead-up to the NBA Draft on June 21, BSN Denver is taking an in-depth look at prospects the Nuggets might target in the first round. Each draft profile will be accompanied by a podcast available on BSNDenver.com and wherever you normally download your podcasts from. To submit questions for the podcast, reply in the comments section at the bottom of this story.

BSN Nuggets Podcast: Zhaire Smith and Troy Brown with Brian Schroeder

THE BASICS

Troy Brown — Forward — Oregon

NBA Role: Secondary playmaker

Player Comparison: Evan Turner without the mid-range game

NBA teams put Troy Brown and dozens of other prospects through the wringer last month at the Draft Combine in Chicago. The tests included the usual running and jumping exercises. Brown also met one on one with a handful of teams so they could do their best to delve into his psyche. Apparently in 2018, the wringer includes virtual reality.

“You have the goggles on, and you’re playing out of the pick and roll,” Brown told ESPN about his experience with a VR headset on. “You have to pick which decision to make on the fly.”

Brown retold the story matter of factly. It didn’t seem strange to him that a team would ask him to choose between the pocket pass and a pull-up jumper in a virtual world. Perhaps Brown’s comfort level with the technology was related to his age. Brown doesn’t turn 19 until July. He’s a teenager who’s come of age during the NBA’s pace-and space-era and the NHL’s expansion into his hometown.

“It just brings life to the city,” Brown said of the Golden Knights, who advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup in their inaugural season. “I’m born and raised in Las Vegas. Just having something to build a culture around is huge. We’ve never had an NBA team. We’re trying to get a football team. We just got the Aces. The city is really starting to pick up. It’s exciting for me. I’m loving it right now.”

GOOD PASSER WHO NEEDS TO BE MORE CONSISTENT

Brown might be one of the youngest players in the draft, but his story is an old one: the point guard who didn’t stop growing. As a kid, Brown brought the ball up the court and set the table for his teammates. He held onto those skills even as he grew to be 6-foot-7. In his lone season at Oregon, Brown’s playmaking instincts were the best thing about his game.

Brown averaged 3.2 assists per game. He was one of three forwards — and the only freshman forward — in the Pac-12 to hit the 3.0-assist-per-game benchmark. Brown has that rare ability to see plays before they happen. He understands the subtleties of setting others up, too. Watch how he dribbles into UCLA’s Aaron Holiday here to give his teammate an extra half-second to get a clean look off instead of simply stopping, turning around and throwing the pass.

Brown doesn’t have to stare his target down to fire an accurate pass. This flip pass is a thing of beauty.

Brown moves without the basketball, and he makes quick decisions once it’s in his hands. There’s an innate unselfishness to his game.

“I love passing the basketball, honestly,” Brown said after his pre-draft workout with the Nuggets last week. “I love getting guys open. I love getting guys shots. Seeing my teammates score makes me personally happy.”

Brown’s ability to see the chess board is special, but he also falls into too many of the traps even average players can identify. He committed 2.5 turnovers per game, many of which were the type of cough ups that turn a coach’s hair gray.

Maybe Brown was adjusting to size and speed of college basketball. He needs to learn to be stronger with the ball.

AVERAGE ATHLETICISM COULD LIMIT HIM

Rawle Alkins is 6-foot-5. Brown is 6-foot-7. Even though Alkins is built like a fire hydrant, that 2-inch disparity in height should give Brown the advantage when he drives inside. A player with Brown’s height and ball-handling ability should at least be able to get a clean look off in that situation…right?

There are concerns about how Brown will fare against NBA athleticism. Brown isn’t the quickest player nor the most explosive leaper. His 33-inch max vertical was the worst mark among all the small forward prospects who jumped at last month’s Draft Combine.

He finished 63.4 percent of his shots at the rim with the Ducks, according to Hoop-Math, which is a solid mark. But it was hard not to notice how many of his takes fizzled out. Right now, it looks like he lacks the power to go through guys and the hops to go over them.

On defense, Brown’s got good instincts, he communicates, and he doesn’t make many mental errors. Watch him call out a switch, navigate three ball screens and contest the shot here. Staying focused for that long isn’t as easy as it looks.

Brown also comes up with a bunch of steals because of his anticipation.

Understanding angles can lead to plays like this and make up for a lack of quickness but only to a certain degree. Brown can get burned when you ask him to defend speedsters in space.

JUMPER A BIG QUESTION MARK

One way to overcome below-average athleticism on the offensive end is to shoot the three ball consistently. Knocking down shots from outside forces defenders to play up on you. That means driving lanes become bigger. Brown does not yet have a consistent three-pointer in his repertoire, which is one more reason why he could struggle to adjust at the next level.

Brown’s shooting motion starts below his waist and ends out in front of his head. His right hand flails out to the side. The Ringer called it a “catapult release.” It’s unorthodox and ineffective. Brown made 32 of the 110 three-pointers he attempted, which comes out to 29.1 percent.

Brown’s mid-range game isn’t much better. He shot 34.6 percent on two-point jumpers, according to Hoop-Math. He laid his share of bricks.

THE VERDICT

The Nuggets are a finesse team that needs to get tougher if they ever want to do any damage in the postseason. Brown would fit in well in Denver’s equal-opportunity offense. How much he’d help them get meaner and nastier is questionable.

Denver is facing the prospect of losing Wilson Chandler, who has to make a decision on his player option by June 24, and Will Barton, who’s an unrestricted free agent. Brown is talented. He’s unselfish. He just might not be the right player for this team.