The Washington Wizards selected Oregon guard Troy Brown Jr. with the 15th overall pick in the first round of the 2018 NBA Draft on Thursday night.
Brown averaged 11.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game in his lone season with the Ducks. Scouts consider him an excellent passer and good defender.
Brown, 18, is about 6-foot-7 with a 6-foot-10.25 wingspan. He worked out for the Wizards earlier this month.
“I like being unique, so the versatility gives me a lot of room to operate and a lot of different things to showcase my ability,” Brown said after his June 11 workout for Washington.
On ESPN’s broadcast of the draft, former NBA player Chauncey Billups said Brown compares favorably with Andre Igoudala of the Golden State Warriors.
Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld praised Brown’s basketball IQ.
“We asked him to draw up a last-second play, and he drew up several,” Grunfeld said. “So he has a good understanding of all those things, and he’s a skilled basketball player.”
Coach Scott Brooks confirmed that story and added that he loved Brown’s “length.”
“I love the fact that he can guard ones, twos and threes and maybe some fours, depending on who he’s playing against,” Brooks said. “I think he can be a really good secondary pick-and-roll player. You can play him with Brad, you can play him with John (Wall), you can play him with Tomas (Satoransky), you can play him with all kinds of players.”
Although the Wizards have Bradley Beal locked in as a starting shooting guard, backcourt depth has been shaky for the team in recent years and the team was seeking another wing.
The Wizards were also in the market to improve their frontcourt, and Robert Williams, a center from Texas A&M who worked out for the Wizards, was also on the board at No. 15. But wing depth appeared to be more pressing.
“If you look at most teams, most of them have multiple wings,” Grunfeld said. “The game’s going a little bit smaller. It’s more perimeter-oriented right now, and we needed a couple more players in that kind of position.”
Forward Michael Porter Jr. of Missouri, who was once considered a potential No. 1 overall pick, fell out of the top 10 but was selected 14th overall by the Denver Nuggets, before the Wizards could consider him.
It’s just the second time the Wizards used their first-round draft pick in the last five years rather than trading it away.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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