NBA Draft Scouting: Brayden Burries, Koa Peat, Jaden Bradley, Tobe Awaka
Brian breaks down the many prospects coming into the NBA by way of Arizona and Tommy Lloyd. This report includes Brayden Burries, Koa Peat, Jaden Bradley, and more!
Arizona had one of the more surprising seasons in the country and came up big in the tournament. Their freshmen bought into roles, their veterans stepped up, and coach Tommy Lloyd built his best roster to date. After going 36-3 on the season, Arizona walked away as Big 12 regular season and conference champions and punched their ticket to a Final 4 trip in the tournament. To top it off, they ended up as one of the most fun teams in the country to watch. So, let’s get into it and talk about their nice crop of prospects!
Brayden Burries
Brayden Burries was an older freshman coming in. He struggled out of the gate and it looked like he would end up being a multi-year guy in college. Then, he started to figure it out and he became the clearcut best player on the team entering conference play. He dominated in Big 12 play and established himself as one of the best guards in the draft.
On Drives: 25/36 = 72.2%
On Layups: 65/110 = 59.1%
On Pullups: 8/21 = 38.1%
On Dunks: 16/21 = 94.1%
As you can see here, Burries was pretty efficient across the board. In terms of upside, the big thing with Burries will all depend on how he develops as a ball handler and creator. If he can become a PG, it does a lot for his long term projection. He’ll likely be a role player early on in his career but could step up and become a high level role player and starter, depending on how the defense and ball handling come along. Right now, Burries has the makings of a great complementary piece at the next level. He would be a great fit playing off Cooper Flagg in Dallas, for example.
You can see some high level off ball players here. Gary Harris is a very interesting comparison for his time in Denver. There is some Eric Gordon in his game as well. No matter what, there will be upside questions, but he could make a nice career out of contributing to a lot of winning teams as a starter or key bench player. If you get that in the back end of the lottery, that is a win at the end of the day.
Koa Peat
Koa Peat is a high energy rim athlete that plays basketball. That might sound weird but that’s a good way to describe him right now. He comes from a very physically gifted family full of NFL offensive linemen (son of Todd Peat Sr., brother of Todd Jr. and Andrus), so the athleticism is expectedly great. He’s a force in transition. He’s a better passer than he got to show this season since the ball was not in his hands. Still, there remains a lot of questions.
On Drives: 8/16 = 50%
On Layups: 78/135 = 57.8%
On Pullups: 3/14 = 21.4%
On Dunks: 41/43 = 95.3%
Yeah, I think we can be a liiiittle bit worried about the 3PT shooting. Peat is obviously good around the rim and in the paint, but that’s just what he is right now. Everything about his evaluation revolves around the shooting question. He’s got all the physical tools and athleticism that you could want. He has all the tools to be a really good defender. It’s just about the shot. I really hope that he gets with a great shooting coach and developmental staff, because that will dramatically improve his outlook.
Aaron Gordon is a popular comparison for Koa, and for good reason beyond the Arizona connection. The biggest difference is that Aaron had a better shooting profile than Koa (if you can believe that), and we can see what that led to today in Denver. There could be some positive outcomes either way, but again, that is one of my biggest questions with Koa.
Frankly, in terms of lower outcomes, I also think that there could be some Izan Almansa to his game. He’s a significantly better prospect than Almansa, don’t get me wrong here, but a stronger, more physical Izan Almansa type of guy isn’t out of the question. That might still be a rotation player, though. Very curious to see where he ends up and how he develops.
Jaden Bradley
Jaden Bradley started his career at Alabama where he didn’t play that much. He transferred to Arizona as a sophomore, where he developed into one of the most consistent steady hands in the country as a junior. There’s a lot to like here as someone who makes smart decisions, can score a little bit, and defend pretty well. He was invited to the Combine and was one of the big standouts in the scrimmages.
Note: It’s supposed to say senior, not freshman!
On Drives: 25/34 = 73.5%
On Layups: 53/108 = 49.1%
On Pullups: 22/40 = 55%
On Dunks: 2/3 = 66.7%
So looking at his shot chart, I’ll just start by saying 50% at the rim is really bad. There’s not really any other way around it. He became a very good pull up scorer and decent shooter, but if he’s struggling to finish around the rim and get the easy buckets in college, how is that going to work in the NBA? He can still improve on it, of course, but he’s not a big guard. I’d like the shot selection to be more clean as well. Teams will not like him shooting all of these midrange jumpers and taking a few steps to the rim. Also, the fact he’s a better pull-up scorer than on layups is very funny.
What I wanted to see here was the track record of guards who were good players in college, make smart decisions with the ball, and were good midrange scorers while not being able to shoot well around the rim. Well, there’s a lot of names here that got, or will get, a chance. The name that immediately catches my eye is Daniss Jenkins. Granted, Daniss was a much better 3PT shooter in college and in the NBA, where he made 37.4% of his 195 3’s this year. Bradley is a bit bigger and can get to the line more. I think this does go to show that, if Bradley can scale up that jumpshot on more volume, he’s going to play in the NBA. He’s a good defender with good size and strength. Again, that shot is just the key to this working and becoming a good pro.
Tobe Awaka
After spending two years at Tennessee, Awaka transferred to Arizona, where he was one of the more impactful per minute players in the country. This year, he was the 6th man and was very useful for the team. Personally, I wasn’t planning on doing a big report on him, but he was notably invited to the NBA Combine without having to go through the G League Elite Camp or Portsmouth.
As you can see here, Awaka is incredibly limited offensively. I wouldn’t take too much stock in that 3PT shooting considering it’s such a low sample and that the Wildcats didn’t trust him to stretch the floor.
Unfortunately, the track record is just not good here. The only guy that got a sustainable career was Kenneth Faried. Awaka is an undersized big that’s not tall enough. Maybe there’s more upside than people think, myself included, but these types of players do not make in the NBA anymore.
Other Notes:
There are two other prospects on this Arizona squad that are legitimate NBA prospects on the team. Let’s briefly talk about them.
If you’ve been following Dizzle Dynasty for a while, you would know that I’ve been a big Motiejus Krivas fan dating back to last year. I had him in the lottery this year before he went back. Truly an elite rim protector that can move very well. I think there’s some potential as a shooter that we could see this year. The issue is that he doesn’t finish around the rim well for a 7 footer, but everything else is there. He will be very high on my board entering next season.
Speaking of being high on my board entering next season: Ivan Kharchenkov. An international player who was a monster defender for the Wildcats this year. He reminds me a lot of Hugo Gonzalez in terms of the tenacity and type of defender that he is. The offense needs to improve, primarily with the shooting. If he does, he will likely be a top 20 pick or even a lottery pick.
Dynasty Outlook
Brayden Burries is the one that will be the interesting fantasy player. I think his range starts from 6-14, just depending on where he goes. He’ll likely be in that 8-10 range in most drafts. He might have a stage where he’s like Cason Wallace in terms of a fantasy player. If that is valuable to you, then I’d be very interested. There is also a chance that he’s easier to get in a couple years when the managers taking him will be looking to swing on more upside.
Koa Peat is a tough one considering that teams seem higher on him than in fantasy circles. I think his dynasty range is very wide, stretching from 15-35 just depending on where he gets drafted. He is not an analytics darling, which will already dissuade some people. His fantasy upside is likely pretty capped unless a team puts the ball in his hands.
For Jaden Bradley, this is a priority second round pick. Anywhere in the second round, he should be drafted. For Awaka, it’s more of an undrafted flyer if you like where he ends up in the NBA. Yes, he’s a per minute monster, but there’s better options to take in the draft over Awaka.