2022 NBA Draft Profile: Kendall Brown
Could the Hawks look for a defense-first wing at No. 16, if so Kendall Brown needs to be discussed.
Welcome to The Hawks Collective newsletter! Atlanta had a disappointing yet promising season led by the continued stardom of Trae Young, Onyeka Okongwu’s development as the center of the future, and plenty more. The NBA draft takes place on June 23, so we’ll be profiling several players who the Hawks may consider selecting with its No. 16 and No. 44 picks. Today’s subject: Kendall Brown of Baylor.
Measurements
Height: 6-7
Weight: 201 lbs
Wingspan: 6-11
Draft Age: 19.1 y/o
Statistical Profile
The Basics: 27.0 minutes, 9.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists
Efficiency: 63.8% on twos, 34.1% on threes, 68.9% on free throws
Advanced: 17.1% usage, 12.3% assist rate, 2.2% steal rate, 1.5% block rate
Misc: 83rd percentile in transition, 94th percentile on cuts, 96th percentile around the basket (non-post-ups)
The Intrigue
Brown is arguably the best cutter in the class; he’s excellent at reading the defense, knowing when to space the floor or cut into open spaces for easy buckets.
His freakish athleticism is what pops off the screens with Brown. He recorded the second-highest vertical at the combine (41 inches), so this level of vertical pop makes him a real threat on lobs, defensive/offense boards, and weakside rim protection.
Touching more on the defense, Brown could really be special on that end with more reps, specifically at the point-of-attack; he’s one of the rare wing defenders who can slip to lead guards & centers on occasion. His defense can really end up being special as he gets more reps. He can sometimes get back cut but that’s something you can fix in the film room in my opinion.
Brown has some of the best passing vision of any wing/forward in this class; when he's attacking the basket, he knows where his teammates are at & uses his rim gravity to his advantage.
Areas of Improvement
Like I stated above, Brown got back cut quite a bit at Baylor, and even though I think it’s something that can be fixed — it’s still worth noting.
Brown was very passive on the offensive end in college; while I think most of it was the system, it was concerning how he “settled” for a small role in a lot of games. One telling number is he only took double-digit field goal attempts in 4 of 34 games.
Though he was somewhat consistent from three at 34-percent, his shooting was on very low volume (2.6 3PA/100). Considering he will be in a low-usage off-ball role at the NBA level, it’ll be important for Brown to consistently draw closeouts to better take advantage of his rim gravity.
Team Fit
Should the Hawks draft him at 16? Maybe
I went into this deep dive, not all that enthused with Kendall Brown for the Hawks, but now I can really see the intrigue. It severely lacks athletes outside of John Collins and Jalen Johnson (two true forwards), so it’s important to surround Young with wing defenders that can cover up his physical limitations. Collins has been in trade rumors for years now, so it’s reasonable to buy Brown as a seamless replacement for the Wake Forest product. Shooting & more importantly shooting volume is clearly the swing skill, but even then Collins only took one 3-point jumper in his two college seasons, so the organization has a real path to developing shooters. Dwayne Dedmon is another one — the former Hawk went from a non-shooter to a respectable one in his first season with the team in 2017-18. All in all, Brown is one of the better 3-and-D wing options at No. 16 and if the Hawks have faith in Huerter and Bogdanovic to take more of the secondary creating reps, then there’s really not much of an argument to pass on Brown.