Draft Decision: Brandan Wright?

Although Chad Ford believes Al Horford is the #3 prospect in the draft, many have thought for quite some time (including myself) that Brandan Wright should be drafted third overall. With his great height and outrageous wingspan, Wright could be the making of a great power forward in this league.

Wright’s most noticeable characteristic is his mobility at his height. He’s a tall kid, but doesn’t lumber around the court like a sloth. His long arms are one of his biggest assets as these help him block shots with his sub-par anticipation of an opponent’s shot. He has one go-to move on the block, which is the hookshot. The great thing is that he can use this move with either his strong hand or his off hand, which is a great luxury for a 19-year old kid.

Although with great upside, many scouts, GMs and draft experts love to breakdown Wright’s deficiencies. The biggest knock on Brandan Wright is his lack of emotion on the court. While at UNC, he didn’t really assert himself like we all would have liked. Perhaps this is the same problem that Rudy Gay had two seasons ago. These great young talents join these NCAA powerhouses and feel as if they have to defer to their older teammates who have already established a name in college basketball. Rudy Gay came out and played some good ball last year, so perhaps Wright has what it takes to show his total package in the league.

Wright’s defense isn’t exactly stellar. If you take away his blocks, he struggles locking down his man on defense, a problem that could haunt him against the larger players in the NBA. That brings up another problem with Wright, as well as many other prospects at his age: weight. Wright has got to put at least 20 pounds of muscle on to be able to stand toe-to-toe with the bigger power forwards he will go up against on a game to game basis.

Personally, I think Brandan Wright is number two on my short list of prospects for the Celtics at #5, behind only Al Horford. He has a much better chance at falling to the Celtics at five, but it doesn’t seem that Danny Ainge or Doc Rivers are enamored with Wright, so the Celtics could pass on this future stud. It wouldn’t be the first time we pass on some potentially great players, just take a look at the tragedy known as the Celtics’ 2001 draft…

There are plenty of choices for the Celtics to decide from. The next prospect I will look at is the ever so mysterious Yi Jianlian.