2018 NBA Mock Draft 2.0: Cleveland Cavaliers select Wendell Carter Jr.
125. . Point Guard. University of Villanova. Jalen Brunson. 30. player
Jalen Bruson is a phenomenal college talent, but even the player of the year in college might not have the skillset to make it in the NBA. However, Bruson was the first non-senior to win the award since Trey Burke and Anthony Davis won it in back-to-back seasons.
Brunson is 6-foot-3 and 199 pounds. He’s the same height as Steph Curry yet weighs ten pounds more than Curry now and 15 more than Curry did when he entered the league. That said, Brunson isn’t the most athletic point guard by a long shot, but he boasts one of the draft’s highest basketball IQ’s.
Along with shooting 2.2 threes per game and over 40% on those threes, Brunson is an ideal target in the late first round to early second round for any team seeking a point guard.
And, for Atlanta, drafting Brunson could mean potentially trading Schroder to help completely rebuild their roster around either a pick in this year’s draft or John Collins, their outstanding rookie center.
After all, the Hawks and Schroder will already be meeting to discuss the team, so it’s likely Schroder walks away wanting a trade anyway.