2016 NBA Mock Draft: Brandon Ingram is the New Number One Pick

SF. California. Jaylen Brown. 7. player. 73. Denver has three first round picks in this year’s draft, and has a wide array of young, strong offensive options at their disposal. What this means is that the Nuggets can afford a development project, meaning they might be a good landing spot for this draft’s most enigmatic talent. Jaylen Brown’s athleticism is NBA ready, but his production was all over the map for California in his one season there. <p>Brown’s struggles focused mostly around his ability to create offense, which was mostly forgettable aside from a January explosion where he averaged 17.6 points per game after an injury to teammate Tyrone Wallace. Brown shot just 29.4 percent from three for the season, and hit one third of those (10-27) in a hot stretch in February. A lot of Brown’s issues often stemmed from inconsistent shot selection, as he frequently struggled to have a good feel for when to attack and when to settle for jumpers, and his handle is fairly shaky, which limits him in getting opportunities to attack the basket. He’s a demon in transition and at getting to the line (57.4 free throw rate), which bodes well for his future as a potential slasher. However, he needs to improve as a shooter to make that a legitimate part of his game, and he struggles with decision making, enough that he finished with a 17.9 percent turnover rate compared to a decent if unspectacular 15.3 assist rate.</p> <p>However, if you’re the Nuggets, you’re banking more on Brown’s athleticism to kick in on the defensive end, where he was inconsistent but more effective for a strong overall defensive team at Cal. He has the potential to be a menace on that end thanks to his 7’0″ wingspan and his technique at closing on shooters. He’s not going to be posting a usage rate on par with Buddy Hield in the pros, and if he can be brought along slowly, work on his jumper (something Denver’s done excellent with – just <a href=