Ignas Brazdeikis, SF, Michigan
2018-2019 statistics: 14.8 PTS, 5.4 REB, 0.8 AST
Michigan forward Ignas Brazdeikis started his collegiate career about as well as you could hope. Through his first 10 games, the Lithuanian averaged 17.0 points and 5.2 rebounds, including a 24-point performance against one of college basketball’s elite teams in the North Carolina Tar Heels.
His performance through the early parts of the season saw him earn consecutive Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards, and by then, Brazdeikis was already beginning to rocket up early mock drafts.
Brazdeikis came back down to Earth from then on, averaging 14.0 points and 5.5 rebounds the rest of the way. He remained a consistent scorer and shooter, logging several 20-point performances down the stretch of the season and connecting on nearly 40 percent of his three-point attempts.
He’s about as complete a player as you could hope for the offensive side of the ball, but his defense is where he lacks game. He’s a little on the slower side and doesn’t project to be a great defender at the NBA level. Whether his offense makes up for that or not is yet to be seen.
At just 20 years old, Brazdeikis has plenty of time to develop and could become a more well-rounded two-way player in the future. But for now, he may be worth a gamble by the LA Clippers strictly for his shooting and rebounding alone.
Brazdeikis is currently projected to be a late-second-round pick, and the Clippers would likely be better suited to take him with the first of their two selections.