LA Clippers NBA Draft Prospect #2 – Tyler Bey (Colorado)
Slightly less of a reach would be Tyler Bey out of Colorado. Bey is a very interesting prospect. At 6’7″, he’s probably going to play more of a wing role but I can easily see him becoming more of a small-ball stretch four. His shooting is decent enough but where he really shines is on the defensive end. His 7’1″ wingspan allows him to shine against positions 1-4 and depending on the matchup, some 5’s.
Bey won the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, averaging 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocks. Even more impressive was his 9.0 rebounds per game. If those skills translate to the NBA, he will always find a role on a team even if his shooting doesn’t vastly improve. If it does though, he will be an extremely useful piece to any team.
On the offensive end, there’s nothing to write home about. He did shoot 41.9% from deep this past season but only on a single attempt per game. That volume doesn’t lend much proof to his actual ability to shoot but the 74.7% career free throw shooting paints a better picture. Unless he really works at it, Bey won’t be a knockdown shooter but should do enough where he won’t become someone like Andre Roberson.
With his defensive game already as solid as it is, he could still pick up things from Kawhi, PG, and Patrick Beverley. He also serves as insurance for wing depth should Marcus Morris leave in free agency, providing similar defense albeit with less offense. Bey could develop into an All-NBA level defender during his career and if the Clippers can slide up far enough to get him, they should.