Would G League Ignite wing Beauchamp be smart pick for Sixers?

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A scouting report on NBA draft prospect MarJon Beauchamp: 

  • Position: Wing 
  • Height: 6-5.25 (without shoes) 
  • Weight: 197
  • Last team: G League Ignite 

From Yakima Valley College to the NBA? Beauchamp is on track for exactly that. 

He did not initially plan on playing college basketball, but Beauchamp’s mini-odyssey to potential first-round pick included a stint with friends at his hometown school. Beauchamp produced like you’d expect from a future NBA player, averaging 30.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists. 

With G League Ignite, Beauchamp posted 15.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per contest across 12 Showcase Cup and nine exhibition games. He’ll turn 22 years old in October. 

Strengths 

Beauchamp is a smooth athlete who plays with explosive, aggressive bursts that help him do damage in transition, throw down put-back dunks, and generally find off-script ways to score.

G League Ignite head coach Jason Hart told Jeff Goodman (via The Field of 68) that he “never ran any plays for (Beauchamp). He just knows how to be in the right place at the right time.”

In his fluidity, competitiveness and length (almost 7-foot-1 wingspan), Beauchamp has excellent defensive tools. He should benefit from continuing to gain muscle and learning how to more regularly dictate the game’s terms. Watching Beauchamp in person against a strong Delaware Blue Coats team in late January, it was especially noticeable that his size and gear-shifting talents are NBA-level qualities. 

Beauchamp’s defensive potential should be attractive for teams drafting late in the first round and aiming for deep postseason success. Though it appears he’ll be best on wings, it’s not that difficult to imagine Beauchamp in a couple of years bothering a 6-foot-2 point guard in one playoff series and containing a 6-foot-10 stretch four in another. 

“For me, his upside projects as Mikal Bridges. … I think MarJon is on that same track,” Hart told Goodman. “They have the same body frame, same skill set, and I think MarJon can be a similar role as him.”

Weaknesses 

When Bridges entered the NBA after winning two national championships at Villanova, there was more evidence to suggest he’d immediately be a consistent rotation player. Across the board, Beauchamp looks less refined.

For example, his shot selection (and overall decision-making) is a work in progress. Some instinctive parts of Beauchamp’s game are encouraging, like his cutting, but there are also times he doesn’t come across as natural and self-assured. That’s apparent in how he handles defensive details such as off-ball attentiveness, controlled close-outs, and ball screen navigation. The optimistic outlook is he perhaps has greater room for growth than the typical 21-year-old prospect because he took an unconventional path low on post-high school game reps. Ultimately, unlike Bridges, he did not spend years playing for Jay Wright. 

Beauchamp shot only 28.8 percent from three-point range last season. That number is far from definitive proof that Beauchamp is doomed to be a subpar NBA shooter, in part because the three-point sample size wasn’t huge (59 attempts). Still, our impression is he’s inconsistent with the timing of his release and arc. If Beauchamp shows opponents need to guard him behind the arc, his downhill drives would be a bigger half-court asset. If he doesn’t, earning trust and minutes early in his career could be a major challenge. 

Fit 

We see the broad arguments for picking Beauchamp at No. 23 (should the Sixers stay there and he’s available) as 1. Solid NBA role player seems like a realistic outcome for his career and 2. The “high ceiling” case isn’t a ludicrous one.

And while drafting with the sole goal of plugging roster holes wouldn’t be advisable late in Round 1, Beauchamp is — at least in theory — a player who could specifically help the Sixers. The “solid NBA role player” version of Beauchamp is a wing who’d enhance the team’s defense, rebounding and athleticism. Sounds great, though that's of course not a sure thing. 

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