The 2024 NBA Draft Sleepers, a 🧵 pic.twitter.com/XgbOIRDwPZ

— D’andre Williams (@willlumz) May 16, 2024

Jalen Bridges is better then all of us think. The 6’7 wing showed off his C/S ability and defensive chops this past year with Baylor, but as you dig through the tape you begin to see the potential he has as a self-creator. A very intriguing player who could potentially scale up… pic.twitter.com/6kAhYfiZ93

— D’andre Williams (@willlumz) May 16, 2024

I always thought Bridges' game is much more suited for the NBA than it was for college. He has a very high floor to his game and teams know exactly what they are getting which is a prototypical 3 and D wing. I think he has very high probability of going in the mid to late 2nd round especially since this is a weaker draft.

Jalen Bridges is 1 of my top 3 favorite Baylor players of all time, I will be buying his jersey

Crawfoso1973 said:

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I always thought Bridges' game is much more suited for the NBA than it was for college. He has a very high floor to his game and teams know exactly what they are getting which is a prototypical 3 and D wing. I think he has very high probability of going in the mid to late 2nd round especially since this is a weaker draft.

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His game was well-suited for both IMO. He was our most efficient offensive player last season. He just didn't have the alpha gene necessary to be a star.

But I'm with you. Whoever drafts/signs him will be getting a steal. He's a skilled, jack-of-all trades player who can help some NBA win games. They just have to be smart enough to give him a chance.

bear2be2 said:

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Crawfoso1973 said:

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I always thought Bridges' game is much more suited for the NBA than it was for college. He has a very high floor to his game and teams know exactly what they are getting which is a prototypical 3 and D wing. I think he has very high probability of going in the mid to late 2nd round especially since this is a weaker draft.

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His game was well-suited for both IMO. He was our most efficient offensive player last season. He just didn't have the alpha gene necessary to be a star.

But I'm with you. Whoever drafts/signs him will be getting a steal. He's a skilled, jack-of-all trades player who can help some NBA win games. They just have to be smart enough to give him a chance.

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Exactly, he is the kind of role player NBA teams covet. He isn't a star and doesn't try to be. At the NBA level they already have stars and high-usage players. They need unselfish, self-aware, high IQ guys like Bridges to complement their stars.

I'm not a big NBA watcher. Can someone who is illuminate why Bridges isn't a late round 1 guy in a weak draft? He's 6'7" maybe a wee more, shoots a trey ball around 40%, free throws in 80s, defends well, will grab boards, will dive for loose balls, will pass to the star/hot hand, seems like a hard worker willing to put the time in, plus teammates seem to respect him. Is it really just his age? Were he 19 would he be a lottery guy?

boykin_spaniel said:

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I'm not a big NBA watcher. Can someone who is illuminate why Bridges isn't a late round 1 guy in a weak draft? He's 6'7" maybe a wee more, shoots a trey ball around 40%, free throws in 80s, defends well, will grab boards, will dive for loose balls, will pass to the star/hot hand, seems like a hard worker willing to put the time in, plus teammates seem to respect him. Is it really just his age? Were he 19 would he be a lottery guy?

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Age, the inability to turn it on at will, and the fact he was solid not elite. For all his consistency he would also no show offensively when we really really needed him to.

boykin_spaniel said:

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I'm not a big NBA watcher. Can someone who is illuminate why Bridges isn't a late round 1 guy in a weak draft? He's 6'7" maybe a wee more, shoots a trey ball around 40%, free throws in 80s, defends well, will grab boards, will dive for loose balls, will pass to the star/hot hand, seems like a hard worker willing to put the time in, plus teammates seem to respect him. Is it really just his age? Were he 19 would he be a lottery guy?

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Age and perceived lack of upside. For better or worse most teams swing for the fences before taking a boring, safer player like Bridges.

boykin_spaniel said:

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I'm not a big NBA watcher. Can someone who is illuminate why Bridges isn't a late round 1 guy in a weak draft? He's 6'7" maybe a wee more, shoots a trey ball around 40%, free throws in 80s, defends well, will grab boards, will dive for loose balls, will pass to the star/hot hand, seems like a hard worker willing to put the time in, plus teammates seem to respect him. Is it really just his age? Were he 19 would he be a lottery guy?

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Thought Bridges was great especially this past season.

But the pro scout knocks would be something like this. Motor runs extremely low at times. He can be weak with the ball and inconsistent ball handling. Has limited court vision. Can be bullied physically when his intensity is running low. Slight build, not as big a negative currently. Defense is good but didn't show great versatility against skilled guards, was solid v textbook wings. Decent but unspectacular athleticism. Above average to solid at many things, special at nothing. Perceived upside is limited.

And if 19 yrs old, yes would be a no doubt lottery pick. But that changes the entire projection. Just age is not the way they view it. Missi (if 24 yrs old) would probably be off the board. It's a big factor when calculating the upside they want.