New Orleans Pelicans Draft: The next Brandon Ingram may fall to 2nd round

New Orleans Pelicans NBA Draft: Jaden McDaniels could be the next Brandon Ingram

Jaden McDaniels’ Strengths

Jaden McDaniels is a 6-foot-10 small forward who seems tailor-made for the modern NBA.

He averaged 13 points and 5.8 rebounds as a freshman at Washington and can do several things the Pelicans desperately need.

McDaniels is a gifted shot blocker, who averaged 1.4 a game as a small forward, which are potentially elite numbers for someone at his position.

He has the length to be an effective off-the-ball shot-blocker who could potentially defend three positions in the NBA.

The other thing McDaniels does particularly well is spread the floor. This is a near 7-footer with a nice shooting touch who could open up a lot of space on the offensive end.

He shot 33.9 percent from long-range on 4.1 attempts per game, not elite numbers but very good for someone of his size.

McDaniels should be able to step in and hit the corner 3-pointer right away, similar to someone like Jonathan Isaac from the Orlando Magic.

He’s also been compared to Brandon Ingram of the New Orleans Pelicans, a guy who had to learn to be more of a spot-up shooter as his game evolved. Here he is talking about watching Ingram develop:

McDaniels, like Ingram, is very long and has the ability to get his shot up against just about anyone.

A 6-foot-10 small forward who can shoot and defend? Why isn’t this guy going in the top-five?