#24 - MarJon Beauchamp - NEW POLL ADDED 12/4/23

[ReasonablySober]

Discuss.

[Matches Malone]

I'm down.

[buckboy]

Woof

Edit:

Holy **** I love this kid.

[Badgerlander]

Huh

[machu46]

LFG! First time since Giannis we got my guy!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mediocrityrules]

Who?

[WRau1]

His name is fun to say, at least.

[Badgerlander]

Did we trade him yet

[ReasonablySober]

STRENGTHS
One of the great stories in this draft class. Following the end of his high school career in 2020, chose to train for the NBA at Chameleon BX, a training facility in San Francisco. Right as he started to train, the pandemic kicked into full gear, and he had nowhere to play. He headed back to Washington and played at Yakima Valley Community College and debated stopping with basketball at one point. However, he was superb there and got noticed by Rod Strickland with the G League Ignite. Signed with the Ignite and exceeded expectations, playing a tough-nosed brand of basketball that resulted in everyone raving about his work ethic and professionalism.

Great frame for an NBA wing. At 6-foot-6, he pairs that with a 7-foot wingspan, broad shoulders and a strong lower half. He doesn’t get bullied or knocked around. Uses that frame in multiple functional ways. Plays with a terrific motor. The trajectory is key here. As opposed to becoming more of a shot creator, Beauchamp has taken those two best attributes — his frame and motor — and turned into more of a garbage man willing to get into the tough areas of the court. He rebounds well for a wing and isn’t afraid to get physical if he must. On top of that, he generally knows his limitations and doesn’t try to play outside of them.

It helps, in terms of motor and frame, that he is a legitimate NBA athlete, likely an above-average one in the early stages of
his career. It’s no surprise that, offensively, he’s best as a finisher. He’s a big-time leaper off two feet but can go up off one foot in transition and throw one down easily if he must. Bursts through contact to finish. Not only someone who absorbs contact, but often he’s the one who initiates it. Always a threat coming from the weak side for a putback dunk if you don’t put a body on him on the offensive glass. He’s also pretty sharp on cuts to the rim. If for some reason you close out on him hard, he can straight-line drive to the basket. Per Synergy, Beauchamp made 65.3 percent of his shots in the half court as a finisher this past season, a number that placed him within the top-10 non-bigs in the G League. He’s a terrific finisher. In transition is where Beauchamp excels best on offense right now. He’s fast in a straight line and almost always is one of the first guys out on the break. Beauchamp, per Synergy, scored about 30 percent of his points this past season out on the break, with all but one of those shots coming at the rim.

In total, where Beauchamp is best overall on the court right now is as a defender. He truly takes pride in not letting his man get a clean look. He does an awesome job of using his chest to get into opposing offensive players, walling up and absorbing contact to where even bigger wings can’t plow through him. More physical at the point of attack than quick. Could have some small issues against quicker guards, but he is switchable and will be able to handle twos through fours. Does a good job of sliding backward to cut off angles. Additionally, does an awesome job of contesting shots because of his length. Smart, balanced defender.

Does a great job on closeouts, staying on balance and allowing his length to be able to contest. Pretty tough to drive him because of that balance. It allows him to drop his hips and slide to cut off the attack angle for players trying to pump fake then go. Has some moments where he might dig from the same side when he shouldn’t off a shooter or on the back side where he gets
caught at a standstill. But the ability to close out on shooters well and generally rotate within a team construct supersedes these questions given how young he is. He’s not a special, future All-Defense guy in my view, but I think he’ll be effective early as a defender in the NBA.

WEAKNESSES
Scoring and floor spacing is the swing skill, and it’s a significant concern. Given the role, Beauchamp must be capable of hitting a jumper to space the floor. The problem? His catch-and-shoot jumper is rough right now. Very loud mechanics. There is a lot going on there, and it seems like he knows there is a lot going on and tries to rush it to get it off. Large ball dip and very herky- jerky with a bit of a second motion at the top. Shot prep is often different from one shot to the next. Sometimes it’s off the hop; other times it’s off a one-two without any rhyme or reason. Very inconsistent arc on the shot. Sometimes it’s too flat; other times, he’s trying to get too much air under it.

His misses are totally inconsistent, and he can’t make them off any movement. It looks like it isn’t natural for him. Made 27 percent from 3 in the G League and took under three per game despite playing over 34 minutes per night. Has some upside as a pull-up shooter. Somewhat comfortable hitting a one-dribble pull-up 3 in transition or attacking a closeout from the midrange. Mechanics look cleaner off the pull-up in terms of rhythm, which could give some hope for trainers as they work with fixing the jumper off the catch. Having said that, a big part of his relatively better success here was the way teams played him. He was a guy the scouting report said to go under every single time down the court, which meant he walked into some easy pull-ups. But I’m skeptical of Beauchamp becoming reliable as a shooter.

Needs to improve as a ballhandler in terms of tightness. Very loose handle that tends to get away from his body a bit too often. Has some interesting flashes on tape where he’s clearly thinking through what’s going on and makes a fluid move off the bounce. Showcases an interesting, creative mindset at times that could give some upside as a quick-decision driver with counters. Plays at his own pace using hesitation moves. Loves the righty hesi move if he’s in semi-transition, much prefers attacking closeouts going to his left. But despite that mindset, I don’t see much upside as a shot creator because his control over the ball is not great. Gets ripped regularly.

In general, I have some feel for the game concerns. He’s a poor passer across all phases at this stage. Doesn’t make good reads off a live dribble, and often throws some wild ones when he gets in trouble. Stares down his reads out of set plays and throws some wild turnovers for such a minimal half-court offensive role. Doesn’t seem to react to what’s happening out there if the defender takes away the first read. Much like with the shooting, he doesn’t seem to be a natural here that processes the game exceedingly well. Can Beauchamp get by merely by playing with high effort at the highest level? How much room for improvement is there here, given that he’s a bit older in terms of age, but relatively younger in terms of high-level basketball experience because of his circuitous path?

SUMMARY
I want to love Beauchamp as a prospect because I love his story, and I love how hard he has worked to manufacture himself into being a genuine draft prospect. So many prospects would have been utterly waylaid by how messy his pathway to this point was. But instead, he put his head down and did the work. On top of that, the work he did was intelligent. He has built a game that makes sense for playing a role in the NBA. Whereas many players focus on getting as good with the ball as they can, Beauchamp worked on off-ball skills like his defense and motor, which is what teams want. That bodes well for him reaching whatever his ceiling can be. But if he can’t shoot because his touch isn’t great, and his feel for the game offensively isn’t particularly natural,
I have some questions on what that ceiling ends up being. The fact that he’s versatile on defense in a league begging for guys like him is a huge plus. Where you fall on him comes down to if you believe in him becoming an average shooter. I’m a bit more skeptical, which is why I have him a bit lower on my personal board than where consensus seems to be. But if you buy into his work ethic, I get having him as a top-25 prospect.

[Jez2983]

I know nothing about him, but I read that he needs to learn to handle physical contact better. You've come to the right place, mate.

[Dick Tate]

Was hoping for EJ

[LuessiT]

Like the pick a lot.

[CharityStripe34]

In the videos I've seen he will look good potentially playing next to the Bog Three.

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[Mags FTW]

Crying like...Rashan Gary

[JayMKE]

Would have rather had Kessler, Beauchamp is a guy I guess. Hope he’s practicing his 3s. Not seeing much upside.

[tydett]

Bucks still seeking that PJ replacement. Shoulda just kept him.

[fansinceforever]

Well someone's who's weaknesses are scoring and floor spacing and also isn't a center isnt exactly what I wanted but maybe he can play.

[TroyD92]

I know absolutely nothing about him, but he's going to be good!

[drew881]

Ready to buy some Yakima Community College merch

[brettski]

STRENGTHS
One of the great stories in this draft class. Following the end of his high school career in 2020, chose to train for the NBA at Chameleon BX, a training facility in San Francisco. Right as he started to train, the pandemic kicked into full gear, and he had nowhere to play. He headed back to Washington and played at Yakima Valley Community College and debated stopping with basketball at one point. However, he was superb there and got noticed by Rod Strickland with the G League Ignite. Signed with the Ignite and exceeded expectations, playing a tough-nosed brand of basketball that resulted in everyone raving about his work ethic and professionalism.

Great frame for an NBA wing. At 6-foot-6, he pairs that with a 7-foot wingspan, broad shoulders and a strong lower half. He doesn’t get bullied or knocked around. Uses that frame in multiple functional ways. Plays with a terrific motor. The trajectory is key here. As opposed to becoming more of a shot creator, Beauchamp has taken those two best attributes — his frame and motor — and turned into more of a garbage man willing to get into the tough areas of the court. He rebounds well for a wing and isn’t afraid to get physical if he must. On top of that, he generally knows his limitations and doesn’t try to play outside of them.

It helps, in terms of motor and frame, that he is a legitimate NBA athlete, likely an above-average one in the early stages of
his career. It’s no surprise that, offensively, he’s best as a finisher. He’s a big-time leaper off two feet but can go up off one foot in transition and throw one down easily if he must. Bursts through contact to finish. Not only someone who absorbs contact, but often he’s the one who initiates it. Always a threat coming from the weak side for a putback dunk if you don’t put a body on him on the offensive glass. He’s also pretty sharp on cuts to the rim. If for some reason you close out on him hard, he can straight-line drive to the basket. Per Synergy, Beauchamp made 65.3 percent of his shots in the half court as a finisher this past season, a number that placed him within the top-10 non-bigs in the G League. He’s a terrific finisher. In transition is where Beauchamp excels best on offense right now. He’s fast in a straight line and almost always is one of the first guys out on the break. Beauchamp, per Synergy, scored about 30 percent of his points this past season out on the break, with all but one of those shots coming at the rim.

In total, where Beauchamp is best overall on the court right now is as a defender. He truly takes pride in not letting his man get a clean look. He does an awesome job of using his chest to get into opposing offensive players, walling up and absorbing contact to where even bigger wings can’t plow through him. More physical at the point of attack than quick. Could have some small issues against quicker guards, but he is switchable and will be able to handle twos through fours. Does a good job of sliding backward to cut off angles. Additionally, does an awesome job of contesting shots because of his length. Smart, balanced defender.

Does a great job on closeouts, staying on balance and allowing his length to be able to contest. Pretty tough to drive him because of that balance. It allows him to drop his hips and slide to cut off the attack angle for players trying to pump fake then go. Has some moments where he might dig from the same side when he shouldn’t off a shooter or on the back side where he gets
caught at a standstill. But the ability to close out on shooters well and generally rotate within a team construct supersedes these questions given how young he is. He’s not a special, future All-Defense guy in my view, but I think he’ll be effective early as a defender in the NBA.

WEAKNESSES
Scoring and floor spacing is the swing skill, and it’s a significant concern. Given the role, Beauchamp must be capable of hitting a jumper to space the floor. The problem? His catch-and-shoot jumper is rough right now. Very loud mechanics. There is a lot going on there, and it seems like he knows there is a lot going on and tries to rush it to get it off. Large ball dip and very herky- jerky with a bit of a second motion at the top. Shot prep is often different from one shot to the next. Sometimes it’s off the hop; other times it’s off a one-two without any rhyme or reason. Very inconsistent arc on the shot. Sometimes it’s too flat; other times, he’s trying to get too much air under it.

His misses are totally inconsistent, and he can’t make them off any movement. It looks like it isn’t natural for him. Made 27 percent from 3 in the G League and took under three per game despite playing over 34 minutes per night. Has some upside as a pull-up shooter. Somewhat comfortable hitting a one-dribble pull-up 3 in transition or attacking a closeout from the midrange. Mechanics look cleaner off the pull-up in terms of rhythm, which could give some hope for trainers as they work with fixing the jumper off the catch. Having said that, a big part of his relatively better success here was the way teams played him. He was a guy the scouting report said to go under every single time down the court, which meant he walked into some easy pull-ups. But I’m skeptical of Beauchamp becoming reliable as a shooter.

Needs to improve as a ballhandler in terms of tightness. Very loose handle that tends to get away from his body a bit too often. Has some interesting flashes on tape where he’s clearly thinking through what’s going on and makes a fluid move off the bounce. Showcases an interesting, creative mindset at times that could give some upside as a quick-decision driver with counters. Plays at his own pace using hesitation moves. Loves the righty hesi move if he’s in semi-transition, much prefers attacking closeouts going to his left. But despite that mindset, I don’t see much upside as a shot creator because his control over the ball is not great. Gets ripped regularly.

In general, I have some feel for the game concerns. He’s a poor passer across all phases at this stage. Doesn’t make good reads off a live dribble, and often throws some wild ones when he gets in trouble. Stares down his reads out of set plays and throws some wild turnovers for such a minimal half-court offensive role. Doesn’t seem to react to what’s happening out there if the defender takes away the first read. Much like with the shooting, he doesn’t seem to be a natural here that processes the game exceedingly well. Can Beauchamp get by merely by playing with high effort at the highest level? How much room for improvement is there here, given that he’s a bit older in terms of age, but relatively younger in terms of high-level basketball experience because of his circuitous path?

SUMMARY
I want to love Beauchamp as a prospect because I love his story, and I love how hard he has worked to manufacture himself into being a genuine draft prospect. So many prospects would have been utterly waylaid by how messy his pathway to this point was. But instead, he put his head down and did the work. On top of that, the work he did was intelligent. He has built a game that makes sense for playing a role in the NBA. Whereas many players focus on getting as good with the ball as they can, Beauchamp worked on off-ball skills like his defense and motor, which is what teams want. That bodes well for him reaching whatever his ceiling can be. But if he can’t shoot because his touch isn’t great, and his feel for the game offensively isn’t particularly natural,
I have some questions on what that ceiling ends up being. The fact that he’s versatile on defense in a league begging for guys like him is a huge plus. Where you fall on him comes down to if you believe in him becoming an average shooter. I’m a bit more skeptical, which is why I have him a bit lower on my personal board than where consensus seems to be. But if you buy into his work ethic, I get having him as a top-25 prospect.

So is this the bad news you had for us?