The Rodeo Road Trip is upon us and that means some difficult times lie ahead for the San Antonio Spurs. They are reeling after suffering their fourth straight loss on the trip, but are still solidly out of the lottery as of now. That brings us to this week’s prospect watch in LSU big man Nazreon Reid.
The 6-foot-10, 250-pound big man is tough enough and rugged enough to play big in the NBA, but he also has some stretch potential. He’s a guy who can step outside and is comfortable taking and making three-pointers while also taking bigger defenders off the dribble. He’s also put up some great numbers for an LSU team that is taking the SEC by storm.
- 13.9 PPG, 1 BPG, 1 APG, 6.2 RPG
- 49.8 FG%, 36.8 3P%, 74.5 FT%
- 21.8 PER, 109.9 ORtg, 99.9 DRtg
Reid clearly has the body to play in the NBA and guard true centers. He’s garnered a little bit of a comparison to Julius Randle, but he’s a little bigger and slower as well. He’s also a righty, but who gets hung up on details like that? The big man can pound down low and has a basic set of moves he can use in the post to get his buckets. He’s also a good jump shooter when given room so he has a clear future as a potential floor spacer at the 5.
The big man is a good scorer on the move and off the dribble, which is something more people are looking for in their big men. And his free throw shooting will definitely scare people off from “Hack-A-Shaqing” him near the end of games. He’s solid enough with his handle that he could bring the ball up the court if need be. More importantly, he’s a good passer and finds teammates out of the post.
He will have to work on his defense and will have to show he can board the ball better than his current averages might suggest. He is a bit foul prone, does not block shots at a high rate and is a bit slow laterally. However, he is a decent defender and a better athlete than he gets credit for. With a little work most of that can be fixed and greatly improved upon by the time he gets into his first NBA game.
