Every NBA team is looking for shooters. To succeed in the modern game, a fast-paced track meet that continues to deemphasize the mid-range areas of the floor, you need two things: players who can score at the cup, whether in the post or on drives, and players who can knock down open jumpers.
Once their roster got decimated by injuries, the Charlotte Hornets had neither. LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller were the engines for Charles Lee’s perimeter-oriented attack, and after his two stars were sidelined, Lee was grasping at straws when attempting to put together a functional NBA offense.
Armed with a trio of picks in this month’s 2025 NBA Draft, Lee and Jeff Peterson have the opportunity to fill some of the holes on their roster. If they’re looking for shooting talent specifically, their eyes should be in Lexington, Kentucky.
Brea is a 6’5″ marksman who boasts one of the cleanest shooting profiles in this year’s class. According to J. Kyle Mann at the Ringer, ‘Brea shot over 44 percent in handoffs, over 46 percent coming off screens, and an incredible 42.4 percent off the dribble.’
When watching his games at the University of Kentucky, those numbers don’t feel far-fetched at all. Brea’s ability to square up his feet and shoulders toward the rim is akin to a super power. He is a knock-down shooter from all areas of the floor that hit a ludicrous 43.5% of his 214 attempts three-point attempts at Kentucky, which pales in comparison to the laughable 49.8% he hit as a junior at Dayton.
His jumper is so pure that defenders must honor his stroke from anywhere in the half court, so Brea has developed a nice ‘pump fake, release dribble, shoot’ combination that gives him a counter on hard closeouts.
The worry with Brea is…everything else. The famous moniker ‘jack of all trades, master of none,’ doesn’t apply to Brea. He is more of a ‘jack of no trades, master of one.’ His statistical profile is worrying.
The 22-year-old wing prospect doesn’t impact the game defensively (his 1.3% block rate and 0.9% steal rate are concerning), he isn’t a high-level passer (8.0 assist rate), he doesn’t rebound the ball particularly well, and he doesn’t get to the rim (he attempted 15 shots at the rim over the course of his senior year). Combine those deficiencies with his negative wingspan and it’s difficult to project Brea becoming an impactful basketball player outside of knock down open shots.
However, the shooting is so good that he’s worth gambling on as a second round draft prospect.
Brea’s profile isn’t one that jibes with the type of players Lee and Peterson have acquired in their term with the Hornets. However, the team needs shooters, and if they use the number four overall pick on VJ Edgecombe (as expected by many), they can supplement VJ’s defensive impact with a flame throwing jump shooter with a later selection in Brea.
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