Let Me Entertain You; Biggie Could Be a Draymond 2.0 in the NBA

Caleb Swanigan could be the next Draymond Green type player. You are all immediately thinking I am nuts, I might be, but hear me out first.

Many people say Caleb Swanigan is Zach Randolph with a jump shot, eh, he is more athletic too, not really a bull underneath like Randolph, that is why I like my comparison to Draymond Green.

First of all, I know, Draymond was not a 5 star McDonald’s All-American coming out of high school. Draymond was a 3*, undersized post player from Saginaw, Michigan. But, he drew the attention of a plethora of B1G Ten Schools, obviously, Michigan State, others included: IU, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio State, Minnesota, even Kentucky got in on the mix.

We all remember Draymond right? I remember him generally beating us up when he was at Michigan State, he was an impressive college player. B1G Ten POY in 2011-2012, NABC POY in 2011-2012 also. His numbers? 16 PPG, 11 RPG, 4 APG, 38% from three, 47% from inside the arc.

Draymond got there with hard work. Sound familiar? He didn’t ascend to stardom as fast as Biggie has, hell, he barely played his freshman year. He was better his sophomore & junior year (think Biggie freshman year stats). Then he made the jump his last year at Michigan State.

I don’t really want to compare their college stats though, I just wanted to put you in the mindset. Biggie’s numbers this year, blow Draymond out of the water the year he got all those accolades. Biggie is at 19 PPG, 13 RPG, 3 APG, 48% from three, 56% inside the arc. See, not really all that close, but that is given, Biggie was supposed to be great as McDonald’s AA, Draymond was fairly unknown.

The important item here is how I think Biggie could translate into NBA Draymond, which would be amazing. Probably more than what most people expect from Biggie in the NBA.

He is going to be the POY in the B1G, maybe the country and some mock drafts have him mid to late 2nd round, or late 1st round. Biggie has a giant chip on his shoulder, similar to Draymond. To me, Biggie is a lottery pick, end of discussion. People smarter than me don’t agree though. I bet if you went back to the 2012 draft, many people wish they would have taken Draymond in the lottery now too. The Warriors were smart, took him 35th overall, the 2nd round, he has been vital to their success the last few years.

Draymond is 6’7”/6’8” on a really good day, hovering right around 235 pounds. Biggie is at 6’9” 250, but has continued to work on his body & quickness, it shows this year. Scouts biggest knock on Biggie is that he is too slow to be able guard anyone on the perimeter in the NBA, he will fix that, I imagine he will get down to around 235, similar to Draymond.

Remember, Draymond shot 38% from three his last year in college, Biggie is around 50%. Green had to continue to develop that shot in the league, Biggie’s is close to being ready as we speak.

In college, Draymond was sloooowwwww, lumbering guy, do I dare say slower than what Caleb is right now? There is no hiding, Caleb needs to get quicker and that will come as he continues to lose some weight.

All I am saying is this: I am tired of seeing Caleb Swanigan as a early 2nd to late 2nd round draft pick. You look at Biggie, 19 ppg, 13 rpg, those are lottery numbers. But every NBA GM would rather draft a 6’10” 215 pound European that averaged 4 ppg and 4 rpg. It is both baffling and frustrating.

The GM’s that passed on Draymond’s college production are kicking themselves in the butt for taking that no name European over him. These are the same guys that will make the same mistake and draft a European over Biggie, because the NBA drafts on potential.

Screw potential. Draft on production.

Biggie has shown it game in and game out. 24 double doubles. Setting records for rebounds at Purdue, going to be B1G POY, possibly national POY. What else does he need to do? Land on the moon?

Will he be a superstar in the league? Probably not, but can he match what Draymond has done? I really believe that he can. He will continue to work on his body, he will get quicker, stronger, etc. Biggie has answered every challenge life has thrown at him, he will continue to do so.

Draymond has made the transformation into arguably the best stretch 4 in the league. Biggie can be the best stretch 4 in the upcoming draft. You see the words stretch 4 and think I am crazy. He will be able to play under the basket like Draymond does as well, and his rebounding will never falter. He will always be tenacious on the glass.

Biggie can be Draymond or better, we know his work ethic and skill set are there. But will a team that will be a good fit be there to draft him? I dare teams to pass him on to the 2nd round. In 5 years, they will regret it. I guarantee that.