Markel Brown isn’t lacking in confidence.
After the Nets swung one of three draft night trades to take Brown with the 44th pick in the NBA Draft on Thursday night, the combo guard from Oklahoma State compared himself to another athletic guard playing basketball in that state today.
“I feel like going to the next level, I can transition into a player like Russell Westbrook, someone that can be explosive and get to the rim,” Brown said on a conference call Friday afternoon. “It’s going to be a huge factor for me, playing above the rim at 6-foot-3.”
While Brown comparing himself to Westbrook — the fourth overall pick by the Thunder in 2008 and one of the league’s best players — may be a bit excessive, there’s no question by adding him the Nets were trying to get younger and more athletic in the backcourt. Brown tested well at the combine, including tying for the top mark with a 43.5-inch vertical leap.
That athleticism, combined with a wingspan measured at nearly 6-foot-9, should allow Brown to defend either guard position, something he thinks can play to his advantage.
“I do think I play bigger than my size,” he said. “I’m [more] athletic than other guys, and I also have a 6-foot-9 wingspan. Being at the shooting guard position at Oklahoma State, I had to guard bigger guys, and I think I did a pretty good job of that.
“Going into next year, the next level with Brooklyn, I think I’m going to play more of a combo guard. I see myself ending up like a Westbrook-type of player.”
Brown was one of three second round picks the Nets picked up in the draft, along with San Diego State guard Xavier Thames and Baylor forward Cory Jefferson, though there’s a good chance only Brown will be on the team’s roster next season. But he also shared his moment being drafted Thursday night with his friend and college teammate Marcus Smart, who went sixth overall to the Celtics — meaning the two former teammates could go up against one another four times a year.
“It’s going to be competitive,” Brown said. “Me and Marcus, we compete all the time in practice. It’s going to be fun. Some games I’m looking forward to be playing him without the same jersey on. It’s just something that me and him always lived for and worked so hard for, and now we get an opportunity to play against each other at the highest level.”
While Brown said he hasn’t gotten a chance to work out with Westbrook, he said he has had a couple of opportunities to meet the Oklahoma City star, and has picked up some valuable advice.
“I’ve never worked out with him, but I’ve had the opportunity to meet him a couple times, and he’s a real good guy,” Brown said. “[He’s] someone who gave me a lot of advice, someone who pretty much had the same role as me in college. He played with Darren Collison and Kevin Love and didn’t stand out as much as those guys, but someone who transitioned in the NBA and became a superstar.”