We’re just over a week removed from the Vegas Pro League. The Sacramento Kings won the Vegas Pro League championship and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors; undefeated for the past two summers prior to the match.
One player has stood out at guard, and his name is Rodrique Beaubois. Roddy was a #25 pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder back in 2009. He was then traded to the Dallas Mavericks. At Dallas, he made quite an impression during his rookie year. According to DraftExpress he’s listed at 6’1″ (w/o shoes). He averaged 7.1 points per game in just 12.5 minutes of play. He started 16 games for the Mavericks, with shooting percentages of 51.8% from the field, 40.9% behind the arc, and 58.2% within two-point range. His quickness, speed, ball-handling, and shooting accuracy was not expected, so he caught defenders off-guard and scored at will.
He had a 40-point game his rookie year against the Golden State Warriors.
During the Vegas Pro League, he showed similar skills. He showed quickness off-the-dribble, a pull-up shot that looked consistent, with extended minutes, and a scoring mind-set at a high rate. Against the New Orleans Pelicans Summer Pro League team, he scored 11 points on just 4 of 6 shooting from the field, 3 of 4 behind the arc, in just under 15 minutes. While his overall statistics don’t look great over the course of the Summer Pro League, his minutes and shots were not consistent as well.
Some may think of him as a Von Wafer-type, without the attitude.
If that’s the case, so be it. Beaubois has a scoring knack with natural athletic abilities that allow him to get to the rim with relative ease. Where Jordan Clarkson needs to use advanced ball-handling skills to get by his defender, Beaubois uses a great first step, acceleration to the hoop, and a near 6’10” wingspan to finish with a soft shot. He is a straight-line driver, but very difficult to contain in transition situations and isolation situations.
Defense is an issue. Despite having great physical tools, he doesn’t show the best effort or fundamentals with defensive angles. He’s light, and likely to get screened out easily. What he can do defensively, is recover along the perimeter for shots and force turnovers. It’ll take some learning and effort on his part, but it would go a long way for him.
Overall, Beaubois is a scoring guard with NBA-level talent. His developmental curve and health issues have held him back. He hasn’t played more than 56 games, which occured during his rookie year. His shooting percentages across the board have dropped dramatically. In some cases, they dropped 10% in field goal percentage and 10% with 3-point shooting.
Beaubois is a situational player. When a team is getting blown out and needs a different look, Beaubois can come in with his high scoring rate and change the momentum drastically. He’s worth a look at Laker training camp, but he needs to show consistent effort game-to-game if he wants to make a squad.