Purdue Basketball Beat #48: Biggie Swanigan's NBA Profile
My mans.
Biggie Swanigan weighed over 360lbs six years ago. In 2017, he was a consensus All American, a National Player of the Year finalist, and led our Purdue Boilermakers to the Sweet Sixteen.
Style of play remains a concern, especially when Biggie's best NBA fit was alongside great wing defenders who can easily switch or shade over. Portland doesn't have that, though Nurkic was pretty solid down the stretch.
Portland also traded up to draft Gonzaga PF Zach Collins at #10, so overall this is kind of a puzzling draft choice. When writing the above blurb, I kept thinking about innovative HC Terry Stotts using Biggie in smallball center lineups, so we might see how all of those ill-fitting Draymond Green comparisons work out. (Spoiler: they're lazy.)
But, in terms of personality, he'll fit right in with Stotts and Dame Lillard. They're always a fun team to watch, and now Portland has a few more fans from central Indiana.
Here are some fun Twitter reactions for our beautiful Biggie: