Potential Phoenix Suns backup center in the making: Bruno Fernando

The Phoenix Suns might be in need of a backup center, and should they trade back in the draft, Bruno Fernando could b a perfect target.

The sophomore center from Maryland has a body built for not just the NBA but the modern NBA, the perfect young asset for the Phoenix Suns to back up Deandre Ayton.

Standing at 6’10 with a 7’3 wingspan, Bruno has the length which when combined with his muscular frame at 237 sets him up nicely to battle with bigs in the league.

To understand Bruno’s draft stock and where he will fit in the league with this body, we need to see what his stats can tell us about his game.

Before diving in deep, I want to note the level of improvement Bruno displayed from his freshman to sophomore year. He improved his per 40-minute numbers in a couple of categories including rebounds (from 11.7 to 14.2) and assists (1.3 to 2.7).

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A third solid area of improvement was his shooting inside the arc which increased from 58% to 62%.

Bruno’s biggest strength is his interior finishing abilities. He displayed this ability with both hands in the paint and had solid footwork to work angles and find space to get a good shot off. We see this mainly come through as he posted a TS% of 65.3% which was 28th best in the nation and as previously mentioned he made 62% of his 2-point field goals which was right around 100th best in the nation (which is good once you realize how many players there are in college bball).

Additionally, he was also relatively adept at drawing fouls, (4.8 fouls per 40) good for an FT rate of 50.9% (meaning he took just over half as many FTs as FGs).

Bruno’s two other main strengths that we can see through his advanced numbers are rim protection and rebounding.

These are two key areas that modern big men need to be able to do well in the league. Bruno posted a 7.0 block percentage and his length and quickness make it seem like he will be able to translate this ability to the NBA.

When it came to rebounding, Bruno was also incredibly accomplished there as well. He grabbed 12% of available offensive boards and 27.4% of available defensive boards (24th in the country!)

Bruno has a clear base of the key skills to be a modern big.

However, Bruno’s weaknesses have also been clear throughout his time at Maryland and some of that is as obvious as day.

Mainly, Bruno lacks some fundamentals, setting moving screens often, can be easily bothered by pressure, and he tends to bring the ball down after an offensive rebound before going back up for dunks – allowing the defenders to apply more pressure on his put back shot attempts (think Mr. Fundamental Tim Duncan who rarely ever brought an offensive rebound down below his shoulders for that very reason).

All of these things lead to a high turnover rate of 23.6% which means that on almost a fourth of his possessions he turned the all over.

Bruno will absolutely need to clean these fundamental areas up in order to stay on the floor consistently in the NBA.

Lastly, Bruno also occasionally seems unaware on defense, falling being out of position, especially in PnR and in help defense positions.

Being out of position cost him often as he commits 3.6 fouls per 40 minutes.

That number isn’t bad, but it is worth noting because of the cause, and the fact that if he is consistently out of position in the NBA, he will not be able to stay on the floor as is opponents will be exploited with worse consequences.

Overall Bruno Fernando has the body, athleticism, and natural ability to fit perfectly in today’s NBA and grow to be a rim running center how can handle himself defensively, the perfect compliment to Deandre Ayton. However, his ceiling and staying power in the league will be determined by his ability to clean up his fundamentals and hone his game.