Brisbane Bullets sign Taylor Braun on advice from Aussie NBA star Joe Ingles
When Brisbane coach Andrej Lemanis asked Utah Jazz star Joe Ingles to describe Taylor Braun, Ingles replied: “He basically plays like me.”
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Inside information from Utah Jazz and Australian Boomers swingman Joe Ingles proved enough for the Brisbane Bullets to lock down exciting small forward Taylor Braun for the 2019-20 NBL season.
The 204cm Braun trained alongside Ingles during Utah’s NBA pre-season and made his name with NBA fans with a breakout 2017-18 for Jazz feeder team Salt Lake City Stars.
Bullets head coach Andrej Lemanis said Braun had been on Brisbane’s radar for more than two years and came highly recommended by Ingles.
When Lemanis asked Ingles to compare Braun’s style of play to others, his answer was simple – “He basically plays like me”.
“Joe recommended Taylor straight away, he thought the way he played would be a perfect fit for the NBL and our system,” Lemanis said.
“Taylor has a very broad skill set, he is a high level defender and rebounder, can score in a variety of ways and has had a high number of assists everywhere he has played – he is the type of player that makes everyone better around him.”
Braun played college basketball at North Dakota State in NCAA Division 1 and has high level European experience in Germany, Italy and Israel, in addition to his G-League stint with Salt Lake City.
Lemanis is confident the 27-year-old can be a key player in Brisbane’s bid to improve on their 2018-19 semi-final finish.
“We researched Taylor more through a number of sources in both the NBA and Europe, and their feedback was very consistent,” Lemanis said.
“They all described him as a high IQ player with a lot of different ways to impact a game, a guy that helps his teams win.
“Just as importantly they all described Taylor as a great teammate and character fit off the court.”
With the addition of Braun, the Bullets have two remaining roster spots to fill for next season, a starting power forward and a back up guard/wing.
The club’s recruitment process continues at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in July.
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