Deni Avdija

[Doug_Blew]

He kind of just reminds me of a 6’9 Satoransky. I don’t understand how this fits with Wagner, Bryant, Hachimura, and Bertens, but who cares.

The highlights scare you because of Mario Hezonja, but they excite you because of Doncic. We’ll see I guess. I wanted Haliburton, but I can’t argue with the upside of this pick.

Love his effort level, intelligence, and feel for the game. Cant go wrong with that

Tomas Satoransky is exactly who I see as well. I agree as well on fit, particularly with Troy Brown on the roster.

Halliburton and IMO Jalen Smith would have been better selections. Smith in a trade down.

How far did you wan to trade down for Jalen Smith?

[queridiculo]

I think it's comical the amount of excuses that are being made for some of these euro projects when compared to college prospects.

Jalen Smith vs. Avdija, how is this even close?

Avdija is being heralded as potentially being an offensive marvel whose going to make opponents heads spin with his ability to score inside-out whilst having an uncanny ability to setup team mates at the same time.

That's despite being a poor shooter, a below average ball handler and only an ok passer with average athleticism and measurements that aren't exactly confidence inspiring.

How on earth is this kid a better prospect than Nesmith, Haliburton or Vassell?

You're seriously telling me he's got a higher upside than Achiuwa?

I don't get it.

I am not looking forward to the next four years of people talking this kid up like he's ever going to be more than slightly bigger Satoransky.

[nate33]

I already posted this on the draft thread. I just wanted it here so some day in the future I can look up what my initial opinion on this pick was:

On the actual picks, I have no strong reaction. Like most others, I'm a bit nervous about Avdija because he can't shoot (yet), and it's always hard to predict how players will fare in the NBA when most of their highlights were against second-tier competition. But I don't profess to be an expert on him so I'm not going to confidently state it was a bad pick either. All I really know is that he was a consensus top 5 pick that slipped to us at #9. That suggests that it was a good value pick relative to the consensus, whatever that's worth. I preferred Halliburton, but was surprised as everyone else that he fell past Phoenix and San Antonio too. Maybe there was a medical issue?

[dckingsfan]

The ability to shoot will make or break him.

And pretty much everyone seems to think he'll be a good shooter.

Honestly, I would have taken Haliburton and wanted Okongwu, but... I had Avdija going 4th, and there's no doubt in my mind that he's a better prospect than Patrick Williams - who did go 4th. What really sold me on Avdija was hearing him interviewed a few days ago. He is supremely confident in his abilities - there's legitimately no doubt in his mind that he's going to be a great player. And he loves playing defense. Asked what type of players he wants to defend - he said the other team's best player - no matter the position. Some might think he's too similar to Rui - he's not. He was the right pick in that situation. And he'll start at the 3.

So, I watch more European hoops than college hoops (none), so I am at a disadvantage in that I don't seem to be able to rank the European players against the college players very well. So, take the rest of this with a grain of salt. BTW, I absolutely wanted Luka for the Kings and thought he would be terrific.

My questions with Deni was always if he could defend the 3 in the NBA. If he can, he will be fine. If not and he needs to play the 4 then he needs to get bigger, IMO. And if he will develop his shot (I don't think his mechanics are broken, so there is that (maybe hip bend?). But those are two really big questions. And I think he is still a "project", so we won't know about him for a couple of years (yikes).

To that end, I think he will really struggle the first half of the year (like Rui and Brown before him). And given our coach, he won't start at the 3 - he will play Brown type minutes year 1.

As PIF would say, he has his positive attributes. He is a playmaker, he is a good defensive rebounder, he gives effort and he has good BBIQ.

We aren't going to know about this pick (or Brown or Rui) for a bit of time yet. How does that Chinese proverb go? We will see...

[Ruzious]

What do Ball, Patrick Williams, and Okoro have in common with Avdija - they all have yet to prove they can hit NBA 3's. Okoro's the only one I'd bet against in that regard.

[NatP4]

Some of the shooting concerns are a bit overblown. He shot 35% from 3 in the BSL. A 6’9 SATORANSKY would be pretty good. The issue with Satoransky was that we didn’t acquire him until he was 24 years old. Having a player that can play and defend the 1-4 would be a huge asset.

[queridiculo]

What do Ball, Patrick Williams, and Okoro have in common with Avdija - they all have yet to prove they can hit NBA 3's. Okoro's the only one I'd bet against in that regard.

Avdija has quite a bit more to prove if you ask me.

No question about the other prospects athleticism or measurements (Okoro has the same wingspan as Avdija).

Okoro and Williams are also both competent defenders, while Ball is ahead of of Avidja handling the ball, finishing at the basket and passing the ball.

To me Avdija has far more issues to overcome to be a contributor than those other guys.

[Meliorus]

Can anyone tell me why Avdija is even a better prospect than Dario Saric was? He shot 50 40 90 in EuroLeague with a higher scoring output. He was also considered a top prospect at the time and a great passer. Yet even in cases like his, it doesn't translate entirely to the NBA.

His stats are also worse than Hezonja's btw.

[TGW]

A WizD special:

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[DCZards]

I've seen the Sato-Deni comparisons and on a lot of levels they appear solid. But my biggest problem with Sato had more to do with how he played as opposed to what he was capable of doing.

On offense, Sato played timid...almost scared at times. He spent far too much time dribbling from side to side instead of going downhill and attacking the basket.

From the film I've seen on Deni, he appears to be just the opposite. He plays with a very aggressive mindset on offense...attacking the basket and looking for opportunities to score or set up teammates.

Deni already appears to have a very nice handle (and passing skills) for a player his size.

[Meliorus]

Kevin Broom on Avdija:

"That the Wizards "do their homework" on international players doesn’t really mean a lot. That they say picking him was a no-brainer similarly doesn’t mean a lot. They did their homework on Vesely and Sanon. Back when Sheppard was with Denver, they’d done their homework on Tskitishvili. YODA had all three (Vesely and Tskitishvili retroactively) with "don’t draft" grades.

None of this is to say Avdija will fail. He rated as a high pick in this year’s draft — he would have been mid-first in a more normal draft year. Good prospect who I think can become a good player if he works hard, improves his shooting, learns to defend, etc."

[DCZards]

What do Ball, Patrick Williams, and Okoro have in common with Avdija - they all have yet to prove they can hit NBA 3's. Okoro's the only one I'd bet against in that regard.

Avdija has quite a bit more to prove if you ask me.

No question about the other prospects athleticism or measurements (Okoro has the same wingspan as Avdija).

Okoro and Williams are also both competent defenders, while Ball is ahead of of Avidja handling the ball, finishing at the basket and passing the ball.

To me Avdija has far more issues to overcome to be a contributor than those other guys.

All of these players have something to improve. None of them have proved anything at the NBA level. All of them have issues to overcome. Deni is already a better shooter than Okoro and Ball.

Drafting any player comes with risks (unless it's a Lebron). But there's no reason to believe Avdija can't be as good or better as the other players you listed.

Of course, he could also be a bust. Time will tell.

[NatP4]

Can anyone tell me why Avdija is even a better prospect than Dario Saric was? He shot 50 40 90 in EuroLeague with a higher scoring output. He was also considered a top prospect at the time and a great passer. Yet even in cases like his, it doesn't translate entirely to the NBA.

His stats are also worse than Hezonja's btw.

Hypothetically, Saric was a stretch 4 type, not someone that can handle the ball in PNR and make plays for others. Generally speaking, the ability to handle in PNR and be a playmaker and create your own shot, is what separates star players from role players. Mario Hezonja could not shoot or dribble a basketball. He had a terrible me first attitude, did not defend at all.

Again, in the BSL, where Avdija actually played 27+ minutes per game, he shot 52% from the field, and 35% from 3.

[badinage]

But does he have deep hip benddddddddddd??????

[smoothSeph]

I've seen the Sato-Deni comparisons and on a lot of levels they appear solid. But my biggest problem with Sato had more to do with how he played as opposed to what he was capable of doing.

On offense, Sato played timid...almost scared at times. He spent far too much time dribbling from side to side instead of going downhill and attacking the basket.

From the film I've seen on Deni, he appears to be just the opposite. He plays with a very aggressive mindset on offense...attacking the basket and looking for opportunities to score or set up teammates.

Deni already appears to have a very nice handle (and passing skills) for a player his size.

This. A taller, more aggressive Sato translates to a VERY good player. But we will see.

[IsraeliFan]

HI, im a dc fan from Israel.
Deni is an amazing prospect in my opinion.

I wouldn’t judge him by the stats because they say nothing at the moment.
At euroleague level deni almost didnt play. (Maccabi had one of the strongest teams in europe last year and he was too young)

I think if you look at his stats when his a major player you can see he’s great influence on the game.

Check out his stats at european championship 2019 U20, he was the absolute star of that championship and he led the israeli team by himself to win the title for the 2nd time in a row...

Last year on euroleague level he was playing a little, but when he got enough minutes he played amazing for exanple, against Fenerbahçe. (By the way if the season wont be stopped he would improve his stats by alot)

Watch on YouTube

[Ruzious]

What do Ball, Patrick Williams, and Okoro have in common with Avdija - they all have yet to prove they can hit NBA 3's. Okoro's the only one I'd bet against in that regard.

Avdija has quite a bit more to prove if you ask me.

No question about the other prospects athleticism or measurements (Okoro has the same wingspan as Avdija).

Okoro and Williams are also both competent defenders, while Ball is ahead of of Avidja handling the ball, finishing at the basket and passing the ball.

To me Avdija has far more issues to overcome to be a contributor than those other guys.

Okoro has a 6'8 wingspan. Avdija's was last measured 2 years ago at 6'9, so he's probably between 6'10 and 6'11. Ball's a PG, so obviously he'd be ahead in ball-handling. What's the point of making a comp like that - while not mentioning that Ball's so far below on defense? Making 3's is by far the biggest question on Avdija, and there's no reason to believe he can't learn to do it.

[Shoe]

Nothing brings out the kvetches like a Wizards draft pick.

Hayward, Kawhi, Middleton, Clarkson, Brown, Siakam shot sub 29% from three coming out of college. Beal shot 31% from three on 8 per game his first two months this season.

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Look at that finishing at the rim in the half court too so not in transition. Corner 3's at 47%.

[prime1time]

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?s=20

People need to clarify when they say people can't shoot. One player "not shooting" isn't equivalent to everyone elses. There are ranges. His jumper might need some tweaks but let's not act like it would be shocking if he develops into a consistent shooter. IMO this is how you find value in the draft. People who have issues but you believe they are fixable. If the man was a great shooter he wouldn't be there when we drafted.

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?s=20

He's a career 33% 3-point shooter and those numbers have gotten better every year. The 56% from the ft line was on a very small sample size 18 ft's. So when opeople throw around the fact that he's a non-shooter I have to say I'm very confused. Is jump shot perfect? No. But is it a disaster? Definitely no. It's a good value pick IMO.

[NatP4]

The 28% from 3 in the euroleague was literally on 47 total attempts. He played a grand total of 371 minutes.

The 35% from 3 in the BSL was on 136 attempts.