Deni Avdija

[Ruzious]

The Vesely comparisons are lazy.

Yeah, I don’t see much of Jan. But I do see some Mario Hezonja. Which is what I expect Deni to become.

I don't see that even a little bit. There's a difference between being confident and being a cocky a$$hole. Hezonja was an immature unlikable selfish player only interested in scoring coming into the NBA and hasn't developed, while Avdija is a pure team player at both ends of the floor.

[NatP4]

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

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

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.

[Meliorus]

It feels like we're just accumulating players who can do anything but shoot. TBJ, Rui, Deni, 3rd one in a row. Not sure this is what you should be doing in the modern NBA. Vassell to San Antonio and Haliburton will haunt us.

"When you see a college or international player draining 30-foot jump shots in game action, it has more meaning (more likely to translate to the NBA) than watching a guy dribble the ball a lot and drive to the rim against players who are nowhere close to as good at players on the Heat, Celtics, Raptors, etc."

Not to mention a significant drop-off in stats from Israeli to EuroLeague. He's 19, I get it.

[daSwami]

This guy wasn't on my radar, so I just retroactively watched several Youtube scouting videos, so now I'm an expert. Most seem to agree that his shooting mechanics need work (This seems fixable given his age). I like his flashiness, youthful exuberance and that he plays aggressively, although he's apparently he lacks lateral foot speed and is both turnover- and foul-prone. It'll be fun watching him develop into the poor man's Hedo Turkoglu he's destined to become.

[prime1time]

It feels like we're just accumulating players who can do anything but shoot. TBJ, Rui, Deni, 3rd one in a row. Not sure this is what you should be doing in the modern NBA. Vassell to San Antonio and Haliburton will haunt us.

"When you see a college or international player draining 30-foot jump shots in game action, it has more meaning (more likely to translate to the NBA) than watching a guy dribble the ball a lot and drive to the rim against players who are nowhere close to as good at players on the Heat, Celtics, Raptors, etc."

Not to mention a significant drop-off in stats from Israeli to EuroLeague. He's 19, I get it.

Very accurate but there's a reason for that. Go back to Rui's press conference. Sheppard has supreme confidence that our training staff can teach people how to shoot. If he's right. Things will look up.

[Wizardspride]

Read on Twitter

?s=19

[Shoe]

Read on Twitter

?s=19[/quote

Personality is reminiscent of Gortat, who Beal said was his best teammate outside Wall, and not OPJ, who they did not gel with.

If you want to keep up with Wall and Beal being brash is a good way. A fiery temperament and not being afraid to take shots away from them. I think Rui was a little timid on the court which hurt him.

[prime1time]

Watch on YouTube

;t=17s&ab_channel=TheRinger
Good video. This is just the beginning of a much more exhaustive look but let's be clear, he's a project. He has potential but this strikes me as a swing for the fences kind of pick. We'll see what he turns into but he has a lot of work on his hands. It'll be very interesting to see how Advija fits into the rotation from Day 1.

[Ruzious]

And consider what he's accomplished - and he's still 19...

[quoteThe son of basketball player Zufer Avdija, he joined Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2013 and excelled as a youth player. He debuted for their senior team in 2017, at age 16, becoming the youngest in club history. Two years later, he became the youngest player to ever win the Israeli League Most Valuable Player (MVP) award and led his team to the Israeli League championship.

Avdija is also a member of the Israeli senior national team. He has won two gold medals for Israel at the youth level, including at the 2019 FIBA U20 European Championship, where he was named tournament MVP. [/quote]

He's kinda more accomplished than Patrick Williams.

Just saw Schmidtz again call Avdija the best prospect in the draft on ESPN.

[TGW]

For the record, I don’t hate the pick. I imagine that in a strong draft, he goes anywhere from between pick 15 and 20. In a weak draft like this, he probably deserved to be picked here.

Someone said he was a 6’9 version of Satoransky. I wouldn’t be terribly upset if he ended up being that. We sure as hell don’t need anymore players that need touches, and sato, despite his shortcomings, is a good player.

[NatP4]

There really isn’t a single mock draft out there that had Avdija falling to 9. Most had him in the top 5.

[KRS-ONE]

Great pick up, really fills todays NBA need for versatile wing with high IQ and passing.

Worst case scenario is Dario Saric but most likely Hayward/Turkoglu type of player. Really dynamic and great team defender.

People sometimes ignore the fact that training and playing with grown man in Euroleague is not an advantage. His ability to play fast paced basketball will translate really well in the NBA.

In such a weak draft it's a win for DC.

[Ruzious]

Great pick up, really fills todays NBA need for versatile wing with high IQ and passing.

Worst case scenario is Dario Saric but most likely Hayward/Turkoglu type of player. Really dynamic and great team defender.

People sometimes ignore the fact that training and playing with grown man in Euroleague is not an advantage. His ability to play fast paced basketball will translate really well in the NBA.

In such a weak draft it's a win for DC.

And he's already played in high pressure situations and won - winning MVP awards in the process. And still just 19 - will turn 20 in January.

Would I have taken the surer thing - Haliburton? Yeah, but that doesn't preclude appreciating this pick.

[I_Like_Dirt]

The Vesely comparisons are lazy.

Yeah, I don’t see much of Jan. But I do see some Mario Hezonja. Which is what I expect Deni to become.

I don't see that even a little bit. There's a difference between being confident and being a cocky a$$hole. Hezonja was an immature unlikable selfish player only interested in scoring coming into the NBA and hasn't developed, while Avdija is a pure team player at both ends of the floor.

Yeah, Hezonja's problem wasn't talent or athleticism; it was entirely between the ears. Time will tell with DA but I'm not convinced he has the same problems at all.

Sent from my SM-G970W using RealGM mobile app

[Meliorus]

And consider what he's accomplished - and he's still 19...

[quoteThe son of basketball player Zufer Avdija, he joined Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2013 and excelled as a youth player. He debuted for their senior team in 2017, at age 16, becoming the youngest in club history. Two years later, he became the youngest player to ever win the Israeli League Most Valuable Player (MVP) award and led his team to the Israeli League championship.

Avdija is also a member of the Israeli senior national team. He has won two gold medals for Israel at the youth level, including at the 2019 FIBA U20 European Championship, where he was named tournament MVP.

He's kinda more accomplished than Patrick Williams.

Just saw Schmidtz again call Avdija the best prospect in the draft on ESPN.

Schmidtz had Bamba in his tier 1 of draft prospects 2 years ago. In 2017, he said "Fultz is a franchise lead guard, future All-Star, and a player any organization can build around" and had him number 1. He had Mitchell 7th under 6 guards who were all busts (aside from Fox). He loved Mudiay over Russell,

Read on Twitter

?s=20.

Schmidtz has always loved too many prospects and had difficulty calling any busts. Most of these ESPN analysts just love everybody, there is no nuance on deciding why one guy is bad and one guy is good. So I don't think Schmidtz opinion is worth much. These guys are even more biased in the wrong direction by visiting Europe and watching in person and falling in love.

So if you ever watched Saric or Dragon Bender or Hezonja (this was the toughest one to call at the time) on draft night and thought, that guy's definitely a bust, chances are the guys at ESPN loved and adored him.

[oldshoolballer]

From what I've seen of him he looks a little like Dario Saric with better playmaking ability. Hope the kid works out.

[Ruzious]

And consider what he's accomplished - and he's still 19...

[quoteThe son of basketball player Zufer Avdija, he joined Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2013 and excelled as a youth player. He debuted for their senior team in 2017, at age 16, becoming the youngest in club history. Two years later, he became the youngest player to ever win the Israeli League Most Valuable Player (MVP) award and led his team to the Israeli League championship.

Avdija is also a member of the Israeli senior national team. He has won two gold medals for Israel at the youth level, including at the 2019 FIBA U20 European Championship, where he was named tournament MVP.

He's kinda more accomplished than Patrick Williams.

Just saw Schmidtz again call Avdija the best prospect in the draft on ESPN.

Schmidtz had Bamba in his tier 1 of draft prospects 2 years ago. In 2017, he said "Fultz is a franchise lead guard, future All-Star, and a player any organization can build around" and had him number 1. He had Mitchell 7th under 6 guards who were all busts (aside from Fox). He loved Mudiay over Russell,

Read on Twitter

?s=20.

Schmidtz has always loved too many prospects and had difficulty calling any busts. Most of these ESPN analysts just love everybody, there is no nuance on deciding why one guy is bad and one guy is good. So I don't think Schmidtz opinion is worth much. These guys are even more biased in the wrong direction by visiting Europe and watching in person and falling in love.

So if you ever watched Saric or Dragon Bender or Hezonja (this was the toughest one to call at the time) on draft night and thought, that guy's definitely a bust, chances are the guys at ESPN loved and adored him.

Every analyst and GM whiffs badly on some players - unless they just assume everyone stinks.

[closg00]

Would have loved Haliburton with the pick. When was the last time we had a rock-solid combo guard off the bench? Antonio Daniels? Deni just seems redundant with another no-defense forward in Rui.

I hope I eat my words. We’ll see.

He looks worse than Rui to me.

This guy looks like he’s playing in slow motion. He looks slow and weak. Overhyped and overrated.

He’s a good passer. What Dat said about shooting is true. He looks like a pure shooter but will he convert in the NBA?

I doubt it.

CCJ - What are you thoughts on Troy Weaver's work so-far as GM @ DET? I know you wanted him as an Ernie replacement

[Ruzious]

Would have loved Haliburton with the pick. When was the last time we had a rock-solid combo guard off the bench? Antonio Daniels? Deni just seems redundant with another no-defense forward in Rui.

I hope I eat my words. We’ll see.

He looks worse than Rui to me.

This guy looks like he’s playing in slow motion. He looks slow and weak. Overhyped and overrated.

He’s a good passer. What Dat said about shooting is true. He looks like a pure shooter but will he convert in the NBA?

I doubt it.

CCJ - What are you thoughts on Troy Weaver's work so-far as GM @ DET? I know you wanted him as an Ernie replacement

I'm no CCJ, but Weaver sure put his stamp on the team. he got criticized for the Hayes pick, but I liked it. Thought 16 was too high for Stewart, but he's the definition of a solid big. SBey at 19 was a great pick, but he gave up Kennard to do it. Probably Kennard wanted out, and maybe Weaver wanted him out for his lack of defense. What do all of his picks have in common? They're physically tough. Overall, I'd give him a B, maybe B+.