Deni Avdija Full "UNGUARDABLE" 2019/20 Highlights ● The Next STAR!

[Draft2020]

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Hey Everyone, I'm a NBA fan from Europe and i want you to know about Deni Avdija - Top 3 Projected Pick In The 2020 NBA.
*i'm also new here (:

so in my opinion Deni NO DOUBT(!!) has a great potential to be an NBA star, he had a wonderful season and don't forget that like Luka he played until now in the Euroleague and not in college.

He has everything that good young prospect needs to have, he is very athletic and runs the floor like crazy. He is also a great floor manager and his passes are amazing. Believe me as someone that watched every game of him, he is the next thing.

I made a video of his best plays from the Euroleague (thes second best league in the world), so you can impressed, enjoy from it (:

By the way, Deni played in Maccabi with a lot of former NBA players like Amare Stoudemire, Omri Casspi, Quincy Acy, Tarik Black, Tyler Dorsey and Nate Wolters.

If you can help me and to share the video with other fans i will appracite it very much guys, thanks.
If you have any questions you can ask everything!

[Jamaaliver]

Hey Everyone, I'm a NBA fan from Europe and i want you to know about Deni Avdija - Top 3 Projected Pick In The 2020 NBA.

*i'm also new here (:

so in my opinion Deni NO DOUBT(!!) has a great potential to be an NBA star, he had a wonderful season and don't forget that like Luka he played until now in the Euroleague and not in college.

If you have any questions you can ask everything!

Thanks for the input. He's definitely a guy who is on our radar moving forward. I can't wait to see more of him in the pre-draft process.

And, also...WELCOME!!!

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[Jamaaliver]

Sounds like Deni has moved up the draft boards for multiple teams.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are interested in Deni Avdija heading into the 2020 NBA Draft, according to Chris Fedor of cleveland.com

Fedor adds that the Cavs had done "extensive work" in scouting Avdija, who currently plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Koby Altman, assistant GM Mike Gansey, and director of scouting Brandon Weems have each made overseas trips to watch Avdija in person.

RealGM Wiretap

[atlantabbq99]

Deni looks like Luka without the step back three.

Like Luka, Deni has SF size but has above average PG skills, he is not athletic but crafty. I haven't seen any step back three from Deni, but his overall shooting mechanic looks good. I only saw 2 games of Deni and he looked good in both, I don't know his averages and overall rep but based on the games and highlights I saw, I wouldn't be surprised if he is mentioned as a possible top two pick.

[Lockdown504090]

I've watched a handful of games because im bored.. he looks like Hedo turk, like when hedo was good.he plays almost 1:1 like him

[atlantabbq99]

I've watched a handful of games because im bored.. he looks like Hedo turk, like when hedo was good.he plays almost 1:1 like him

I forgot that Hedo played PG for the Magic. Hedo's peak was 19ppg, 5 assist, 6 rebounds, and 40% from three.

[jayu70]

I've watched a handful of games because im bored.. he looks like Hedo turk, like when hedo was good.he plays almost 1:1 like him

That's an interesting comparison.

[Jamaaliver]

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[Bob8]

Avdija is next mistake by NBA teams, just because they don’t understand basketball in Europe. Israeli league is trash. You should watch Avdija only in Euroleague and he was very underwhelming there. He had fantastic opportunity, because of many injuries Maccabi had, but was unable to deliver. To believe that he can play in Nba is just laughable. He might sit in the bench in few years time. He’s far worse prospect than Saric. Hezonja looks the best comparison, but he was better shooter. Avdija just isn’t good in anything. He has solid body and that’s more or less it. He shouldn’t be drafted in first round.

Avdija, https://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?pcode=007675&seasoncode=E2019

Hezonja, https://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?pcode=003108&seasoncode=E2014#!E2014_RS

Saric, https://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?pcode=003112&seasoncode=E2014#!careerstats

[Pistol King]

Avdija is next mistake by NBA teams, just because they don’t understand basketball in Europe. Israeli league is trash. You should watch Avdija only in Euroleague and he was very underwhelming there. He had fantastic opportunity, because of many injuries Maccabi had, but was unable to deliver. To believe that he can play in Nba is just laughable. He might sit in the bench in few years time. He’s far worse prospect than Saric. Hezonja looks the best comparison, but he was better shooter. Avdija just isn’t good in anything. He has solid body and that’s more or less it. He shouldn’t be drafted in first round.

Avdija, https://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?pcode=007675&seasoncode=E2019

Hezonja, https://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?pcode=003108&seasoncode=E2014#!E2014_RS

Saric, https://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?pcode=003112&seasoncode=E2014#!careerstats

Yep, they don't understand basketball in Europe and bob8 knows better then all of them. Despite the fact they got paid to scout overseas and analyze the level of potential of each player.

Just two days ago Jeff Greer from the athletic dot com site made an extensive article about European basketball and talked with 21 opinion leaders, coaches and players around Europe, asked them to vote on which young player in Europe they think has the best potential to succeed in the NBA, most of them chose Avdija.

https://theathletic.com/1711068/2020/04/03/anonymous-survey-top-player-in-europe-best-european-nba-prospect-and-more/

Do you think all these random experts have no idea what they are talking about?

If you were to write your opinion in a humble way, while trying to discuss also the positive things on Deni and not just heavily trying to be focused on the negative, I wouldn't mind. But you didn't, and it bothered me.

I followed Deni pretty a lot, watched a lot of full games and I know exactly how hard was the position he faced in the Euroleague. First of all you need to understand that playing at Maccabi Tel Aviv is not the same as playing in any other organization. This organization is one of 3-4 clubs with the highest pressure to win in Europe. They have zero patience for mistakes. Imagine a 19 years old player that can't make mistakes, and if he makes them, he will go to the bench right immediately. This is was his situation, yet he had the second best plus/minus on his team in the Israeli league, and yet he averaged 20 minutes per game in the last 2 months or so at the Euroleague. If he wouldn't be productive he wouldn't see minutes. Believe me.

Secondly, his coach used him not properly at all. Instead of using his size, quickness , ball handling and court vision he just let him stand at the corner and make threes and was building the team's offensive plan around the veterans, while knowing Deni is not going to be a part of this team's future anyway because he's going to the NBA.

Thirdly, Since Deni started to get more minutes he became one of the 2-3 best defenders in his team. Despite the fact his coach used him not properly in offense, he didn't lower his head and instead fought to be productive on the defensive end. Also those who really followed him noticed he showed some greatness flashes also on the offensive end . The more the season progressed the more he became better and better. It's sad that the season ended because we could have an opportunity to watch him play at the Euroleague playoffs, at the highest level of pressure and see how he handle the situation. Maccabi, when he's a big part of that (6-1 winning recored in the last 7 Euroleague games, where he played the most), was a contender team who could win it all. They could have gone to doom after their injuries but the fact is that they kept winning while Deni has a part on that.

Only a guy who wouldn't watch him game by game would claim he didn't have an impact on his team. Only a guy who would just take a look at the numbers but not on the actual activity of what happens on the floor would claim that.

About the other players you mentioned,
Hezonja at Deni's age averaged 1.6 points at the Euroleague.
Dario Saric at Deni's age didn't play at the Euroleague yet.

[Jamaaliver]

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[Bob8]

Avdija is next mistake by NBA teams, just because they don’t understand basketball in Europe. Israeli league is trash. You should watch Avdija only in Euroleague and he was very underwhelming there. He had fantastic opportunity, because of many injuries Maccabi had, but was unable to deliver. To believe that he can play in Nba is just laughable. He might sit in the bench in few years time. He’s far worse prospect than Saric. Hezonja looks the best comparison, but he was better shooter. Avdija just isn’t good in anything. He has solid body and that’s more or less it. He shouldn’t be drafted in first round.

Avdija, https://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?pcode=007675&seasoncode=E2019

Hezonja, https://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?pcode=003108&seasoncode=E2014#!E2014_RS

Saric, https://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?pcode=003112&seasoncode=E2014#!careerstats

Yep, they don't understand basketball in Europe and bob8 knows better then all of them. Despite the fact they got paid to scout overseas and analyze the level of potential of each player.

Just two days ago Jeff Greer from the athletic dot com site made an extensive article about European basketball and talked with 21 opinion leaders, coaches and players around Europe, asked them to vote on which young player in Europe they think has the best potential to succeed in the NBA, most of them chose Avdija.

https://theathletic.com/1711068/2020/04/03/anonymous-survey-top-player-in-europe-best-european-nba-prospect-and-more/

Do you think all these random experts have no idea what they are talking about?

If you were to write your opinion in a humble way, while trying to discuss also the positive things on Deni and not just heavily trying to be focused on the negative, I wouldn't mind. But you didn't, and it bothered me.

I followed Deni pretty a lot, watched a lot of full games and I know exactly how hard was the position he faced in the Euroleague. First of all you need to understand that playing at Maccabi Tel Aviv is not the same as playing in any other organization. This organization is one of 3-4 clubs with the highest pressure to win in Europe. They have zero patience for mistakes. Imagine a 19 years old player that can't make mistakes, and if he makes them, he will go to the bench right immediately. This is was his situation, yet he had the second best plus/minus on his team in the Israeli league, and yet he averaged 20 minutes per game in the last 2 months or so at the Euroleague. If he wouldn't be productive he wouldn't see minutes. Believe me.

Secondly, his coach used him not properly at all. Instead of using his size, quickness , ball handling and court vision he just let him stand at the corner and make threes and was building the team's offensive plan around the veterans, while knowing Deni is not going to be a part of this team's future anyway because he's going to the NBA.

Thirdly, Since Deni started to get more minutes he became one of the 2-3 best defenders in his team. Despite the fact his coach used him not properly in offense, he didn't lower his head and instead fought to be productive on the defensive end. Also those who really followed him noticed he showed some greatness flashes also on the offensive end . The more the season progressed the more he became better and better. It's sad that the season ended because we could have an opportunity to watch him play at the Euroleague playoffs, at the highest level of pressure and see how he handle the situation. Maccabi, when he's a big part of that (6-1 winning recored in the last 7 Euroleague games, where he played the most), was a contender team who could win it all. They could have gone to doom after their injuries but the fact is that they kept winning while Deni has a part on that.

Only a guy who wouldn't watch him game by game would claim he didn't have an impact on his team. Only a guy who would just take a look at the numbers but not on the actual activity of what happens on the floor would claim that.

About the other players you mentioned,
Hezonja at Deni's age averaged 1.6 points at the Euroleague.
Dario Saric at Deni's age didn't play at the Euroleague yet.

1. I have watched all Maccabi games in Euroleague this season. And have been watching more or less all interesting Euroleague games in last 20 years.

2. Avdija would have play less, if half of Maccabi team wasn't injured. 4/2.5/1 with very bad 3pts and Ft shooting % isn't something special. 0.4 steals and 0.2 blocks also doesn't show him as great individual defender, but it's true, Maccabi played great team defense. What will be his position in Nba? He cannot shoot, is not athletic freak like Giannis and he doesn't look as great individual defender by Nba standards. Play making is very raw. What exactly will he do for the Hawks?

3. Efes and Real were clear favourites to win the title. Barca had great roster, but something didn't look right. CSKA as defending champion, but worse roster than last year. Of course in F4 anything can happen, but Maccabi would probably have to beat Cska in playoffs to come there. Not many has seen them as contenders. Btw. season is not officially over yet.

4. To be the best prospect from Europe this year doesn't mean ****. I believe 1 year younger Garuba is already better.

5. I might be wrong, but I see Avdija being seen similarly too optimistic like it was Bender, who was seen as next KP.

6. Why should I be positive about him, if I don't see potential to deserve top pick? He might prove me wrong though.

[atlantabbq99]

Thanks for the info about the Israeli league. I didn't know its trash. Deni does look good on film though. With both of those in mind, maybe he won't be able to create on the same level as we see on film, but hopefully he can be a decent to above average shooter in the NBA.

On film he has amazing PG and passing skills. Since the Israeli league is not that good, maybe alot of those passes are overhyped, but the film does show he is a willing passer, which is a plus.

On film he shows great dribbling and handles, I think that will translate to the NBA. He will probably take a year or two to adjust to the speed of the NBA, but after that, i think he can be a fairly good ball handler on the NBA level.

[Bob8]

Thanks for the info about the Israeli league. I didn't know its trash. Deni does look good on film though. With both of those in mind, maybe he won't be able to create on the same level as we see on film, but hopefully he can be a decent to above average shooter in the NBA.

On film he has amazing PG and passing skills. Since the Israeli league is not that good, maybe alot of those passes are overhyped, but the film does show he is a willing passer, which is a plus.

On film he shows great dribbling and handles, I think that will translate to the NBA. He will probably take a year or two to adjust to the speed of the NBA, but after that, i think he can be a fairly good ball handler on the NBA level.

You have to be careful with films. You can see in this film how he is making 3s in Euroleague with an ease, but he actually made only 13 3-pointers with very bad % in the whole season. And what about his FT%? 55% is very worrisome.

Look, I don't care much about him and where he goes. But it's the fact that it's difficult to evaluate players from Europe, if you don't totally understand situation there. Imho the best players from Europe for Nba are very skilled players. Giannis is just abnormality. Avdija looks decent in Europe more or less because of his very good physics for Euroleague standards. But he won't have that advantage in Nba anymore. If you have patience and can afford another prospect to develop for several years than take Avdija. Who knows, maybe he develops in a good player. He's very far from that at this moment.

[Pistol King]

1. I have watched all Maccabi games in Euroleague this season. And have been watching more or less all interesting Euroleague games in last 20 years.

2. Avdija would have play less, if half of Maccabi team wasn't injured. 4/2.5/1 with very bad 3pts and Ft shooting % isn't something special. 0.4 steals and 0.2 blocks also doesn't show him as great individual defender, but it's true, Maccabi played great team defense. What will be his position in Nba? He cannot shoot, is not athletic freak like Giannis and he doesn't look as great individual defender by Nba standards. Play making is very raw. What exactly will he do for the Hawks?

3. Efes and Real were clear favourites to win the title. Barca had great roster, but something didn't look right. CSKA as defending champion, but worse roster than last year. Of course in F4 anything can happen, but Maccabi would probably have to beat Cska in playoffs to come there. Not many has seen them as contenders. Btw. season is not officially over yet.

4. To be the best prospect from Europe this year doesn't mean ****. I believe 1 year younger Garuba is already better.

5. I might be wrong, but I see Avdija being seen similarly too optimistic like it was Bender, who was seen as next KP.

6. Why should I be positive about him, if I don't see potential to deserve top pick? He might prove me wrong though.

1. I want to believe you watched all Maccabi Euroleague games this year, I really do, but I have doubts, if your impression of Deni wasn't good. I more tend to think you watched a couple of games when he was bad and got your bad impression from there. Indeed he has a few bad games at the Euroleague, especially early on when he just started the season and needed to adjust to his first full senior season, but later on he started to progress. I've also talked with Maccabi fans about him, asked some questions because I'm a fan of his talent, and usually the messages I received was that he should've been playing more minutes at the Euroleague regardless the injuries and get a bigger role on the offensive end. How would that be possible if he didn't perform well? I'm adding their answers to what I've seen myself and my biggest impression is that he didn't show up good statistic not because he lacks the talent but more because it was impossible for him from that spot when he gets a very limited role at the offensive end and almost doesn't get ball touches.

2. If you want to make a fair test for his Euroleague production, calculate the last 7 games when he started to get more minutes and you will find out he averaged 8.5 ppg. at 20 minutes per game, despite his coach is not using him properly on the offensive end. Some might say 8.5 ppg. it's nothing special, but it's actually higher numbers than what Doncic averaged at his second Euroleague season (Deni is currently on his second season) while averaged 20 minutes per game as well as Deni. Not saying he's at the same level as Luka was, nope, Luka was more polished, but it just to give an example of how he produce when gets minutes, and produce well in a winning team (6-1 record in these games) at the Euroleague. Something not to be taken for granted. Just for proportion, LaMelo, a player who projected to be a top 4 pick has played in the worst team in Australia with a 5-23 losing record.

You are talking about 19 years old player who can get much better with time when improve his flaws. player who known with his work ethic. I don't know why you view him like he's a 25 years old finished product or something. In which position he can play? IMO all 2-4 positions. His high level passing, high level PnR, handling and driving are too good at his size (6'9) to be ignored in long term

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And his size and good defense basics would allow him with time to compete with NBA 4's. I guess when he would land at the league his main workout plan would be to strengthen his lateral footwork and knees. He's already a good athlete with a good speed, but strengthen these two areas would make him the high level point forward he projected be.


3. Maccabi beat both CSKA, Efes and Barca at their home, while losing to Real Madrid twice just at the last minutes of the game.
They was tied at #4 with CSKA and fought for the home court advantage at the playoffs while being a really good team at home this year. The could win it this year.

4. I didn't mean it means **** to be the best prospect in Europe, I said it because you said people who talk high about Avdija don't know European basketball, so I gave an example of what European experts think about him. But, American scouts and analyzes knows European basketball very well. This is their specialty. And most of them talk high on him. It wouldn't be arrogant to claim they are all wrong?

5. Bender has nothing in common with Avdija besides they both played at Maccabi Tel Aviv. Bender role, production, achievements and overall potential at Maccabi has been smaller compared to Avdija's. Also Maccabi during his time wasn't as good as this year.

6. I hope I explained a little bit better why. And I really believe you're wrong in this case Bob.

[Bob8]

@Pistol King

It’s only my opinion and I for sure can be wrong.

I wanted to write long reply but realised there is no need for that. Just few things,

- I have watched all games of Maccabi in Euroleague. I’m watching all big clubs on regular basis, because of fantasy. ( Have won overall standings in Euroleague twice).

- I’m not sure if 7 games is statistically significant to say something about the season. Avdija had only 3 games with 10 points or more, max. 13. in the whole season. That suggests that he at least at this moment is not exactly scoring machine. And I’m not sure that coach is the main reason for that.

-Luka in his second season was 1 year younger than Avdija and when he was the same age as Avdija, he was MVP in regular season and F4 in Euroleague and in Acb, has obviously won both competitions and has won Eurobasket with Slovenia. To say that Luka was just more polished is understatement of the century.

- I mentioned Bender because he was obviously evaluated wrong by US scouts. They were looking for new KP at that time. Now they’re looking for new Luka.

If we leave past behind and ask ourselves, what kind of Avdija do Hawks need? Sg, cannot see. Very unlikely to be good enough shooter/scorer ever. 3&D player? Not likely to happen because of his shooting %, especially FT% is very worrisome and he isn’t that special in D. either. But he might improve in few years time. Creating wing? He would need to greatly improve his ball handling, but more importantly, watching Trae, did Hawks even want to put the ball out of his hands?

Problem I see with Avdija is, that he is not especially good at anything.

[Spud2nique]

Can you say Omri Casspi

[Jamaaliver]

The biggest question marks for this kid are undeniably the shooting numbers.

Deni Avdija- SF/PF, Maccabi Tel Aviv

6’8”, 219 lbs., 19 years old

*10.2 PTS, 6.6 REB, 2.9 AST, 1.0 STL, 0.6 BLK on 44/28/56 shooting splits *per-36 minutes.

Identity/Role: Versatile wing. Playmaking forward.

Avdija is a skilled combo forward that can handle the ball and manufacture excellent passes whether it’s in transition or through the pick and roll. There are questions about his overall defense, but he figures to have the instincts and measurables to become an eventual solid team-defender.

The main question with him is the perimeter defense and “switch-ability”, which is frankly a valid concern. He isn’t quick enough to stick with some wings, and not strong enough (yet) to guard most bigger forwards, which isn’t ideal.
He has a nice touch around the rim to go with a decent handle for his size and tremendous court vision which allows him to be used as a secondary creator at times which is extremely valuable from a wing.

I’m not sold on his ability to create for himself in the half-court offensively, but I do buy the mechanics and form on his jump shot despite the suboptimal numbers from deep and the charity stripe. The versatility and playmaking ability he brings would make him a [good] fit as a PF next to Capela.

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[atlantabbq99]

Like everybody have already stated, everything about this game is very impressive except for his free throw shooting number

[Spud2nique]

For every Luka there will be a bust like this dude. Hoping he makes it for his sake I don’t wanna knock the kid but this style of frantic bs ain’t gonna fly in the NBA. He’s gonna be Bender ish... Saric ish .