Post#94 » by THE J0KER » Wed Nov 18, 2020 12:12 am
I ignored mostly the 2020 draft talk because it is hard to predict who will be available in the late first, and especially it is hard to discuss with NCAA season damaged with COVID19 break. But there is a scenario that one player which I followed in Serbia national team juniors selections can potentially be Nuggets #22 pick. Here is my personal opinion.
Aleksej Pokusevski makes the big mistake of being available as the youngest player for this draft. He is physically not ready to play in NBA this season for sure, so where he hurry? Basically, Nikola Jokic made the same mistake in 2014 when he decides (with his manager) 10 days before the draft to be available despite knows he is physically not ready to play in the NBA in 2014. That next season Jokic improve into regional ex-Yugoslavia ABA league youngest MVP, so he would be a lottery pick in the 2015 draft (maybe Denver which monitoring him more than other teams choose Joker in 2015 at #7 instead of Mudiay!).
European 7 footers with great court vision are an NBA winning formula, just take look at the careers of Jokic, Divac, Sabonis1, Sabonis2, Gasol1, Gasol2, Noah... But all these guys are centers, while Pokusevski is a guard-forward 7' option, so the only all-around Euro player which can be compared with him is Toni Kukoc. Toni Kukoc becomes a very young superstar in Europe, but he didn't join the NBA until the age of 25 when his body significantly improved compared to how he physically looked in his early '20s. Even with proof that he is the real deal and focuses on the gym, I don't see Pokusevski in NBA before 2022. He is one of the most intriguing players of this draft with some put him even as a lottery pick, but some not even in the 1st round. We see in Jokic, Simmons, Sabonis, Adebayo cases how successful can be a very tall great passer, but he can also never be ready for NBA. I'm pretty sure this guy should wait one or even two years for the draft. But just like in Jokic or Bol Bol cases, premature decision to join the draft year earlier than they should make him available for the Nuggets.