Deni Avdija

[WallStar]

Reminds me of Jan Vesely a bit. Crazy hops and hustle but trash offensively.

[gandlogo]

Hey y'all - Wolves fan here. I love the pick for you. I wanted Deni with the #1 pick, so I'll probably hang out here at times as the season gets nearer. Congrats and cheers!

Where are you from by chance

Minneapolis for 50 years. Moved south a year ago - for love and weather (usually in that order).

[Frichuela]

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.

This! Agreed

Very competitive, skilled and an underrated defender. And, let’s not forget, only 19 and having logged good minutes at one of Europe’s powerhouses.

For the record, with Okongwu gone, I like the pick

[Meliorus]

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.

This! Agreed

Very competitive, skilled and an underrated defender. And, let’s not forget, only 19 and having logged good minutes at one of Europe’s powerhouses.

For the record, with Okongwu gone, I like the pick

How do you think his defense projects against NBA-speed players? EuroLeague players aren't as fast or quick-twitch or long wingspan. There isn't a good history of European wings being good on defense in the NBA.

[payitforward]

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.

This is more or less how I feel about it. A guy no one expected to be there at #9, a guy some people actually had as deserving the #1 pick.

Off highlights & what one can know at this point, he's a potential star. Will he get there?

[Ruzious]

Mike Schmidtz, who did those excellent draft interviews on youtube - and now is ESPN's top draft guy - said he had Avdija as the number 1 prospect in the draft - though I thought he said before that he had Hayes as the number 1 prospect. Anyway, he said the Wiz got the steal of the draft. That's good enough for me - for tonight.

[queridiculo]

I rate him category euro stiff, I hate this pick.

[Dat2U]

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.

He & Rui are very different but I do think long term both could be 4s. All I know is that some of these guys gotta make jump shots regardless of whatever else their bringing. Avdija, Hachimura, Brown... we're counting on all of these guys being able to make 3s. That seems alot to ask for.

Can any of them help space the floor for Wall & Beal right now? Nope.

[Dat2U]

Who is the best shooting coach on the market? The Wizards need to hire him pronto.

[Frichuela]

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.

This! Agreed

Very competitive, skilled and an underrated defender. And, let’s not forget, only 19 and having logged good minutes at one of Europe’s powerhouses.

For the record, with Okongwu gone, I like the pick

How do you think his defense projects against NBA-speed players? EuroLeague players aren't as fast or quick-twitch or long wingspan. There isn't a good history of European wings being good on defense in the NBA.

I think he’ll surprise many. He won’t be a lockdown defender such as Okoro, but he will hold his own well. Very smart player.

[Ruzious]

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.

He & Rui are very different but I do think long term both could be 4s. All I know is that some of these guys gotta make jump shots regardless of whatever else their bringing. Avdija, Hachimura, Brown... we're counting on all of these guys being able to make 3s. That seems alot to ask for.

Can any of them help space the floor for Wall & Beal right now? Nope.

I don't think we'll win the NBA championship this year, either. I'm looking forward to watching the team develop, and both will be combo forwards. And Tommy better be ready to make trade(s) - because not all of our young players will develop as hoped. He's got to see it coming as to who will develop and act in a timely manner to adjust the roster when needed.

[doclinkin]

Who is the best shooting coach on the market? The Wizards need to hire him pronto.

We've got a pretty good one in David Adkins

[Frichuela]

Another pundit liking Deni’s pick

Read on Twitter

?s=21

[WallToWall]

Another pundit liking Deni’s pick

Read on Twitter

?s=21

Eh... I wouldnt go that far. I do like the pick. He is young and will improve. If he puts in the work to learn D, and works on his FT, we will have a good player. He projects as a SF with PF size and G ball handling skills. Thats a lot to work with.
Swing for the fences.

[prime1time]

We got to give the kid a chance.

[Meliorus]

What kind of team is Tommy building? Can anyone see TB, rui, deni, and davis being successful rotation? How will we not be dead last defensively again?

[queridiculo]

This is such a nothing pick, I guess it's obvious now that Sheppard has had his hand in one of the wort draft decisions of the Leonsis era.

A tweener forward that lacks NBA athleticism and can't shoot.

I have no idea what anybody sees in this guy. Decent at a lot of things, but not excelling at anything that contributes to winning basketball.

Defense, nope.
Rebouding, naw.
Shooting, who cares.

He looks good running the floor though and dishing passes.

If you ever wondered what a Satoranski, Vesely (minus the vertical) hybrid looked like, there's your guy.

Shoot me, what a waste.

[prime1time]

What kind of team is Tommy building? Can anyone see TB, rui, deni, and davis being successful rotation? How will we not be dead last defensively again?

I think he took BPA. Deni's 19. Maybe some of those guys aren't around in 2 or 3 years.

[80sballboy]

https://in.nba.com/news/nba-draft-2020-deni-avdija-scouting-report-strengths-weaknesses-and-player-comparison/1hkc1uudzuvfo1e2ybq8s9ddn3

[80sballboy]

The shooting is definitely a concern but he can get better with work. I do like the fact that he's filled out some and is over 220 at 6-9ish.
https://ftw.usatoday.com/lists/nba-draft-deni-avdija-scouting-report-measurements-israel-history