Maccabi Tel Aviv prospect Deni Avdija might not be the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, but quite a few teams appear to be intrigued. As I reported, Avdija hosted the Warriors on Oct. 22 in Atlanta, where he’s currently based during the pre-draft stretch. The Warriors are far from his only guests, though. According to sources, the list of teams who have talked with Avdija also includes the Hawks, Pistons, Cavaliers, Spurs and Bucks. Those first three teams are expected as Avdija suitors. The latter two, and let’s face it, the Bucks especially, are interesting names. The Spurs make some sense, though, as they’ve built an institution off of finding international players. There’s no way to know if they’ll make the leap and trade up for a shot at Avdija, but you’d at least expect them to do some due diligence in that direction. With the Bucks, well, that one is a bit curious.
So far, Avdija’s rumored preference is for the Warriors, and he’s undoubtedly not alone in that predilection. I don’t believe I’m hewing to hometown bias when I make the observation that the Warriors are unusually appealing among high draft pick teams, maybe historically so. While it might have little bearing on how they actually perform next season, the Warriors are still perceived as a glamor franchise, blessed with championship pieces. That’s more appealing than the standard prospect path of toiling in obscurity until your team gets good enough.
A larger draft question is simply why Avdija is drawing so much interest, as represented by team meetings and surges up draft boards. On this phenomenon, I’m a little more in the John Hollinger camp of not totally seeing it in game film. When I interviewed Israeli basketball expert Eran Soroka about Avdija, the comparison he made was Joe Ingles. Much as I like Ingles, he’s not exactly the outcome you crave for a high draft pick.
The most compelling theory for Avdija-mania is Luka Dončić’s rise to superstardom. Successful prototypes leave people looking for similar models. For years, teams have searched for the next Draymond Green, which boosted certain players’ draft stocks. Now, the current “next” is Bam Adebayo, whose influence will likely get Onyeka Okongwu drafted a bit higher, fair or unfair. This is how it works, and yes it relies on a degree of superficial basketball stereotyping when every player is their own man.
To be clear, Avdija has nothing like the résumé that Dončić had in Europe, not even close. In EuroLeague games, Avdija’s minutes were few and far between, as opposed to in the Israeli league, where he got to spread his wings. Still, there’s a visual similarity, which teams might be responding to. Avdija boasts a power forward’s size and likes to handle the ball in pick-and-roll. In a draft that might not be long on potential, this is a skill set to dream on, Joe Ingles comparisons or otherwise. If you have big-man height and guard-level skills, modern switch-happy defenses will be confounded by you. If Avdija reaches his potential, it’s perhaps a bigger boon than if other similarly high draft picks reach theirs. That’s the thinking, anyway.
For what it’s worth, teams meeting with Avdija were surprised by his size, in person. That might seem like a goofy thing to report, but 2020 is a goofy year. Every season was cut short and accurate measurements are hard to come by, even if the NBA did manage to hold a draft combine. “That guy seems tall” might have some pull within the current chaos. Deni Avdija at least has that going for him.
As for the Warriors’ actual selection, I and my colleagues at The Athletic Bay Area, still think the smart money is on James Wiseman. He’s probably too large and too talented to ignore when he represents a position of need, in a draft with so many question marks. Unlike Avdija, Wiseman’s ceiling and hopeful trajectory seem easy to figure out: Pick-and-roll, hopefully pick-and-pop. In between, block some shots. Last season was discombobulated and it might be a breeze compared to what’s upcoming for an indoor sport trying to restart amid a pandemic. That all influences how risk is assessed. Regardless of what’s true, Wiseman seems lower risk as a massive, athletic, archetypal center. The question is just what the Warriors and other teams at the top are looking for. Is it the intrigue of a playmaker like Avdija, or the security of Wiseman’s plug and play potential? We will soon, finally, find out.
Maccabi Tel Aviv prospect Deni Avdija might not be the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, but quite a few teams appear to be intrigued. As I reported, Avdija hosted the Warriors on Oct. 22 in Atlanta, where he’s currently based during the pre-draft stretch. The Warriors are far from his only guests, though. According to sources, the list of teams who have talked with Avdija also includes the Hawks, Pistons, Cavaliers, Spurs and Bucks. Those first three teams are expected as Avdija suitors. The latter two, and let’s face it, the Bucks especially, are interesting names. The Spurs make some sense, though, as they’ve built an institution off of finding international players. There’s no way to know if they’ll make the leap and trade up for a shot at Avdija, but you’d at least expect them to do some due diligence in that direction. With the Bucks, well, that one is a bit curious.
So far, Avdija’s rumored preference is for the Warriors, and he’s undoubtedly not alone in that predilection. I don’t believe I’m hewing to hometown bias when I make the observation that the Warriors are unusually appealing among high draft pick teams, maybe historically so. While it might have little bearing on how they actually perform next season, the Warriors are still perceived as a glamor franchise, blessed with championship pieces. That’s more appealing than the standard prospect path of toiling in obscurity until your team gets good enough.
A larger draft question is simply why Avdija is drawing so much interest, as represented by team meetings and surges up draft boards. On this phenomenon, I’m a little more in the John Hollinger camp of not totally seeing it in game film. When I interviewed Israeli basketball expert Eran Soroka about Avdija, the comparison he made was Joe Ingles. Much as I like Ingles, he’s not exactly the outcome you crave for a high draft pick.
The most compelling theory for Avdija-mania is Luka Dončić’s rise to superstardom. Successful prototypes leave people looking for similar models. For years, teams have searched for the next Draymond Green, which boosted certain players’ draft stocks. Now, the current “next” is Bam Adebayo, whose influence will likely get Onyeka Okongwu drafted a bit higher, fair or unfair. This is how it works, and yes it relies on a degree of superficial basketball stereotyping when every player is their own man.
To be clear, Avdija has nothing like the résumé that Dončić had in Europe, not even close. In EuroLeague games, Avdija’s minutes were few and far between, as opposed to in the Israeli league, where he got to spread his wings. Still, there’s a visual similarity, which teams might be responding to. Avdija boasts a power forward’s size and likes to handle the ball in pick-and-roll. In a draft that might not be long on potential, this is a skill set to dream on, Joe Ingles comparisons or otherwise. If you have big-man height and guard-level skills, modern switch-happy defenses will be confounded by you. If Avdija reaches his potential, it’s perhaps a bigger boon than if other similarly high draft picks reach theirs. That’s the thinking, anyway.
For what it’s worth, teams meeting with Avdija were surprised by his size, in person. That might seem like a goofy thing to report, but 2020 is a goofy year. Every season was cut short and accurate measurements are hard to come by, even if the NBA did manage to hold a draft combine. “That guy seems tall” might have some pull within the current chaos. Deni Avdija at least has that going for him.
As for the Warriors’ actual selection, I and my colleagues at The Athletic Bay Area, still think the smart money is on James Wiseman. He’s probably too large and too talented to ignore when he represents a position of need, in a draft with so many question marks. Unlike Avdija, Wiseman’s ceiling and hopeful trajectory seem easy to figure out: Pick-and-roll, hopefully pick-and-pop. In between, block some shots. Last season was discombobulated and it might be a breeze compared to what’s upcoming for an indoor sport trying to restart amid a pandemic. That all influences how risk is assessed. Regardless of what’s true, Wiseman seems lower risk as a massive, athletic, archetypal center. The question is just what the Warriors and other teams at the top are looking for. Is it the intrigue of a playmaker like Avdija, or the security of Wiseman’s plug and play potential? We will soon, finally, find out.
