Draft Prospect: Alexis Ajinca

[Marcus Bryant]

http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/alexis_ajinca.jpg

Full Name: Alexis Ajinca
Position: Center
Height/Weight: 7-0 / 220
Birthdate: May 6, 1988
High School: INSEP
Team: Hyeres-Toulon (France)
Country: France

NBA (http://www.nba.com/draft2008/profiles/AlexisAjinca.html)
NBADraft.net (http://www.nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/alexisajinca.html)
DraftExpress (http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Alexis-Ajinca-534/)

[ducks]

ask tp about him
he is from france

[ducks]

A wing-span of nearly 7’9” combined with good timing allowed him to block 3 shots during the game, and the guards from team USA seemed to challenge him less and less in the paint as the game progressed.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Ajinca Wants To Come To NBA Next Season

Jun 15, 2008 1:50 PM EST
Lakers' forward Ronny Turiaf believes center Alexis Ajinca will be an excellent NBA player.

"He is going to be big-time," Turiaf said. "He has a body for a force and a defensive presence. Has a nose for blocking shots and is at the right place for his teammates as far as blocks, playing good defense, and help-side defense. And even when he's not blocking shots, he's going to bother stuff. He had a real good workout out in Boston. All I'm going to say is people are going to be very surprised. Nobody's talking about him right now.

"He is already in a state of mind where he is going to succeed," Turiaf said. "He might not be the best player, but he is still thinking he has a chance to be successful."

Ajinca said he would prefer to play overseas than in the NBDL. He has another year on his contract with Hyeres-Toulon, but he doesn't think it will be hard to get bought out.

"Next season I want to play here," Ajinca said. "I don't want to go back. I played much more stronger last [season]. I added some pounds. I feel better."

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/52996/20080615/ajinca_wants_to_come_to_nba_next_season/

[Mr. Body]

Is he mentioned in first rounds anymore?

[Biggems]

i have seen him on a lot of mocks going at the end of the first.....from 26-30

[Bruno]

Ajinca said he would prefer to play overseas than in the NBDL.

I think this quote is wrong and that Ajinca would rather go in D-League than staying in France.
His case is quite similar to Mahinmi : he is talented but very raw and is in teh doghouse in France. Ajinca and his agent, who is the same than Mahinmi, think that the best way to develop him is to do like Mahinmi : being drafted with a late first and working on his game in D-League.

I'm not sure that it's a good idea because Ajinca is less NBA ready than Mahinmi was last year and because he maybe won't have Mahinmi luck who has played for a D-league owned by a NBA team.

Ajinca said, a couple of days ago, that he will likely stay in the draft. I guess that a team will use a late first on him given a tremendous upside. He has worked out with Raptors, Nets, Clippers, Bobcats...

Edit: Mahinmi and Ajinca were also teammates last year.

[Freeze]

Who is the French 2 guard anyways?

It's not as if we had the same starting since many years... the French squad changes every year !
Players who played the 2 spots over the last few years :
Diaw
M. Pietrus
Gomis
Diarra
Ferchaud
Bokolo
Morandais
....

For this year, on the 28 players selected to play the qualifier for next year Euro, 2 guards are : Bokolo, De Colo, Diarra, Dubiez, Ferchaud.

[T Park]

How bout that, CCH Pounder's brother is in the draft.

[Bruno]

A workout with Ajinca :
MlcfmCclMtk
yj1bHmIXtBQ

Add to that the 7'1" size with the 7'9" wingspan and you have a first round pick.

[Holt's Cat]

If the Spurs were confident they could land a swingman talent in free agency...

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

1st workout video isn't working.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Who's that he's matched up with in the 2nd video?

[T Park]

Looks like another Ian Mahinmi.

[DPG21920]

Ian Mahinmi can not even remotely shoot like that at all. This kid has some serious range and stroke.

[T Park]

Ian has a pretty decent jumper.

[SequSpur]

Sign this mofo up.

[DPG21920]

Ian has a pretty decent jumper.

What??????????????????????? Have you watched him play or read the scouting reports? No jumper at all, none. But it could develop.

http://www.nbadraft.net/profiles/ianmahinmi.asp

[T Park]

I have watched him play, and his free throw line jumper is decent.

[A.H 21-50]

I have watched him play, and his free throw line jumper is decent.

yes and if the spurs want a very good project inside they could go after ajinca
needs some work but can be a good players in 2-3 years

[DPG21920]

Ian does shoot free throws well, but does not shoot jumpers well at all. Free-throws are a set shot, jumpers are jumpers. Much more difficult. But I hope he works on it enough to make it easier for him to drive a-la Amare Stoudamire. Amare can shoot lights out now.

[Gino2882]

What??????????????????????? Have you watched him play or read the scouting reports? No jumper at all, none. But it could develop.

http://www.nbadraft.net/profiles/ianmahinmi.asp

That is from 2004. He has developed a solid jump shot in the D-league.

[picnroll]

Kid looks like a young, raw KG.

[djohn14]

It wouldnt shock me if he was our pick.

[Biggems]

if we did pick him and then trade for Camby, our Big Man situation would be set for the next two seasons

C - Camby, Oberto, Ajinca
PF - Duncan, Mahimni, Bonner

We could even sent Ajinca to Austin for a year to get playing time and work on the weak aspects of his game, as well as work on his strength and conditioning.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Ian has a pretty decent jumper.

Ajinca was hitting threes Tpark. Give it up, Ian can't hit from that far out.

[Mr. Body]

It's foolish to rest judgments on youtube videos alone. That said, some have mentioned Ajinca as a better prospect than Batum when they both came over last year.

[picnroll]

This kid's handles look much better than Mahinmi's and in these shots better body control. Of course who knows how much video these shots were culled from.

[SPURSGOAT]

Damn he is skinny... I dunno about using the 26 pick on him...he would probably need to go to the Toros for a season...

[mathbzh]

Ajinca playing time was very fluctuent this season in Pro A. This was to be expected, the French league is not a development league and the HTV has some quiet good players inside.
But Alexis used is playing time very well (4th rating/min in the french league with 5 pts/3 rbds/1 ast / 1 blk in 12 minutes) and had a couple of very impressive games.
One other very good thing is that he is playing more and more like a 4/5 with his back to the basket (he used to play like a 3 on offense). Other than that it is hard to make an opinion. He is very intriguing but also a very risky pick. He is supposed to have a nice arsenal of offensive move but in games he scores almost only on dunks in transition.

The LNB (french league) made some highlights videos for the top french prospects.
Ajinca is here (http://www.lnbtv.net/?video=ClipAjinca.wmv)

[JPB]

I like him. Always have.

Still intriguing but what I've seen from him the last couple of french RS games conforted me in my idea that Alexis has what it takes to be an NBA player.

The question is to know at what spot. If he wants to play C, he obviously has to take wheight. He had a special diet this year and was followed by a nutritionist. He took something like 20 pds.

And I think he's better come over USA right now, to work on his game. He has no interest staying in France.

[JPB]

Word on the Street: Golden State Workout, Walker Injury

by: Jonathan Givony - President
June 16, 2008
Representatives of 17 NBA teams (including numerous GMs) congregated this past weekend at the practice facility of the Golden State Warriors to take in 24 (mostly first and second round) prospects over a two day stretch.

Alexis Ajinca received a couple of strong reports thanks to his terrific physical tools and skill-level—he reportedly played very hard (“battling inside”) and showed nice touch on his jump-hook shots and shooting the ball from outside. It appears he helped himself. Nicolas Batum was supposedly playing very well until he got hurt mid-way through.

Two players we haven’t heard great things about from their workouts so far as DeAndre Jordan and JaVale McGee. Both have reportedly been outplayed by lower rated prospects such as Alexis Ajinca (in Charlotte) and Roy Hibbert.
it seems like Ajinca's value is climbing

[Kobe24Forever]

i must admit, these recent plethora of Frenchmen draft reports makes the France national team look like real world beaters, and will pose a serious threat to argentina, usa or spain for olympic gold.

[Freeze]

i must admit, these recent plethora of Frenchmen draft reports makes the France national team look like real world beaters, and will pose a serious threat to argentina, usa or spain for olympic gold.

most of them are sub 20 and have never played for French NT... in 2012 maybe.

[Marcus Bryant]

-Alexis Ajinca and Nicolas Batum will keep their name in the draft, according to agent Jeremy Medjana.

link (http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Early-Entry-Withdrawal-Deadline-Gallinari-Stays-in-the-Draft--152ET--2929/)

[ace3g]

Draft Report: Alexis Ajinca Of Hyères-Toulon

The 2008 draft includes many quality centers but no sure thing and therefore Alexis Ajinca has as good of a chance as any of them at being a difference maker because he has the best overall skill set on both sides of the ball.

He is a really good shooter for his age and height with a good release and nice arc. Ajinca’s release point is an inch or two above his head and he extends his follow-through cleanly.

Ajinca has great agility, with a great quick first step when getting the ball in the mid-post.

In the right post, he will beat his man into the middle and extend for a two-handed dunk. He has impressive agility when finishing dunks, using his obscene length to get to the rim almost as soon as he rises. Ajinca’s dunks are quick, fluid and difficult to block.

While also in the post, he will feel the bump against defender and create space by backing up for a little turnaround jumper. This will be an unguardable move provided he continues to improve that shot because of his quickness and extreme length.

In terms of length or simply being able to nearly get to the rim without even jumping, Ajinca is in the 99.9 percentile of all players who have ever stepped onto the floor.

Despite being so thin, Ajinca does a good job of generating contact and going up strong over the defender. He doesn’t shy away from the contact and doesn’t lose his footing.

His hands are not the best, but are passable for a center. He will sometimes fumble entry passes and offensive rebounds, but his agility will make up for a lot of bad passes.

He sets effective screens and sets a lot of them in the halfcourt. He is effective on both the pick and pop, as well as the pick and roll.

He has good vision as a passer and will find cutters and spot up shooters out of the post, particularly when he get doubled. Ajinca is comfortable with the ball on the perimeter, looking to swing the ball with overhead passes or even attempt an occasional 3-pointer (he clearly has a gene in him somewhere to believe he is a guard in a 7-1 body).

His passing technique is a little uncoordinated occasionally, which is a little unsettling but appears to be more out of laziness than a systematic sign.

Ajinca is a clever offensive rebounder, getting into space well and even spinning around the box out to get to the bucket.

Sprinting the floor in transition isn’t one of his favorite things to do, but he moves fairly well and should be convincible to get motivated.

He also uses his length really well when blocking and affecting shots. He really maximizes his length here and becomes a huge obstacle for any sized shooter. He also doesn’t need much time at all to get his body in the air.

Ajinca has impressive lateral quickness when defending shorter, quicker players, which is laregely because he has good balance in his defensive stance. Also against shorter players, Ajinca will do a good job of going straight up and not needlessly getting into the air.

His anticipation on when to come over for a help block on dribble penetration is terrific. His foot speed to cover ground defensively is remarkable, using it to get to the weak side and to close out on perimeter shooters.

Though his technique and instincts defensively are good, he doesn’t have the best motor and will need to increase his effort for a defensive-minded club.

On the defensive glass, Ajinca doesn’t rely merely on his length as he almost always makes a strong effort to box out.

So much of what separates an average center from a great one is their drive to improve and a love for the game that comes naturally and I believe Ajinca has that drive and love.

http://basketball.realgm.com/src_fromtherafters/194/20080617/draft_report_alexis_ajinca_of_hy%EF%BF%BDres_toulo n/

[Pistons < Spurs]

Ajinca Soldiers on the Workout Trail

Word out of the Philadelphia workout today (also attended by Toronto) was that Alexis Ajinca had yet another strong showing in this, his 14th workout so far. He went up against Darrell Arthur (who also looked good) and did an excellent job-- impressing everyone in attendance with his work ethic, professionalism, and all around mastery of the draft process. "Most foreign guys would have been complaining by now about how many workouts they've had to do, but Ajinca is just an unbelievable kid" one NBA scout in attendance noted.

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Word-on-the-Street-Last-Minute-Workouts-2942/