Draft Prospect: Vladimir Dasic
We’ve already looked at Omri Casspi, Danny Green, and Sergio Llull as prospects the Spurs could target with pick 37. We’ll continue to look at players who should be available at that stage of draft, even though there is talk of the Spurs trading into the first round. This post will deal with a player few of our readers have heard of, and even fewer have actually watched play. But his profile is intriguing, to say the least.
Vladimir Dasic’s reported skill set makes my head spin.
A basic report would tell us that Dasic is a 6′10 combo forward with legit 3 skills. DX has him at 225 lbs, but I’ve been told he is closer to 240. He has three point potential, looks comfortable on the perimeter, and can create his own shot. Good, good and good.
But the most interesting aspect of Dasic–at least to me–is his defensive billing. DraftExpress puts it this way:
The best part about Dasic’s game surprisingly might be his defense. He seems to have no problem guarding wing players from what we’ve seen this year, getting low in a fundamental stance, moving his feet extremely well and doing a great job containing penetration and contesting shots with his length. He’s doing a solid job on both SFs and PFs this season, playing with good intensity, and sees production in the stat-sheet as well-as he currently leads the Adriatic League in steals per game.
In an email, Christophe Ney demurs a bit:
In general, I don’t see Dasic as a defense-first guy, far from becoming a stopper like Bowen is. Dasic has great offensive talent which makes him a decent prospect. The combination of size and skills he has is very rare. He can also take over a role as a leader which he did this summer with the Montenegro U20 National team.
Ney continues his assessment, but this time through a profile at European Prospects:
On the other hand, Dasic can erupt with some very nice scoring, either from long distance or in the paint. He is present on the offense rebound and is not afraid to go for post moves against bigger guys. As he runs the floor extremely well, he is difficult match-up for slower inside players as well as for shorter wing players.
Ney has watched Dasic closely, and so has a friend named mountainballer. The latter lives in Austria and watches his share of Adriatic League action via Slovenian and Croatian TV. In his estimation, Dasic is a great talent.
Dasic could develop into Vlad Radmanovic with defense. Dasic should do pretty well defending the Lamar Odom or David West type PFs. His ability and willingness to play intensive and physical defense could make him a great fit with the Spurs. And, in my opinion, the worst case scenario for Dasic should be Eduardo Najera. Considering that Pop has always liked Najera, even if Dasic never realizes his full potential, he wouldn’t be a lost pick for the Spurs.
When I read these things, I’m at a loss as to why Dasic mocks second round to undrafted. If he slips into the 50s, I’ll be cheering hard for the Spurs to draft him. He turned 21 just this month. The Spurs could do a lot worse than drafting a guy of his skill set on a let’s-see-if-he-develops gamble. He’s currently on the workout circuit, although the only team he is confirmed to have met with is the Thunder.
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Watched him few times, and i liked what i saw, but frankly i expected quicker development from him. Now he is in the club that produces very good C and PF (Divac, Krstic for example), so i think you'll see him in the NBA maybe in 2 years.
