Pass
Deni Avdija
Country: Israel
Position: PF/SF
Age: 19
Height: 6-foot-9
Weight: 215 pounds
Draft Range: 4 to 14
Why: Very skilled for someone his size. Can dribble and pass it. May even be able to direct an offense down the line. Physical at the rim. Plays hard and could develop into a leader. Smart in terms of making the right pass and helping on defense.
Why Not: Not much of a shooter. Historically, he's been about 30% from three and 55% at the line. His athleticism is questionable. While he has good straight-line speed, he's not an explosive leaper and isn't overly quick. Has relatively short arms.
Spurs Fit: He'd compete early on for minutes. He's further along than Samanic was, for example, but probably isn't a Day 1 rotation player.
Spurs Comparison - Ceiling: Skinny Hedo Turkoglu
Spurs Comparison - Floor: Fat Hedo Turkoglu
Statistics
Highlight Video
Interview
Pass
this dude is getting a lot of hype from what i've seen on other boards. i have a feeling that this is the guy Spurs are eyeballing but he will probably be taken before the 11th spot
Rumor has it his stats have been inflated massively in order to try to manufacture an Israeli NBA star. Also heard he has character issues. Pass.
Pass to be honest
That's harsh.
I see more Manu than Hedo. Avdija has big upside -- most of the guys at 11 just don't.
In fact, most of these guys that are likely (at least maybe) available at 11 being profiled (Williams, Vassell, Nesmith, Bey, surely he'll be soon) would be nice additions for a team who just needs X. That 3&D sparkplug, that defensive dog, that great role-player, that great teammate.
I don't think the Spurs are at that point yet. They're still looking for the guy who could be a cornerstone. They need to aim higher.
Deni has a low floor (could be a bust) but a high ceiling -- I like his chances. He might be worth an upward trade (but, alas, that's probably not possible).
Didn't mean for it to be overly harsh, tbh. Hedo at his best was pretty darn good. I could see Avdija turning into a high-end starter.
I don't see a super upside, though. First of all, he has to be a threat as a shooter to be a good player. Considering he's a 55% free throw shooter, could he actually develop into a good shooter? Maybe but it's far from certain. But then on top of that, even if his shot comes around, he doesn't have that Manu-esque athleticism to take him to the next level. He has more of that Hedo craftiness and mobile-for-his-size attribute that could allow him to be a very valuable piece to a puzzle as long as his skills keep progressing.
Overall, though, I am admittedly lower on Avdija than most. His Euroleague stats were pedestrian. His Israeli league stats were decent to good but that's a bad league and he's on the team with by far the most talent. His team was force-feeding him at times and a decent chunk of his stats came when his team was blowing out the compe ion.
I see him ranked closer to 12-15 range rather than most who have him 4-8. I would support the Spurs picking him at 11 if they think he's the best player on the board but I don't see enough to trade up to get him, tbh.
Too bad we got the 2003-2004 version of Hedon't and not 2004-2009 Hedo.
Hedo was pretty terrible that season at the start because, as he admitted, he came into the year carrying about 25 extra pounds of breakfast tacos. As the year went along, though, he really improved ... until, of course, he fell on his face in the playoffs.
Now if we could ever get to Toppin...
Hedo pioneered the "Not try very hard off the bench and whine about how hard it is to get a rhythm off the bench" strategy to sucker Pop into moving Manu to the bench and getting away with it because Manu was such a team player.
It was a long tradition of guys marveling to the media about how much better they performed as starters.
---
That being said, I think Advija would be a great 6th man ala Manu
Wingspan?
Supposedly, the draft combine will be regional. That’s usually where you get measurements.
Pretty underwhelming for a guy his size. 6'9" same as Keldon, less than Dejounte.
His wingspan being small is fake news, he has wingspan in the 7'1"-7'2" range, and he's a stud, Jimmy Butler/Gordon Hayward type!
Why would someone lie about a wingspan to make it shorter? The lying part usually involves overselling something, tbh.
Yeah, there were rumors last year that Brandon Clarke had a 7 foot wingspan, too. Turns out it was the same as his listed height. Don’t believe any measurements until they are official, from the draft combine.
This guy reminds me of Pete Maravich at times. Same jaunty long strides, same grace, same fluid quickness, same crazy passes. Both are pretty good shooters, but way more fun to watch with the ball.
Antisemitic rumors tbh
Both of his parents were basketball players - his dad played professionally around Israel. Not high-level ball, but Deni still has good genes, and probably had a ball in his hand from the time he could walk. He is being pimped pretty hard, but that's not a conspiracy theory. It's happening more and more every draft.
They're billing him as a combo forward, but there's no way he survives as a PF any time soon. He's closing in on 20, and he's not exactly advanced for his age. And his offensive game is terrible. If he was coming out of an American college, I don't think he'd be getting this kind of attention.
I'd spend 11 on him, though reluctantly because they already have one Samanic. But he'd probably be BPA at 11, and they aren't identical. But I sure as wouldn't give away talent to trade up for him.
I didn't say someone lied, I'm saying there's a misconception about his wingspan, there is no official measurement that someone base his statement on him having small wingspan... But on the other end there's a statement of Deni's teammate Omri Casspi compliment Deni wingspan in jealousy!
actually started playing basketball at a later age than his peers, around 10yo
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)