Deni Avdija¶

Stats¶

Noteworthy

Caution

Strengths

Feel: Tends to make the right play and avoid mistakes. Ability to make plays off the bounce and run some PNR is intriguing at his size.
“Jack of all trades, master of none.”: I don’t know if this is considered a strength or a weakness, but it’s hard to watch Deni and not come away just thinking he’s a solid player in so many aspects of the game, despite not being particularly elite in any one area. I’m not trying to throw out too many comps in these profiles, but Deni really reminds me in some ways of Mike Dunleavy in this regard. Not a knock at all!
Athleticism/strength: Should not have a problem hanging physically in the league.
Slashing ability: Pretty decent for his size. Should continue to work on and improve his slashing ability as that could be a swing skill for him, especially if his shot improves to the point where he has significant gravity. Conversely, if his jumper stagnates, it could make it more difficult for him to accel here.

Weaknesses

Length: Although Maccabi often played Deni on the interior, and he has good instincts in terms of rim protection, one would think he’s probably going to have to be primarily a wing or small 4 defensively in the NBA.
Shooting: Has not yet proven over a long stretch that he will be a ++ shooter. The free throw shooting is a major concern, not only because it is highly correlated with 3pt shooting, but it raises some question about Deni’s mental process. As for the stroke itself, it seems fine. One would hope early in his career he can provide capable spot-up shooting and eventually add some movement shooting. I consider myself (very) cautiously optimistic here, but reserve a decent sized chunk of skepticism. How’s that for hedging?

Realistic ceiling for Deni Avdija?
— Aleksej Rhymes with Sergei (@thecity2) July 18, 2020