New Orleans Pelicans: “Pass or Pursue” on 3 NBA draft trade-up prospects
By Nick Alvarez
New Orleans Pelicans Potential Trade-Up Prospect #3- Deni Avdija
We’ve already covered Deni Avdija in some other posts, but I decided to start with him because on the surface he looks like a player who could excel on the New Orleans Pelicans roster and play a vital role in Stan Van Gundy’s system.
When draft night comes, I wouldn’t blame the Pelicans for considering drafting Avdija and seeing the next Hedo Turkoglu. After all, Avdija is a legit 6’9″ inches with the ability to play on the wing and at times as a stretch power forward. He possesses an underrated passing prowess and an improving three-point shot.
If you ask me though, I think that Avdija is a mirage, and many evaluators are assessing as a player that’s better than he is because of a few games he played in the EuroLeague this past summer.
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There are problems all over Avdija’s tape. Starting with his 3 point shot, Avdija’s shooting stroke is one of the reasons many teams are considering him as a lottery pick, but the shot simply isn’t there. He only shot 33 percent on his 3s and he gets way too hesitant with the ball when he has open shots.
Outside of the shooting, he’s not a great athlete by any means and that’s worrisome too. I doubt Avdija will ever be a serious threat to consistently attack the basket, and I’m not sure he’ll ever be able to keep up with guards and wings on the defensive end of the court.
People are in love with what Deni Avdija can become rather than who he is, rather than being the next Hedo Turkoglu, he might just be another Nic Batum. Not a guy worth a top-five pick in the NBA Draft.