Realistic Cleveland Cavaliers target #3: Deni Avdija
Of all the players the Cavaliers will be looking at for the fifth overall pick, the most intriguing and unknown player could be Deni Avdija, the 19-year-old forward from Israel. Avdija is considered to be the top prospect coming out of Europe this year, of which CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish noted, who mocked Avdija to the Cavs recently.
Avdija played for the I-BSL’s Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv, and in 26 games in the Euroleague, he averaged 4.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists, and shot just 43.6 from the floor and 27.7 percent from three-point range. The most concerning stat, though, is Avdija only shot 55.6 percent from the free throw line.
Though Avdija’s stats from this past season aren’t overwhelming, he was playing against high-level competition. At just 19 years old, getting to experience that level of competition can be quite valuable.
On the plus side, in a much more prominent role with Maccabi in 2019-20 in I-BSL play, in which he played 27.6 minutes per outing, Avdija had 12.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. He shot 35.3 percent from downtown, also.
Additionally, Avdija did show promise in the FIBA U20 European Championships last summer, as he averaged 18.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.4 blocks and 2.1 steals. He also led Israel to the gold medal, and Avdija was named the tournament MVP.
At 6-foot-9 and 220 pounds, Avdija has the skill set to be a wing player but also has the ball-handling and passing ability set to be a primary ball-handler at times. But Avdija can also play well without the ball in his hands, which he did a lot last year.
Avdija can also hold his own on the defensive end. He does an excellent job of getting his hands into the passing lanes, displays good quickness, and looks like he can block shots well for his position.
While Avdija possesses a lot of upside, there are some areas he needs to improve. The young wing tends to use his right hand too much, which could make him predictable on the offensive end and his pull-up shooting as a counter has a ways to go to be a strength, albeit he has shown flashes there. Avdija will also need to add some strength to finish around the rim more consistently, and will need to add some consistency to both sides of the ball.
Overall, there are more than just three realistic options for the Cavaliers to draft at No. 5, as names such as forward Devin Vassell from Florida State and center Onyeka Okongwu from USC. But these three players highlighted here would all improve the Cavaliers roster.
With the 2020 NBA Draft not happening until October 16th at this point, although it could reportedly could be pushed back, per a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, clearly, Cleveland’s front office has plenty of time to do their homework.
Hopefully, they’ll figure out who best will help the Cavaliers get out of the NBA basement sooner rather than later.