Cavs: 3 best attributes for 2020 NBA Draft prospect Deni Avdija
By Dan Gilinsky
#1: Avdija’s feel for the game could help the Cleveland Cavaliers
The 6-foot-9 Avdija has really encouraging passing instincts, and while his overall clip of 2.7 assists per game in I-BSL play was not earth-shattering, he is a heady passer that shows good timing when hitting rollers, making appropriate extra passes and can generate drive-and-kicks.
He’s an active cutter as well, even for a 19-year-old, and he could present a quality target for the likes of Darius Garland, Kevin Love, Kevin Porter Jr. and Larry Nance Jr. in that way, which could result in high percentage looks throughout games and keep defenders off-balance.
When it comes to the defensive end of the floor, Avdija shows good anticipation as a rotator to help out in the post when that’s called for, can tag rollers on the weak side to deter feeds and is active in passing lanes. In I-BSL play, when he had more minutes-share as opposed to in the Euroleague, Avdija had a solid steal clip of 0.9 steals and 1.0 blocks per game, and a steal rate of 1.7 and a healthy block rate of 3.6 percent.
His feel for the game again, really stands out on both ends for a young player, and off-ball defensively, in particular, and as a passer on the other end, you see that.