Finding the right landing spot for the former Memphis Tigers freshman superstar five-star recruit and center James Wiseman is critical. The way the run ended for Wiseman under head coach and former NBA star Penny Hardaway with the Memphis basketball program was not encouraging to his fortunes at the next level.
The seven-footer could be a terror on both ends of the floor, but he does have a rather limited offensive arsenal. And only getting three games of exposure for Wiseman in college could make for a rusty start in the NBA.
One of my favorite NBA Draft prospects in this class, and one of the best international prospects, is the Maccabi Tel Aviv 6-foot-9 small forward Deni Avdija. Comparisons to the Dallas Mavericks second-year 6-foot-7 point guard Luka Doncic aren’t going to stop anytime soon for Avdija, but these are two very different players in reality.
Avdija is a very well-rounded forward that can distribute the ball effectively, stay with almost any forward/wing off ball on defense, and create his own shots. He averaged 14.1 points per game, 7.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.1 blocks, and 0.9 steals. The stat line alone shows all that Avdija can do given the right supporting cast around him. He should not go lower than a top eight pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.