Golden State Warriors: Smoke or genuine interest in Deni Avdija at No. 2?
Should the Golden State Warriors target Deni Avdija with the No. 2 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft?
Over the last two seasons, Luka Doncic has taken the NBA by storm. Since stepping in with the Dallas Mavericks, Doncic has quickly emerged as one of the great young stars in the league and will quickly become (if he continues at his current arch) a unanimous top-5 player in the NBA sooner rather than later.
Heading into the 2020 NBA Draft, it’s no surprise that nearly every team in the lottery will be looking for the next international superstar. One prime candidate heading into this draft is Deni Avdija, an Israeli prospect that is expected to be selected in the top 10.
Avdija, 19, is coming off a season with Maccabi Tel Aviv in which he averaged 10 points, seven rebounds, and three assists (per 36 minutes) on 44 percent shooting from the field. In 2019, Avdija helped lead the Israeli FIBA U20 team to a European Championship, where he was named tournament MVP.
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He’s quickly rising up NBA draft boards and could even jump to being a top 10 selection in the weeks leading up to the November 18 draft.
According to a recent report (subscription required), the Golden State Warriors were “blown away” by Avdija during a recent workout. With the second overall pick in the draft, you can’t help but wonder if this is genuine interest (suggesting that the Warriors could target Avdija with the No. 2 pick) or if this is more smoke, hoping they could muster up some interest in other teams potentially trading up with them.
It’s an interesting question. As we all know, draft season is often referred to as smoke season. Essentially, that means you can never trust “reports” or “rumors”. Could this be legit interest and a genuine report? Absolutely. Could it also be a ploy to trade down with a team that is eyeing Deni Avdija, possibly outside the top 3 or 5? Of course.
The key here is that we might be at the point where it could be more likely that the Warriors trade this pick than to make a selection (that they’ll keep). They might not trade it before the draft but could very well end up trading the rights of their selection in an attempt to land an established star or veteran ahead of the 2021 season.
Next. NBA Mock Draft: James Wiseman jumps to No. 1; Knicks surprise at No. 8. dark
In the coming weeks, there are going to be plenty of similar “reports” as this one. The challenge is when it comes to deciphering them. One of the most difficult teams to read heading into the 2020 NBA Draft is the Golden State Warriors, no question.