Deni Avdija’s dad played against Michael Jordan. Why Deni might play for Jordan’s Hornets
The argument for the Charlotte Hornets considering Deni Avdija with the No. 3 pick: Versatile and pliable.
Avdija is a 19-year-old Israeli pro. Between his skill set and his 6-foot-9 height, Avdija believes he can play any NBA position except center. However, he doesn’t believe it’s his business to decide what position best suits him.
That, he said, is entirely up to his coaches.
“Honestly, I can play 1 (point guard) through 4 (power forward),” Avdija said Wednesday.
“But It’s not about me. It’s about what the team really needs. And what the team really wants me to play. I’ll play (whatever) and do the best I can.”
Avdija hasn’t been pampered. His mother is Israeli, his father is a Serbian former pro who once played an exhibition against Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan. As Zufer Avdija told Sports Illustrated, “His dream is NBA. My dream is to meet (Jordan) again.”
The basketball culture there is different from the United States. Avdija became part of Maccabi Tel Aviv’s junior-development program at 12, and signed a pro contract with that team at 16.
This isn’t like American AAU ball, where the prodigies are featured and often coddled. As a teenager, Avdija practiced and played daily against pros who might be 10 years older, some of them former NBA players.
“I played with grown men, some of them with good NBA careers,” Avdija said. “We had a lot of expectations on our team. At the beginning, as a young guy, there was a lot of pressure. As time progressed, that pressure became a good thing. It helped me (prepare for) hardship situations in the future.”
In that system, you wait your turn and accept whatever playing time you get (in Avdija’s case, that initially meant 10 or few minutes per game). You accepted the pounding delivered by physically mature men, and learned from it.
You placed the team’s needs above yours, and that’s where Avdija’s background could benefit the Hornets.
Deni Avdija fits the Hornets’ biggest need: Talent
When Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak was asked after the season about this team’s needs, he said it transcends positions.
“Really, it’s talent,” Kupchak said June 8. “We’ve got to add talent, and then when we have talent, we can figure the rest out.”
Moving up in the draft lottery to the third pick doesn’t change that approach: Kupchak intends to select the best player available, regardless of players already on the roster. That’s how important it is to upgrade the collective skill of a team still full of holes.
Avdija is a hole-filler. He can facilitate like a point guard, score as a wing and has the size and length to guard some big men.
The NBA’s major trend the past few seasons is playing “positionless” — put your best five players on the court, regardless of whether they each fit specific spots together, and make the opposing team match up with that. It’s an approach that served the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics well in advancing to the Eastern Conference final.
Avdija’s ratio of size-to-skill creates advantages, and the Hornets need that. Last season, they started Terry Rozier at shooting guard and Miles Bridges at small forward. Neither is an ideal fit at those spots. At 6-1, Rozier was frequently out-sized by guys 5 or more inches taller. Bridges ideally is a power forward; he was frequently forced to guard sleeker, quicker small forwards.
Avdija would be that wing option the Hornets don’t have in the rotation: Tall, but with perimeter skill and quickness. Coach James Borrego frequently talked about the need for a “connector” — a secondary playmaker who could make the offense less clunky in the half-court. Avdija is a step in that direction.
Avdija would likely start out in the NBA best suited to play small forward, with some power forward in his future. (Think Marvin Williams when he was with the Hornets.)
But for that to happen, he needs to be a more consistent shooter. That — and constant comparisons to superstar European Luka Doncic — is the rub.
Luka’s shadow
Early in Wednesday’s conference call, Avdija was asked about Dallas Mavericks All-Star Doncic. Their similarities in size and skill make Doncic a frequent comp.
Avdija praised Doncic, then asserted, “I don’t want to be compared to anybody.”
He isn’t Doncic, particularly as a shooter. Avdija made just 28% of his 3-pointers last season. He was also unreliable at the foul line, making 53% of his free throws.
That improved late in Avdija’s season. He says he felt considerable pressure early on, to live up to expectations he was ready to excel against established pros.
“I think I can shoot,” Avdija said. “I’m a great shooter.”
Avdija has been training in Atlanta for the Nov. 18 draft. He hasn’t yet met with the Hornets or any other NBA team. But he’d be all for the challenge of helping Jordan’s team to start winning.
“I don’t really know their situation,” Avdija said of the Hornets’ roster. “But if they’re interested in a wing and they think I’m the right guy, I’ll make sure I’m going to play the best that I can and help to close” their gaps.
“What they need and what they’re missing, to be a winning team.”
