Chicago Bulls 2020 NBA Mock Draft 2.0: Post-lottery edition
Cavaliers select F Deni Avdija, Maccabi (Israel)
LeBron’s ex-team will take a chance on Avdija, based on the feeling that his ceiling might be superior to Cedi Osman, their current starting small forward.
As mentioned in the previous iteration of my mock draft, Deni Avdija has masterful passing skills for a big guy, though the numbers per game might not show it. He’s a good rebounder standing at 6-9 with admirable defensive effort, hopefully just the beginning in that department.
Must Read. Should the Bulls trade their pick?. light
Between Osman being just okay and Kevin Love being constantly involved in trade talks, Avdija will find a home in Cleveland rather easily.
What will also help is that there will be a decent playmaker in Cleveland after this pick. The backcourt tandem of Collin Sexton and Darius Garland struggled to dish out to teammates in its inaugural season.
Between the two “score-first” guards, they combined for less than seven assists per game.
The only reason I had the Bulls not taking Deni was because of how many question marks he has coming into the draft. First of all, shooting is a big “wait and see”, as Avdija’s jumper is strange looking and inconsistent to boot.
Second is availability; Avdija might not even come to the United States immediately due to a number of factors, one of which is the current pandemic. Coming to a terrible team might also factor into at least a delay in his arrival.
Overall, Avdija looks like the biggest boom-or-bust in the top five of this year’s draft, and Cleveland is one of those teams in desperate need of a boom to get their rebuild back on track.