As everyone knows the Bulls were lucky enough to get the 4th pick in this year’s draft. Though this draft doesn’t appear to have major stars who can change a franchise, it’s still filled with great role players. One of the players being mentioned in the top 10 is Deni Avdija. Deni is a 6’9″ forward who has played for Maccabi Tel Aviv since 2017. Just this past season he won the Israeli League MVP and the Israeli League championship. He has won the championship 3 times during his career with Maccabi Tel Aviv. Deni recently appeared on Instagram live and had good things to say about the Chicago Bulls.
Deni has been on record saying that the Bulls are his favorite team and that he used to love watching Derrick Rose play. The draft isn’t about getting guys who like your team it’s about finding the right fit/best talent available. So this begs the question, would Deni be a good fit?
Let’s look at the numbers
Deni Avdija has played in a total of 110 games, he has started in 35 of those games. Over the last two seasons, he has averaged 6.08 and 9.02 PPG. His field goal percentage over the last two seasons is 47%, 3-point FG% 30%, 3.9 RPG, & 1.7 APG. So his stats aren’t exactly eye-popping. But if you watch the film of Deni you can see his basketball IQ appears to be quite high. He seems to have a natural feel for the game and is always looking for the right pass to set his team up.
Although his offensive stats don’t blow you away he is known as a solid defender. He’s got the size at 6’9″ to be a force on the defensive end. The hope for Avdija is that he excels on defense as he continues to improve his offensive skill set.
Would he work on this Bulls team?
That all depends on what the team is looking to get from this pick. If they are looking for a plug and play type player who is going to take some of the offensive load off of LaVine, Deni probably isn’t the right fit. If they are looking for a developmental player who could be a solid combination forward, Deni would be a good choice. His offensive game absolutely needs work but having experience through playing in the Euroleague helps with the transition to the NBA. Avdija has certainly improved over the course of this on again off again season. Deni especially saw improvements when the season started back up in June posting some good stats.
Remember that Deni is only 19 years old and has 100+ games of experience in the Euroleague. There’s still a lot of room for him to grow but don’t expect him to come in and take over this team. Since this draft is a little more up in the air as to how the first three picks will go the Bulls could end up going with a variety of players at the #4 spot. Depending on who goes 1-3 the Bulls could end up catching a break and getting a projected top 3 pick or they could be in the exact same spot they are currently. Arturas has time to decide what to do with this pick and I am sure he will be doing plenty of research before October.
