By Valentin Le Clezio
The NBA Draft Early Entry Withdrawal Deadline (June 15th), which applies this year to International Players born in 1994, 1995 and 1996, has passed.
On the contrary to NCAA early-entrants, who can withdraw from the Draft until April 26th, International players have the immense luck to be able to test waters, discuss of their draft status with NBA teams and make an informed decision 10 days before the Draft.
Having the opportunity to gather as many information and feedbacks from NBA executives as possible, enables prospects and their agents to limit risks and maximize their chances to project as accurately as possible a potential Draft range.
Find below some of the major names that decided to stay in the NBA waiting room for at least one additional year:
Alexandre Vezenkov (1995, PF, 6’9, Aris):
Auto-eligible: 2017
Probably the most surprising deadline withdrawing among Europeans as Vezenkov was raising significant interests from NBA teams in the mid to late 20s as a potential Draft and stash player. Coming out a magnificent season with Aris, and a great playoffs series against Olympiakos, where he scored the ball as well as anybody in a top european league in recent history for a player that age (17 points per game on 47% shooting and 38% from 3). Vezenkov’s ceiling is limited by his lack or total absence of athleticism, lateral mobility and general quickness. It is difficult to imagine the Bulgarian prospect having his stock skyrocket next season. Vezenkov will probably move to a top Greek or European (Barcelona?) team over the summer. Getting consistent playing timein the Euro league will help NBA scouts to assess his capacity to score against bigger, longer and stronger players as well as his ability to guard the 3 and the 4 position.
Timothe Luwawu (1995, SF, 6’7, Antibes):
Auto-eligible: 2017
The lanky Antibes’ wing also decided to withdraw his name from this year’s draft. With his team still competing in ProB’s playoffs to grab a ProA spot Luwawu was unable to workout for any NBA team before the June 15th deadline. Once expected to workout privately for NBA team in Treviso, Luwawu finally couldn’t make it due to technical difficulties.
Luwawu will now try to improve his stock next season in order to slide into the first round. To do so he will need to continue to add muscle to his frame, get his shooting mechanics right and become more assertive offensively.
The question remains if he will decide to stay put in Antibes or leave his French Riviera cocoon. As of today, the latter outcome appears more likely.
Alpha Kaba (1996, PF, 6’10, Mega Leks):
Auto-eligible: 2018
The soon-to-be Mega Leks big man unsurprisingly pulled out his name as well. Despite a strong series of 5 impressive workouts with NBA teams prior to the Treviso Eurocamp, the smart move was to wait one more year for the 19 year old. Following a season where he played very sparingly at the Pro level (31 ProA minutes), Kaba will have plenty of opportunities to showcase himself at a high level (Adriatic and Serbian leagues) next year. Kaba’s length, youth, mobility and shooting range should make of him a strong candidate to be a top 20 pick in a Draft that many see as weaker than this year’s. Getting into a new environment, away from his home country and culture, and tasting the Serbian academics of basketball while receiving a ton of playing time should be ideal for his development.
Nedim Buza (1995, SF, 6’8, Oostende):
Auto-eligible: 2017
Nedim Buza, a likely mid to late second rounder, finally decided to withdraw from this year’s Draft. Buza had been working out for NBA teams the past couple weeks and feedbacks from NBA teams were probably not promising enough to hope for a late first round selection.
Buza having a up and down showing in Portland during Nike Hoop Summit, even though he hit a couple long-distance shots on game day, probably killed any chance he had to be picked in the first round this year. Buza, one of the numerous talented player coming out of Bosnia, just agreed to a new contract with Oostende. This next step in his career was necessary to be made, as he definitely needed to face a higher level of competition than in Bosnia. Getting stronger and becoming a more consistent and less streaky jump-shooter will be two of the points of emphasis next season as he tries to make a new impression on NBA scouts.
His camp is betting that he will be able to make this leap against tougher competition and turn into a potential first rounder.
Marc Garcia (1996, SF, 6’6, Manresa):
Auto-eligible: 2018
Eligible for the first time of his young career, Marc Garcia finally opted out to withdraw of the Draft after testing waters for a few weeks. The Spanish wing unfortunately could not attend the Adidas Eurocamp as he was already taking part to the U19 Spanish National team training camp. Despite that lack of exposure once his season was over with Manresa, the talented scorer wouldn’t have had any difficulties getting his name called in this year’s Draft.
Manresa being relegated (unless another team is hit by administrative/financial issues) means that Marc Garcia will probably have to get loaned once again by Barcelona. His rail thin body needs to continue to grow as he still has a hard time taking the physical hits (muscled off screen, struggling to rebound...) at the ACB level. He did not shoot the ball well this year neither as he had troubles getting into a game rhythm with its irregular playing time.
Garcia is still a project and pulling out of the Draft as he looks to get more minutes at the ACB level was probably the right move. Garcia has 3 more years of eligibility in front of him.
Moussa Diagne (1994, C, 6’10, Fuenlabrada):
Auto-eligible: 2016
The Senegal and Fuenlabrada product decided to wait his auto-eligible year next season. Diagne could have been a mid to late second rounder but may have also gone undrafted. He is giving himself one more season to prove himself in the ACB.
One of the top ACB shot-blockers, Diagne will need to continue to mature and channel his energy (getting into foult trouble early in games, bitting on pump fakes...). Diagne has some potential as an offensive rebounder and a quick roller to the basket after setting a good pick. He will need to continue to polish his offensive skills as he is still extremely raw on that end of the floor. His free-throw shooting accuracy (82%) and mechanics is a positive sign as he tries to develop a mid-range jumper. NBA scouts will keep an eye on his development next season.
Andzejs Pasecniks (1995, C, 7’1, VEF Riga):
Auto-eligible: 2017
The Latvian center and Porzingis’ teammate on youth national teams, who was also projected as mid to late second rounder, made the decision to keep his name out of the Draft. Born in 1995, the big man still has a couple years of eligibility left and needs to continue to make major strides in diverse areas of his game, his body being the main one. As somebody who kept growing until less than a couple years ago, Pasecniks stills gets pushed around quit a bit. He possesses good hands, a nice touch around the basket a high understanding of the game and is a really mobile for his size. Playing a little over 10 minutes a game in the VTB league this year, Pasecniks will receive even more minutes next season as his frames and lower body keep improving.
Other players withdrawing their names: Paul Zipser, Alexandre Chassang, Ognjen Dobric, Miroslav Pasajlic, Dusan Kutlesic, Djoko Salic, Marko Tejic, Alexandr Zhigulin, Kevin Harley, Vlad Korenyuk, Beka Burjanadze, Andrey Desyatnikov, Simone Fontecchio, Adin Vrabac, Wael Arakji, Oriol Pauli, Aleksej Nikolic, Sergiy Zagreba, Vladyslav Koreniu, Beka Burjanadze, Eleftherios Bochoridis, Rade Zagorac.
Early European Draft Entrant who decided to keep their names in the June 25th Draft: Kristaps Porzingis, Mario Hezonja, Guillermo Hernangomez, Cedi Osman, Nikola Milutinov, Mouhammadou Jaiteh, Nikola Radicevic, Dimitris Agravanis.
The NBA Draft Early Entry Withdrawal Deadline (June 15th), which applies this year to International Players born in 1994, 1995 and 1996, has passed.
On the contrary to NCAA early-entrants, who can withdraw from the Draft until April 26th, International players have the immense luck to be able to test waters, discuss of their draft status with NBA teams and make an informed decision 10 days before the Draft.
Having the opportunity to gather as many information and feedbacks from NBA executives as possible, enables prospects and their agents to limit risks and maximize their chances to project as accurately as possible a potential Draft range.
Find below some of the major names that decided to stay in the NBA waiting room for at least one additional year:
Alexandre Vezenkov (1995, PF, 6’9, Aris):
Auto-eligible: 2017
Probably the most surprising deadline withdrawing among Europeans as Vezenkov was raising significant interests from NBA teams in the mid to late 20s as a potential Draft and stash player. Coming out a magnificent season with Aris, and a great playoffs series against Olympiakos, where he scored the ball as well as anybody in a top european league in recent history for a player that age (17 points per game on 47% shooting and 38% from 3). Vezenkov’s ceiling is limited by his lack or total absence of athleticism, lateral mobility and general quickness. It is difficult to imagine the Bulgarian prospect having his stock skyrocket next season. Vezenkov will probably move to a top Greek or European (Barcelona?) team over the summer. Getting consistent playing timein the Euro league will help NBA scouts to assess his capacity to score against bigger, longer and stronger players as well as his ability to guard the 3 and the 4 position.
Timothe Luwawu (1995, SF, 6’7, Antibes):
Auto-eligible: 2017
The lanky Antibes’ wing also decided to withdraw his name from this year’s draft. With his team still competing in ProB’s playoffs to grab a ProA spot Luwawu was unable to workout for any NBA team before the June 15th deadline. Once expected to workout privately for NBA team in Treviso, Luwawu finally couldn’t make it due to technical difficulties.
Luwawu will now try to improve his stock next season in order to slide into the first round. To do so he will need to continue to add muscle to his frame, get his shooting mechanics right and become more assertive offensively.
The question remains if he will decide to stay put in Antibes or leave his French Riviera cocoon. As of today, the latter outcome appears more likely.
Alpha Kaba (1996, PF, 6’10, Mega Leks):
Auto-eligible: 2018
The soon-to-be Mega Leks big man unsurprisingly pulled out his name as well. Despite a strong series of 5 impressive workouts with NBA teams prior to the Treviso Eurocamp, the smart move was to wait one more year for the 19 year old. Following a season where he played very sparingly at the Pro level (31 ProA minutes), Kaba will have plenty of opportunities to showcase himself at a high level (Adriatic and Serbian leagues) next year. Kaba’s length, youth, mobility and shooting range should make of him a strong candidate to be a top 20 pick in a Draft that many see as weaker than this year’s. Getting into a new environment, away from his home country and culture, and tasting the Serbian academics of basketball while receiving a ton of playing time should be ideal for his development.
Nedim Buza (1995, SF, 6’8, Oostende):
Auto-eligible: 2017
Nedim Buza, a likely mid to late second rounder, finally decided to withdraw from this year’s Draft. Buza had been working out for NBA teams the past couple weeks and feedbacks from NBA teams were probably not promising enough to hope for a late first round selection.
Buza having a up and down showing in Portland during Nike Hoop Summit, even though he hit a couple long-distance shots on game day, probably killed any chance he had to be picked in the first round this year. Buza, one of the numerous talented player coming out of Bosnia, just agreed to a new contract with Oostende. This next step in his career was necessary to be made, as he definitely needed to face a higher level of competition than in Bosnia. Getting stronger and becoming a more consistent and less streaky jump-shooter will be two of the points of emphasis next season as he tries to make a new impression on NBA scouts.
His camp is betting that he will be able to make this leap against tougher competition and turn into a potential first rounder.
Marc Garcia (1996, SF, 6’6, Manresa):
Auto-eligible: 2018
Eligible for the first time of his young career, Marc Garcia finally opted out to withdraw of the Draft after testing waters for a few weeks. The Spanish wing unfortunately could not attend the Adidas Eurocamp as he was already taking part to the U19 Spanish National team training camp. Despite that lack of exposure once his season was over with Manresa, the talented scorer wouldn’t have had any difficulties getting his name called in this year’s Draft.
Manresa being relegated (unless another team is hit by administrative/financial issues) means that Marc Garcia will probably have to get loaned once again by Barcelona. His rail thin body needs to continue to grow as he still has a hard time taking the physical hits (muscled off screen, struggling to rebound...) at the ACB level. He did not shoot the ball well this year neither as he had troubles getting into a game rhythm with its irregular playing time.
Garcia is still a project and pulling out of the Draft as he looks to get more minutes at the ACB level was probably the right move. Garcia has 3 more years of eligibility in front of him.
Moussa Diagne (1994, C, 6’10, Fuenlabrada):
Auto-eligible: 2016
The Senegal and Fuenlabrada product decided to wait his auto-eligible year next season. Diagne could have been a mid to late second rounder but may have also gone undrafted. He is giving himself one more season to prove himself in the ACB.
One of the top ACB shot-blockers, Diagne will need to continue to mature and channel his energy (getting into foult trouble early in games, bitting on pump fakes...). Diagne has some potential as an offensive rebounder and a quick roller to the basket after setting a good pick. He will need to continue to polish his offensive skills as he is still extremely raw on that end of the floor. His free-throw shooting accuracy (82%) and mechanics is a positive sign as he tries to develop a mid-range jumper. NBA scouts will keep an eye on his development next season.
Andzejs Pasecniks (1995, C, 7’1, VEF Riga):
Auto-eligible: 2017
The Latvian center and Porzingis’ teammate on youth national teams, who was also projected as mid to late second rounder, made the decision to keep his name out of the Draft. Born in 1995, the big man still has a couple years of eligibility left and needs to continue to make major strides in diverse areas of his game, his body being the main one. As somebody who kept growing until less than a couple years ago, Pasecniks stills gets pushed around quit a bit. He possesses good hands, a nice touch around the basket a high understanding of the game and is a really mobile for his size. Playing a little over 10 minutes a game in the VTB league this year, Pasecniks will receive even more minutes next season as his frames and lower body keep improving.
Other players withdrawing their names: Paul Zipser, Alexandre Chassang, Ognjen Dobric, Miroslav Pasajlic, Dusan Kutlesic, Djoko Salic, Marko Tejic, Alexandr Zhigulin, Kevin Harley, Vlad Korenyuk, Beka Burjanadze, Andrey Desyatnikov, Simone Fontecchio, Adin Vrabac, Wael Arakji, Oriol Pauli, Aleksej Nikolic, Sergiy Zagreba, Vladyslav Koreniu, Beka Burjanadze, Eleftherios Bochoridis, Rade Zagorac.
Early European Draft Entrant who decided to keep their names in the June 25th Draft: Kristaps Porzingis, Mario Hezonja, Guillermo Hernangomez, Cedi Osman, Nikola Milutinov, Mouhammadou Jaiteh, Nikola Radicevic, Dimitris Agravanis.
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