After a career night against New Orleans, Deni Avdija feels he’s still getting better and there’s room for further growth – music to the ears of Washington Wizards staff and fans alike. The fourth-year small forward has shown glimpses of potential but not taken a significant leap like other draft class agemates have, as the ball club have needed to exercise patience with the 23-year-old.
Avdija emotional after 43-point evening in New Orleans
Since selecting Bradley Beal from the University of Florida with the third pick in the 2012 draft, it’s safe to say the Washington Wizards’ luck has been skewed as far as selections are concerned with young talents – that was 12 years ago and counting.
Three-time All-Star guard Beal spent 11 years there before finally departing for pastures new in a trade to team up with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant in Phoenix last offseason, while the first-round players they’ve acquired since haven’t lived up to the same billing as they’ve continued to meddle in the Eastern Conference lately.
The year, the pick and where they are now…
2013: Otto Porter, #3 – now in Utah
2014: Jordan Clarkson with #46, who they traded to the Lakers on draft night – also with the Jazz
2015: Jerian Grant, #19 – now plays for Panathinaikos
2018: Troy Brown Jr, #15 – currently in Detroit with the rebuilding Pistons
2019: Rui Hachimura, #9 – traded to the Lakers in Jan. 2023
2020: Deni Avdija, #9 – career-highs in points (13.8), FG% (52.1), 3P% (40.5), rebounds (6.6), assists (3.8) and overall scoring efficiency
2021: Corey Kispert, #15 – averaging 12 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists per game
2022: Johnny Davis, #10 – played 23 games but started none, averaging 8 MPG
2023: Jarace Walker, #8 – traded to Indiana for Bilal Coulibaly, #7
Just from reading that list alone, it’s easy to see why the internal pressure is high on Avdija to produce and importantly prove their best draft pick in recent memory.
That he was emotional after a career-best performance midweek speaks to the psychological toll his situation would’ve presented, as well as the awareness he’s being compared to peers – like Tyrese Haliburton and Tyrese Maxey – who operate in much different systems and are more ball-dominant by nature.
Both are All-Star guards and while the Israeli might never make an All-Star team, he need not worry about that. If you watched him at all during Russell Westbrook’s one-year stint out East, you saw his defensive versatility and scoring ability in spurts.
The Athletic’s Josh Robbins wrote a piece this week detailing the youngster’s developments and it has been reported Wizards’ interim head coach Brian Keefe is helping the forward play to his strengths by speeding up the ball club’s pace of play.
Being more aggressive at the rim, and subsequently finishing more drives will help with that while teammates gradually start deferring to him more on attacks.
So long as he can maintain his recent performance levels, temper his own harsh expectations and focus on the controllables, Washington won’t just be deemed a team with tradable assets – Kyle Kuzma’s future seems numbered there – but could mirror Indiana’s recent success before long with the right offseason moves.
“I never thought that, coming to the league and seeing all those numbers, those big players score those points, [I would be] able to be that hot.
All the hard work, the times I was down or didn’t have good games – a lot of times – I [stuck] with it, kept working hard, being patient, went through a lot and it’s only the start. I feel like I’m still getting better.”
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes hyperlinked
Mo and Sports 