Tag: Deni Avdija

Bleacher Report suggests a Josh Giddey for Deni Avdija trade

Bleacher Report suggests a Josh Giddey for Deni Avdija trade.

As the 2024 NBA Finals start, only a handful of games remain for this season. This means the start of the offseason is near. Teams will get a chance to improve their rosters and trades are one route to do that.

Bleacher Report writers Dan Favale and Grant Hughes recently cooked up an offseason trade for the 28 teams not in the NBA Finals. This includes the Oklahoma City Thunder — fresh off a first-seed and second-round exit.

The Thunder’s trade involves shipping Josh Giddey and a pair of first-round picks to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Deni Avdija. The full trade details are below:

  • Thunder receive: Deni Avdija
  • Wizards receive: Josh Giddey, the No. 12 pick in the 2024 draft and a 2025 first-round pick (via MIA; top-14 protected)

The trade gives Thunder a young wing fresh off a career season where he featured an outside shot more often. Meanwhile, the Wizards get a pair of quality first-round picks for their rebuild and a potential starter.

“Giddey’s spot in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s first unit is the one most in need of an upgrade, even if that’s largely by default. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren are deservedly entrenched there.

Avdija is two years older than Giddey at 23, which suggests he has slightly less room for growth, and much of his play prior to last season featured some of the same shortcomings that have dogged Giddey—namely errant outside shooting and minimal self-created offense.

Last season saw Avdija change in key ways, as he upped his three-point hit rate to a tantalizing 37.4 percent while assuming a larger share of playmaking duties. His averages of 14.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists were all career highs, and the burly 6’9″ forward was even better than that after the All-Star break.

Giddey has made steady strides as a shooter, hitting a career-best 33.7 percent from deep last year. But he’s nowhere near Avdija’s level on defense, and despite similar size on the wing, fails to play with any noticeable downhill force.

The Thunder have the picks to spare, and the rebuilding Wizards should be in the market for as many lottery tickets as possible. Avdija is a better player than Giddey today, but he’s already on his second contract, and Giddey’s youth gives him two extra years of upside ahead.”

It’s an expensive price to pay, but that comes with the territory of adding someone like Avdija. If the outside shot is sustainable and not just a one-year wonder, he’ll be a massive get for OKC. He makes more sense as a fit with the Thunder than Giddey. He can be an off-ball threat who can space the floor and keep the offense moving. He’ll also help out on the glass.

Avdija is also on a team-friendly deal. He is set to begin a four-year, $55 million contract next season. He’ll be on a bargain price for the foreseeable future.

For Giddey, it allows him to return to a comfortable role of being the lead playmaker and ball-handler. He’ll have the keys to the offense and get a chance to be a traditional point guard — something he strived away from in OKC last season.

The draft compensation might be a tough pill to swallow, but that’s the price of looking to make immediate upgrades on the roster with starting-caliber players. Overall, this seems like a solid deal for both sides.

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Ranking the 23 best NBA players under 23 years old, with a FIBA World Cup star leading the pack

Where should Victor Wembanyama rank? Here’s the answer, along with the other best young NBA stars.

We are entering a new era of the NBA with Victor Wembanyama as one of several young stars vying to become the face of the league.

Now that the NBA’s 2023-24 season is less than a month away from tipping off, as we did last year, we have decided to re-rank the 23 best players who are under 23 years old.

But why 23? Well, it is not just because that was the number worn by Michael Jordan. Typically, NBA publications rank 25 players under 25 years old. You can read versions of that here, here, and here. I wanted to try out a similar thought experiment but with a new twist.

By the time NBA players are 25 years old, many have already graduated to their second contract and are in vastly different chapters of their careers than the league’s young players. It is harder to compare players like Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum, who will each earn more than $30 million next season, to players on rookie scale contracts.

The following rankings, meanwhile, are based predominantly on how we see NBA projections for next season. It is not as predictive of their future success or their potential in the league.

NOTE: For this exercise, all players included must be born after Oct. 24, 2000. 

KD’s desire for the Nets to ‘keep quiet’ about Kyrie are emblematic of players’ silence on antisemitism

The NBA holds a Jewish presence in the past, present and future.

Like it or not, there is a lot to say about Kyrie Irving’s latest actions.

Irving refused to take accountability for tweeting a link to an antisemitic movie and continues to let people down with his behavior. He told reporters he is “not going to stand down” and, when asked if he has antisemitic beliefs, his answer was unclear.

The antisemitic book and movie are now bestsellers on Amazon.

The Nets have suspended Irving without pay for no less than five games. In a statement released Thursday evening, the club said it was “dismayed” that Irving refused to unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs and that the point guard was “unfit” to be associated with the organization.

He has since issued an apology, but this story is far from over. As Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote in his Substack: “All that’s left is for the world to decide how it should respond to him.”

One of the most important responses came from Irving’s teammate, Kevin Durant. But like the rest of this ongoing controversy, it was disappointing.

Durant said he is “not here to judge” somebody for their views and felt his team “could have just kept playing basketball” and “kept quiet” as an organization.

The two-time NBA Finals MVP quickly took to Twitter to clarify he does not “condone hate speech” or antisemitism and is about “spreading love”, no matter the circumstance. He added that the game of basketball is supposed to unite people.

The reality is that Durant’s immediate instinct, that the Nets should have kept quiet on this issue, is one that resonates with how the league as a whole has responded to this situation.

It is worth mentioning that former NBA players Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Reggie Miller have had strong words condemning antisemitism on TNT’s broadcast. Cavs big man Robin Lopez retweeted Abdul-Jabbar’s Substack post.

But otherwise, the rest of the league has stayed noticeably quiet.

Western Conference All-Star guard Devin Booker was asked how he felt about what was happening with Irving, and he said he wasn’t following it.

It is hard to criticize someone like Booker, who legitimately might not be attending to the news cycle in Brooklyn. The NBA season is very long and it is incredibly stressful, and there is certainly enough to worry about within his own organization.

If players like Booker are ill-informed about what is happening with Irving and the Nets, it is far better to say nothing than the wrong thing. It can be a tough ask to speak on a subject outside of your own community. LeBron James said as much in 2019:

“I also don’t think every issue should be everybody’s problem as well. When things come up, there’s multiple things that we haven’t talked about that have happened in our own country that we don’t bring up. There’s things that happen in my own community in trying to help my kids graduate high school and go off to college; that’s been my main concern the last couple of years.”

No one is asking these players to solve antisemitism or any form of bigotry. Their job is to play basketball, and they are the best on the planet at that job.

But when everyone in the league continues to say nothing, it is hard to not notice. No active player has spoken out against Irving’s actions. Would it be so much for any player to say that what Irving did is not OK?

This level of complacency and non-action is certainly not encouraging.

Wizards forward Deni Avdija is the only active player in the NBA who is Jewish. As noted by Madelyn Burke, it must feel incredibly isolating to see that no one in the league has spoken out directly against Irving’s actions.

The burden does not fall on the 21-year-old Avdija, who has only lived in the United States since 2020, to speak for the Jewish community. It is not up to Avdija, who likely has no pre-existing relationship with Irving, to determine whether Irving is antisemitic.

Avdija was forgiving when former NBA big man Meyers Leonard used an antisemitic slur last year. Outside of veteran Udonis Haslem, however, the voices of the NBA community were largely silent on this issue.

The NBA Players Association never issued a statement about Leonard. Their latest statement, denouncing antisemitism, did not mention Irving’s name. In fact, he remains a vice president of the NBPA. If he is unfit to represent the Nets, is he fit to serve in this position?

If the NBA is a brotherhood, as Durant and others have said, that means sticking up for everyone — including those who practice Judaism.

Avdija, of course, is not the only Jewish basketball player in league history. Omri Casspi and Jordan Farmar, who are both Jewish, both played several seasons in the NBA. They were even briefly teammates with the Kings in 2016.

Hall of Fame power forward Dolph Schayes was Jewish, and last year, he was named one of the NBA’s 75 Greatest Players. Five-time All-Star Rudy LaRusso was Jewish. Longtime NBA executive Ernie Grunfeld played nine seasons in the NBA. He is Jewish, and his parents are Holocaust survivors.

The NBA holds a Jewish presence in the past, present and future.

After leading the nation in scoring last season, Yeshiva University star forward Ryan Turrell hoped to become the first Orthodox Jewish player to make the NBA.

Last month, Turrell was selected by the Motor City Cruise in the first round of the 2022 NBA G League Draft. Turrell plans to play his games in a Detroit Pistons-branded yarmulke.

Turrell is scheduled to play in the first regular-season basketball game of his professional career this evening. Motor City will reportedly make the necessary accommodations for him to observe Shabbat.

USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s Cameron Tabatabaie shared a helpful list of resources for those interested in learning more about Jewish history, Black history and intersectionalism.

As the FBI warns of a “credible threat” to Jewish synagogues in New Jersey, now is as good of a time as any to engage with those recommendations.

NBA players certainly don’t need to issue high-level criticism on the deep roots of global antisemitism. But it would be nice if one of them actually said Irving made a mistake rather than deciding to “keep quiet” on a subject that actively harms other people.

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Wizards season preview: Will Bradley Beal stay or do they blow it up?

While still carried by Bradley Beal, the Washington Wizards enter the upcoming season as a much deeper team than they were in 2020-21.

While still carried by Bradley Beal, the Washington Wizards enter the upcoming season as a much deeper team than they were in 2020-21.

Beal is the sole lifeblood of the organization for the Wizards. Instead of sharing the floor with the likes of John Wall or Russell Westbrook, he will be surrounded by more role players in Washington than he had in previous campaigns. As such, Beal is a clear favorite to win the NBA’s scoring title. But will that be enough to help them make any noise in the playoffs?

Below, check out our preview for the 2021-22 Wizards campaign.

Wizards’ Deni Avdija thanks Lakers’ Russell Westbrook for making him mentally stronger

Washington Wizards forward Deni Avdija credited Los Angeles Lakers star Russell Westbrook for helping him grow as a player and person.

Though he is no longer with the Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook left a lasting impact.

Westbrook played in Washington for one season before getting traded, but that one season was enough to help then-rookie Deni Avdija get acclimated to life in the NBA.

Avdija, the No. 9 pick in the 2020 NBA draft, played in 54 games his rookie season until a right leg injury derailed his campaign.

But the 6-foot-9 forward got the opportunity to soak in a ton of knowledge from seasoned veteran Westbrook, who has evolved over countless years in the league.

During the Wizards’ media day, Avdija thanked Westbrook for making him mentally tougher on the court, via Becca Winkert of WizardsXTRA:

Avdija will team with former Lakers Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell.

But it’s also a good sign for the leadership Westbrook will bring to the court. The Lakers need him to be a reliable third option, and since his work rate is always maxed out, he should provide the punch L.A. is looking for.

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NBA free agency: Projected starting lineup for Wizards with Spencer Dinwiddie

The Washington Wizards may not have been flashy with their offseason moves but you can make a case that they were certainly savvy.

The Washington Wizards may not have been flashy with their offseason moves but you can make a case that they were certainly savvy.

Washington’s front office was able to move off the massive contract that was owed to point guard Russell Westbrook and acquired decent depth in return. Now, the Wizards have some solid pieces in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as well as Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell.

Outside of trading Westbrook, their big move was landing guard Spencer Dinwiddie in a sign-and-trade with the Brooklyn Nets. Dinwiddie reportedly signed a three-year, $62 million deal with Washington.

Of course, the Wizards are fully built around Beal, who seems comfortable enough with the organization to not demand a trade. But they have managed to surround him with a young core highlighted by Rui Hachmiura and Deni Avdija, both young and promising wings selected in the lottery of back-to-back drafts.

This is what their depth chart may look like when the season begins, though there could be more moves with sharpshooting Davis Bertans potentially on the trading block.

Watch Deni Avdija throw out the first pitch for the Nationals

Avdija tried his hand at some baseball after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch for the hometown Nationals on Thursday.

On Thursday, Washington Wizards forward Deni Avdija changed sports for a brief second and tried his hand at some baseball after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch for the hometown Nationals.

The Nationals extended an invitation to Avdija last week and the ninth overall pick agreed to help them out prior to hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was met with a warm ovation from the crowd on hand prior to taking the mound.

Prior to throwing it out, Avdija took a second to position himself and then delivered the ball over the plate to pitcher Joe Ross to complete the exchange.

Unfortunately, the presence of Avdija didn’t help the Nationals in the end. Washington gave up a grand slam in the fifth inning just prior to the game being called for rain as the Dodgers took the 6-2 victory for their sixth straight win.

At least his first pitch didn’t look like 50 Cent’s infamous throw in 2014…

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Watch Deni Avdija throw out the first pitch for the Nationals

Avdija tried his hand at some baseball after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch for the hometown Nationals on Thursday.

On Thursday, Washington Wizards forward Deni Avdija changed sports for a brief second and tried his hand at some baseball after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch for the hometown Nationals.

The Nationals extended an invitation to Avdija last week and the ninth overall pick agreed to help them out prior to hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was met with a warm ovation from the crowd on hand prior to taking the mound.

Prior to throwing it out, Avdija took a second to position himself and then delivered the ball over the plate to pitcher Joe Ross to complete the exchange.

Unfortunately, the presence of Avdija didn’t help the Nationals in the end. Washington gave up a grand slam in the fifth inning just prior to the game being called for rain as the Dodgers took the 6-2 victory for their sixth straight win.

At least his first pitch didn’t look like 50 Cent’s infamous throw in 2014…

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Wizards’ Deni Avdija did some light shooting before play-in game

Avdija was ruled out for the remainder of the season on April 22 with a right fibular hairline fracture.

Washington Wizards rookie Deni Avdija was seen putting up a few shots in Boston before his team faced off against the Celtics in the play-in tournament on Tuesday.

Of course, Avdija was ruled out for the remainder of the season on April 22 with a right fibular hairline fracture. He sustained the injury the previous night after landing awkwardly on his leg and was forced to leave the court in a wheelchair.

Avdija will not need surgery and is expected to make a full recovery.

Since suffering the injury, Avdija has been with the team in a walking boot. He traveled with the team to Boston and did some light shooting prior to tipoff, according to Ava Wallace of The Washington Post.

The Wizards initially announced Avdija would need 12 weeks to make a full recovery. While he is still in a walking boot, being able to put up a few shots is likely a good sign that his rehabilitation is progressing well as he looks to get back onto the court.

Avdija averaged 6.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 54 games played this season. The ninth overall pick started the last 15 contests for the Wizards prior to the injury and had emerged as a key contributor.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Wizards rule out Deni Avdija for season following ankle fracture

Avdija suffered a hairline fracture in his right ankle after taking a scary fall on Wednesday versus the Warriors.

On Thursday, the Washington Wizards announced that rookie Deni Avdija will miss the rest of the season with a right fibular hairline fracture following MRI testing.

Avdija sustained the injury on Wednesday versus the Golden State Warriors when he went up for a layup attempt. He landed awkwardly on his right ankle and was forced to leave the court area in a wheelchair following the sequence.

The announcement by the Wizards on Thursday confirmed a prior report by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN that stated the injury will not require surgery. Avdija is expected to make a full recovery in approximately 12 weeks.

Following the game, Wizards head coach Scott Brooks commended Avdija for his work ethic this season.

Two things about Deni that I love: He cares a lot, and he works extremely hard. Those are two characteristics that we want our program to be about. He is about those things. … Deni cares, works hard and he is an outstanding kid. We’re lucky to have him on our team. We’re going to keep getting him better.

Avdija averaged 6.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 54 games played this season. The ninth overall pick started the last 15 contests for the Wizards prior to the injury and had emerged as a key contributor as of late.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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