Cole Anthony atop lottery prospects for 2020 NBA Draft

3. New York Knicks: Deni Avdija, F, Maccabi Tel Aviv

Another year, another top international prospect who’s drawing too much ire from critics.

Deni Avdija has shown for years at different levels overseas that he’s the next great NBA import and quite frankly there’s little to dislike about his game.

Comparisons on him vary, but the Danilo Gallinari one is pretty spot-on. A 6’9″ combo forward who’s comfortable handling the ball, making plays and converting on tough looks from outside when he gets the chance? What pro team wouldn’t want to take a flyer on someone like that?

However, the athletic concerns are real and because he’s not the skilled marvel that Luka Doncic was before he was drafted, there aren’t as many fans in the room scouting wise to swallow the public skepticism and take a chance on the confident forward prospect.

There’s absolutely a world in which Avdija challenges for the first overall pick. As long as he can progress to seeing enough minutes and produce for Maccabi Tel Aviv, it’ll be hard for teams to ignore the talent base and let him slip too late in the top half of the lottery.