2020 NBA Draft: The report on NBA prospect Amar Sylla

The athletic forward has one of the higher ceilings in the 2020 NBA draft, but the key will be landing with a franchise strong and patient enough to properly develop him.

It’s been quite a contrast over the past two seasons for Amar Sylla. Playing for Real Madrid’s junior squad through 2019, he enjoyed a larger role with more freedom to display his raw and intriguing skill set offensively. For the shortened 2020 season, he moved to BC Oostende, perhaps the best pro organization in Belgium, which gave a better glimpse of what his NBA role will likely look like.

Starting with the physical profile, you almost instantly see why he’s on the radar. The measurables are right out of a lab for the desired modern-day four. Standing 6’9″ with a 7’3″ wingspan, Sylla is not just a leaper but runs like a gazelle.  We often hear about fluidity when looking at how a big man runs the floor, and rarely about speed. Here’s a guy that could actually outrun the guards in transition for easy finishes.

This leads right to the defensive end, where NBA personnel have to be salivating at the upside. There isn’t a raw tool needed for an all-world defender that this kid doesn’t have. Length, great feet, quick hops and timing in spades. If he sees his potential, we will be talking about a legitimate four-positional defender someday. He wasn’t a prolific shot blocker this season but showed great potential as a help-side presence at the rim.

As expected given his age, his IQ on the defensive end is still a work in progress. Lack of strength and experience both lead to being out of position, leaving him prone to cheap fouls.

Now long athletes come and go, but what leads to a double-take on this guy for me are some natural gifts he possesses with the ball. He at times displays impressive passing instincts, with a feel for space and timing. His soccer background from his native Senegal has clearly led to a faster skill transition in hoops than typical for someone who has only played the game for four years.

More encouraging than just his vision is a willingness to move the ball and try to play the right way, even when playing a larger role for Real last season. This is not to say he will become a point forward in the NBA, but he may be able to develop into more than a finisher at the basket.

He doesn’t show anything close to a consistent shooting range at this point but has a very promising touch on his jumper. He’s got a slower catch and shoot motion, though he looks quite comfortable with his turnaround out of the post, at times displaying a beautiful and fluid release.

His field goal and 3-point percentages this season were both awful at a respective 39 percent and 21.6 percent, although the 68.8 percent at the free throw line speaks to his touch at a young age. The jump shot is far from broken, so it’s likely the amount of work that he puts in that will determine how much consistency and range he can attain in the coming years. Most encouraging is hearing about his level of commitment already to improving.

I say it every chance I get: fit so often makes or breaks the case for a draftee, especially a likely second-rounder. In this case it won’t come down to style so much as franchise stability. Sylla will be best suited to go somewhere with a history of developing raw role players, preferably for a coach that isn’t fighting for his job. The Toronto Raptors, San Antonio Spurs, and Oklahoma City Thunder immediately come to mind. All three have great histories of scouting internationally and valuing later picks.

Fran Fraschilla had a great quote when the Raptors took Bruno Caboclo in the 2015 Draft, saying that he was “two years away from being two years away” from ready to play. I do wonder the same about Sylla, and fear it might be a bit early for him to make the move to the states. If he doesn’t land somewhere ideal though, the good news is that with such youth and athleticism on his side, he will have every attempt to stick in the NBA, even if it takes multiple stops or attempts to do so.