NBA Comparison: Yi Jianlian

Strengths: One of the most intriguing international prospects … At 6’11, he is not only comfortable shooting the ball from deep (with nice form and a smooth release), but he is more than capable of handling it in transition and running the fast break … He is a very active, energy type player who plays extremely hard and rarely takes plays off … A great motor to go along with good hands and feet, allows him to play a variety of positions on the floor … Shows potential to become a full time player on the perimeter, he is capable of putting the ball on the floor and attacking the basket … Has the explosiveness to get by the defender and to finish above the rim in traffic … He is a good slasher and he moves extremely well without the ball, either using screens or cuts to get into scoring positions … He is a very good rebounder, showing good instincts and willingness to attack the glass … For a young player of his size, his passing ability might be the most surprising, he can find teammates with pinpoint passes and he can also do it off the dribble … Defensively, his length and athleticism allow him to block and alter many shots as well as get into the passing lanes … The experience that he is getting playing during key moments on the biggest European stage has done wonders to both his development and maturation … Not many 18 year olds are put in a position where they are expected to contribute on a nightly basis, but he has been asked exactly that and has performed…

Weaknesses: Currently he is mostly an energy player, getting the bulk of his points on hustle and broken plays … He needs to develop a go-to aspect in his scoring repertoire … Added body strength will help him out, as he currently struggles finishing around the basket when taking contact … Not a great ball handler, everything he does offesnively is 1-or-2 dribble oves ... He is also fairly uncomfortable operating on the block as bigger defenders can easily body him and get him out of position … He makes a lot of careless mistake, either with errant passes or with missed assignments on the defensive end (these are all things that should naturally improve as he gains more experience) … While his outside shot looks good, he needs to gain more consistency, part of the problem is the fact that he shoots off-balance as he tends to fade to his left when contested … 50% free throw shooter will need to work at improving his consistency from the line ...

Notes: He is under contract with Partizan until 2013, and unless an NBA team is willing to buy out his contract, he may be the right candidate to get drafted and then allowed to develop even more before he is brought over.