Alexis Ajinca
by Mucho Moss on Jun 20, 2008 1:32 AM PDT
33 comments
With guys like Westbrook, Joe Alexander, and DJ Augustin apparently drifting beyond Geoff Petrie's reach we're speculating here at Sactown on the Kings ending up with a player like Darrell Arthur or Marresse Speights,.
Meanwhile, Alexis Ajinca, the young 7'1 Euro C/PF, is movin' up fast.
According to Draft Express Ajinca has been extremely impressive in his NBA draft workouts and could be rocketing up the charts by as many as 10 draft slots, which would put him right in the Kings’ range.
http://www.draftexpress.com/blog/Jonathan-Givony/
Personally, I think I’d rather see the Kings roll the dice on Ajinca than Speights, Arthur, McGee, Donte Greene, etc.
Ajinca is really intriguing; he has some of the sky-high potential scouts saw in DeAndre Jordan in terms of natural athletic ability and size (Ajinca has an incredible 7’7 wingspan!).
But in his favor, the French player has already delivered on some of that promise, developing a nice outside jump shot and a jump-hook shot in International play, and is seemingly more tough, more focused, court-smart, and overall more motivated to get to the next level.
He’s been bulking up, and in a year or so (he only just turned 20) Ajinca could be a seriously promising NBA power forward.
Now, reports say that Anthony Randolph's mediocre workouts could be scaring off some teams, so maybe he or Joe Alexander could still fall into the Kings laps. But no one can deny that we could desperately use an athletic big man, especially one who can play some defense and alter or block shots inside, and Ajinca has two other tools that Petrie would notice: he can shoot and he can pass:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlcfmCclMtk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj1bHmIXtBQ
(This is a FanPost from a member of the Sactown Royalty community. The views expressed come from the member, and not Sactown Royalty staff.)
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(literally) a stretch, maybe...
but kind of an interesting one…
Anyone gotta take?
"When the going gets Weird, the Weird turn professional."
(Hunter Thompson)
I like Ajinca’s game a lot; Shoals of FD saw him at a camp in Portland, and said he’s like a longer Diaw. I think I prefer Speights, because I think Speights can contribute more in the next two years. I’m eager to win sooner rather than later … though if you think Ajinca’s a potential above-average starter, take him and wait.
Petrie has personally scouted Europe each of the last two years (and probably the last 10). He’ll know what he thinks about this guy.
The good thing about drafting 12th
is that if you whiff it means little unless there is a major game changing superstar drafted below your slot. That is the nice thing about the slot. If there’s a potential player who needs a few years to grow in Europe, and while fans would be disappointed, it would be a wise thing to draft a major impact player with the 12th pick this year, rather than drafting a player who can help you win 43 games next year.
No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on
Ajinca
sits further down my list for the same reason I have not voted for Danilo Gallinari yet on our draft board – I just can’t get my hands on enough film or information to really like the guy. My bet is that if we had information on Gallinari equal to what we have seen on Alexander, we might just like Gallinari better.
Also, the fact that guys like Bodiroga never came over and that guys like Fran Vazquez have yet to come over gives you that extra concern that you really don’t have with collegiate players.
We’ve picked 11 players so far for our board, and Gallinari and Speights are still available. I would probably opt for either one of those guys over Ajinca. But if GP pulled the trigger on him I would have to give him the benefit of the doubt.
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Gallinari
is a pretty slick player, and obviously his game is a lot more developed than Ajinca. I don’t think there’s much chance he’ll be there at 12 but yeah, I’d take Gallinari over Ajinca too.
Speights, on the other hand…
"When the going gets Weird, the Weird turn professional."
(Hunter Thompson)
What tape I have watched...
tells me he could be very good at the NBA level. Gallinari looks very mobile, fluid through the hip and explosive. I hate watching all this youtube video of these guys. The Ajinca video at a glance is impressive but come on, the guy doesn’t get more than 3 inches off the ground on any of his shots, not to mention that his tape is a seamlessly doctored group of makes with some yahoo counting in the background. His touch is nice from the freethrow line but most of the other shots are taken from inside the line or they are 10 foot bank shots. I want to see this guy against another player, even it is a 5’-8” white guy with a broom in his hand. If he is available in the second then sure, why not but there have been way too many European busts and this guy wasn’t even on the radar two weeks ago.
Hot dogs, get your hot dogs.
Ajinca hops...
Here’s some more footage of Ajinca (#8), this time in actual Euro League play.
Bottom line: the kid can sky up high. (Not that he needs too, since at 7’1” and a 7’7” wingspan if he really got some air he’s grab the top of the backboard!)
As you can imagine he rejects numerous shots here with impunity and makes some impressive and very athletic dunks as well. In the clip you’ll also see a couple of strong well-executed outlet passes.
"When the going gets Weird, the Weird turn professional."
(Hunter Thompson)
He won't be available
in Round 2, that’s pretty for sure at this point.
He’s been delivering the goods in his NBA workouts, and is now figured to go between 12-18.
"When the going gets Weird, the Weird turn professional."
(Hunter Thompson)
I know he won't be availble in the 2nd...
my point was this guy is coming out of no where, jumping somewhere between 12 and 16 draft spots. Even saying this, he is still not in the top 5 or the top 10. His chance of being an NBA regular isn’t exactly guaranteed and the players he was up against in the second clip didn’t exactly look like NBA talent. In the age of college coaches getting letters of intent from players when they are in the 7th grade, Ajinca was a late first early second round pick two weeks ago. NBA scouts had already seen him play and Geoff Petrie could probably tell you his parents names. The days of finding a Peja, that only a handful of people know about is over. So although I might be wrong and Ajinca could end up being a good player in the future, I hope that that chance comes for a different team than the Kings because the Kings really can’t take a flier on a Euro who just moved up from the 28 to the 12 pick virtually over night.
Hot dogs, get your hot dogs.
You're right
jjam… Ajinca may not have been on most fan’s radar until this week, but I’m sure Petrie’s become very familiar with the kid for at least a year.
Still, three developments have improved his stock fairly recently.
First, Ajinca gained about 20 pounds since last summer. Then in April he made a strong showing at the Nike Hoop Summit. Most recently he’s been impressive in his workouts for NBA teams this month.
To my mind, unless Augustin or Gallinari drop to us, he’s now no more of a risk than anybody else the Kings are likely to be able to get at #12. Speights, Arthur, McGee, Greene, Rush, even Randolph all have pretty big question marks. And though he has that risk his upside is considerably higher than say Hibbert or Robin Lopez.
"When the going gets Weird, the Weird turn professional."
(Hunter Thompson)
We have a group of options
If Anthony Randolph (and the rest DJ, Westbrook, Love) is gone by this point, I think Ajinca would be a very good pick. He has huge upside along with a pretty diverse skill set already. Speights wouldn’t hurt my feelings here either. A poor man’s Elton Brand or Al Jefferson certainly doesn’t sound too bad.
Ajinca
He looks pretty smooth, and it looks like he has a nice mid-range to long-range catch and shoot game.
Did he work out for the Kings?
by coolcatreportdotcom on Jun 20, 2008 10:26 AM PDT reply actions
42 Wins?
I think the Kings as built are alreay at least a .500 team if they stay healthy and RA and Beno are still here. 47 wins probably gets you into the playoffs next year as SA, DEN, GS and PHX are likely to fall off some in my estimation.
eternal skeptical optimist
Tough task
Not impossible, but very tough.
The Kings finished 17 games behind Phoenix and 18 games behind San Antonio. I just don’t see enough of a change on either side (barring injury to Duncan or Nash) that would enable us to close that gap. So that leaves us to catch Denver (12 games better), Golden State (10 games better) and Portland (3 games better). I could see Denver do an implosion thing, and you never know if the whole Baron Davis/Don Nelson thing might blow up. Will Oden contribute in what is bascally now his rookie year?
Not impossible, but very tough.
SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!
Pretty much impossible
Barring some huge trade, we are not making the playoffs next year. No way we hop over 3 teams. I expect us to finish 11th in the west again.
Ball movement ... is like jogging for most people: They do it occasionally, and it makes them happy. Then they go back to not doing it. - Henry Abbott
by Kfan in Korea on Jun 20, 2008 12:29 PM PDT up reply actions
Agree to disagree
I think several of those upper teams, SA, PHX (could REALLY blowup), Denver (Also) and GS all could realistically come down. I just don’t think you’ll need 50 wins to get in next year. That was a historical aberration. 45-47 is probably the 8th seed (as usual).
eternal skeptical optimist
by lietothegirls on Jun 23, 2008 10:55 AM PDT up reply actions
in my picture of things
Artest and Miller will both be gone on or before next March, and we’re rapidly rebuilding towards Kings 2.0, a younger, faster, more athletic version of a team that still plays mainly a Princeton-style offense featuring ball movement, slick passing and high percentage shot selection, but where tough defense, especially inside, is also part of the scheme.
This is why I got excited by the rumor that Petrie was interested in guys like Joakim Noah, AK47 and Nene. It seems to indicate Petrie has a somewhat similar (and no doubt much more tangible) vision for the future.
Personally, I’m not all that worried about whether Sacramento makes the playoffs next year as long as there’s clear and major progress toward breaking through to the next phase.
"When the going gets Weird, the Weird turn professional."
(Hunter Thompson)
if we draft him
does this mean we are going to hear jerry reynolds say “Ajinca-Wu” for the length of the contract?
www.myspace.com/cynemamusic.com
by Cynema the Band on Jun 20, 2008 11:23 AM PDT reply actions
of course i mean "-Vu"
www.myspace.com/cynemamusic.com
by Cynema the Band on Jun 20, 2008 11:24 AM PDT up reply actions
Jerryisms
Driving Alexis.
Lex Luthor.
Ajinca-jinca-gee (take off on old, old Jimmy Durante line, right up Jerry’s alley).
Alexis cadabra!
SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!
Finally!
A reason to pay for League Pass again.
TickTickTickTickTickTick
by LeaguePassAddict on Jun 20, 2008 12:33 PM PDT up reply actions
Grain of salt
It’s a good thing that I don’t take these comparisons seriously. While DraftExpress compares Ajinca to LaMarcus Aldrifge (best case) and Francisco Elson (worst case), others have compared him to Mikki Moore, Jonathan Bender and Channing Frye (nbadraft.net on the 1st two, HoopsHype on Frye).
SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!
OK, but if Mikki Moore
was just 20 years old, had a 7’7” wingspan and could nail jump shots from 17 feet out like Ajinca, I’d feel a whole lot better about the King’s front-court prospects.
"When the going gets Weird, the Weird turn professional."
(Hunter Thompson)
Mikki's wingspan
Is that measured from lobster claw to lobster claw?
SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!
Mikki
Yeah, I love the guys heart – just no hands.
eternal skeptical optimist
by lietothegirls on Jun 23, 2008 10:51 AM PDT up reply actions
Correction...
Just for the record, Ajinca reportedly has a 7’8.5” wingspan.
http://www.draftexpress.com/forums/showthread.php?p=35301
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Alexis-Ajinca-534/
Basically, he can swat down low flying geese.
"When the going gets Weird, the Weird turn professional."
(Hunter Thompson)
or scratch Yao's forehead and touch the ground at the same time.
Mikki Moore in the skills challenge! - LPA
last call for the Alexis Ajinca bandwagon...
As this post fades into the single rec sunset I thought I’d mention that today (Monday) DraftExpress honcho Jonathan Givony is reporting that the 7’9” wingspan wonder could conceivably be drafted as high as #9 by Charlotte (!):
Givony writes:
”...Other teams (besides Portland) that have worked him out recently have come away raving not just about Ajinca’s exciting combination of skills and physical tools, but also about his strong intangibles. He is reportedly impressing teams with his terrific personality and motivation to succeed, and is believed to have excellent leadership skills. “
Earlier the blog post had noted that the Trailblazers were “extremely intrigued” by Ajinca, and were weighing taking him with the #13 slot, just after the Kings.
"When the going gets Weird, the Weird turn professional."
(Hunter Thompson)
Randolph unimpressive
With the way A randolph seems to be underwhelming teams all of a sudden and (see my post on PF by the numbers if you want) Ajinca rising. . .
Well, if we’re rolling the dice on a massive potential pick – I say why not?
(I DO think petrie should make an educated die roll…)
eternal skeptical optimist
Petrie Could Do It
If anybody would roll the dice on a European prospect it’s Petrie. If he was willing to wait for Peja in 1997, I am sure he can wait for Ajinca.
He can shoot, and he looks great in a suit. Hey, everybody - It's REGGIE TIME!
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