Draft Giannis Adetokunbo , Danny Ainge compares him to young Scottie Pippen

[rondohondo]

Update: Just saw this interesting tidbit from redsarmy, Danny went to Greece to scout him last month , and apparently compared him to a young Scottie Pippen

According to a report from Sheridanhoops.com, Danny Ainge has been in Greece scouting a 6-10 point guard named Giannis Adetokunbo.

    In the latest installment of “Catch a Rising Star,” Boston Celtics president Dany Ainge traveled to Greece to get a first-hand look at Giannis Adetokunbo, the 6-foot-10 point guard who is moving up draft boards by leaps and bounds.

    Ainge was in the house — and got heckled by Lakers fans — as Adetokunbo scored 19 points and grabbed 9 rebounds and two steals in the championship round of the Greek A2 league.

    Ainge also saw the CSKA-Panathinaikos Euroleague game, an qs quoted by Greek media as comparing Adetokundo as reminding him of a young Scottie Pippen.

http://redsarmy.com/2013/04/06/danny-ainge-scouting-6-10-pg-in-greece-giannis-adetokunbo/


I have been watching a lot of the scouting videos on this kid , and he seriously looks like a Kevin Durant/Paul George type of player .

Joey Dorsey who is playing in the same league compares his potential to Kevin Durant

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gslTq8XPYak


Check out this video , he has huge Rondo type hands which allows him to have a very good handle and passing ability .
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oaw0_zw9LGs

His Passing ability and vision(starting around the 6 min mark of that video) looks really good. He has a decent shot too, which I am sure he can improve even more .



Here's a 45 point game he had in a championship game

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi3gOHwdO7A

Please Draft him Danny!!!

[Chris]

Kevin Durant, really?  He is nowhere near as skilled, and certainly not as good a shooter as Durant.    In the videos I have seen he has looked like he doesn't have much of a first step, and his handle is VERY loose (he makes Jeff Green look like Rondo).  He has a long way to go.

[Kane3387]

This kid has done nothing but play against inferior competition from what I've read. And hes not necesarrily dominating. Sounds like he has a long ways to go and is far from being able to compete with the best in the world.

I think 16 is too high for a project.

[guava_wrench]

Talking about "potential" is usually mostly fantasizing.

Comparing to someone like Durant typically means that a player has a similar build and style of play, but isn't that good.

How do you compare someone to Durant when the have a "decent shot"? You can't compare someone to Durant unless they can shoot the lights out because that is the defining skill of Durant.

[The Rondo Show]

Reach.

[CelticConcourse]

And Fab Melo is the next KG, right?

[ManUp]

IMO, he has bust written all over, but I've been wrong before and I'll be wrong again. If Danny real likes him who am I to say no? What he has working for him right now is size and physical attributes. He's playing against really weak competition so his highlights don't impress me.

[Celtics4ever]

If he is good as you say he won't be there for us to pick. 

I have seen better defenders in an grade school game than were the guys guarding him.   I have scored 43 in a game against guys in a league of sponsored company teams for a rec league and that defense looks to be not better.   Who you play against means a lot in terms of performance.   He has a nice shot but the D was not physical like it will be in the NBA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE-ymqgZPFY

No D !  He can shoot but I think he would struggle against physical players.  The D was so soft.

[rondohondo]

For anyone who says he hasn't played competition , you are wrong

This seems to be a poster in the know about the competition he played against (commenting on a bleacher report article that says he has played in a bad league)

This article is misleading totally about the level of Greek A2 League. Greek A2 League isn't a minor league. It's a fully professional men's senior league. Just because it's the second division does not mean it's a "minor league". It's NOT.

Secondly.......the NBA D-League is NOT as good as the A2 league in Greece, and this article claims it's better. No............a couple years ago the NBA D-League All Star Team played against 3 second division teams in Greece, and the D-League All Stars went 0-3. And the Greek second division teams were even playing some of their youth squad (as in high school) players.

You are totally confusing this. Adetokunbo plays in TWO different leagues. He plays in the high school 18 and under league, and he ALSO plays in the second division, which is a pro league.

All this "the competition is horrible" stuff is talking about the HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE. NOT the A2 league. But this article is making it look like the A2 league is "horrible competition".

Sorry, but the A2 league is much better than NBA D-League is. So there is really a lot of misleading stuff to some of these claims.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1626326-610-greek-pg-giannis-adetokunbo-generating-serious-nba-draft-buzz

Of course he is a project , but it is pretty clear to me the kid has game . PG instincts in a 6'10 body .

He needs to add weight, but is still very young .

I might take Dieng over him, but after that I don't see anyone in the #16 range with as much upside .

[rondohondo]

Danny Ainge compares him to a young scottie Pippen?

According to a report from Sheridanhoops.com, Danny Ainge has been in Greece scouting a 6-10 point guard named Giannis Adetokunbo.

    In the latest installment of “Catch a Rising Star,” Boston Celtics president Dany Ainge traveled to Greece to get a first-hand look at Giannis Adetokunbo, the 6-foot-10 point guard who is moving up draft boards by leaps and bounds.

    Ainge was in the house — and got heckled by Lakers fans — as Adetokunbo scored 19 points and grabbed 9 rebounds and two steals in the championship round of the Greek A2 league.

    Ainge also saw the CSKA-Panathinaikos Euroleague game, an qs quoted by Greek media as comparing Adetokundo as reminding him of a young Scottie Pippen.

http://redsarmy.com/2013/04/06/danny-ainge-scouting-6-10-pg-in-greece-giannis-adetokunbo/

Interesting.....

[CelticConcourse]

He's probably gonna go in the lottery now

[rondohondo]

He's probably gonna go in the lottery now

so when Danny says it , then you believe it huh?

[CelticConcourse]

He's probably gonna go in the lottery now

so when Danny says it , then you believe it huh?

Well, Danny makes the decisions so we've got to listen to him

[nickagneta]

Danny Ainge compares him to a young scottie Pippen?

According to a report from Sheridanhoops.com, Danny Ainge has been in Greece scouting a 6-10 point guard named Giannis Adetokunbo.

    In the latest installment of “Catch a Rising Star,” Boston Celtics president Dany Ainge traveled to Greece to get a first-hand look at Giannis Adetokunbo, the 6-foot-10 point guard who is moving up draft boards by leaps and bounds.

    Ainge was in the house — and got heckled by Lakers fans — as Adetokunbo scored 19 points and grabbed 9 rebounds and two steals in the championship round of the Greek A2 league.

    Ainge also saw the CSKA-Panathinaikos Euroleague game, an qs quoted by Greek media as comparing Adetokundo as reminding him of a young Scottie Pippen.

http://redsarmy.com/2013/04/06/danny-ainge-scouting-6-10-pg-in-greece-giannis-adetokunbo/

Interesting.....

"Is quoted by the Greek media as comparing him to a young Scottie Pippen" is not an actual quote by Ainge. I want to see the actual quote. If Danny had something like that it would be all over the American media.

[Galeto]

Kevin Durant, really?  He is nowhere near as skilled, and certainly not as good a shooter as Durant.    In the videos I have seen he has looked like he doesn't have much of a first step, and his handle is VERY loose (he makes Jeff Green look like Rondo).  He has a long way to go.

You really think his handle is loose?  Are you just going off of highlights?  There are full games of his available and his handle looks really good.  He actually brings the ball up a lot, which doesn't mean anything if he's not pressured but he looks really comfortable dribbling in all scenarios, including going full speed and changing directions.  He doesn't fight the ball and is equally dexterous with his right and left hand. 

The guy is such a gamble because he hasn't been exposed to a high level of competition but at least he's not a rail-thin 22 year old playing against subpar competition and just getting discovered.  For a 18 year old, he's got a very good feel for the game, a pretty high skill level and promising physical gifts.  From what I can tell, he looks like he's been coached well and has a knack for the game.  He is what he is, a skilled 18 year old prospect who could be a bust or could turn out to be a solid player or maybe more, maybe much more.