Well, we have one good thing to hand our hats on from a currently 15-64 Wizards campaign that will end with them having no better than the third-worst record in the NBA: Deni Avdija has become a capital-D dude.
Avdija had a 32-point double-double against Toronto over the weekend, becoming just the second player (behind Elvin Hayes) in franchise history to have a 30-10 with five assists, three blocks, and two steals in a game – and while he ‘only’ had 15-6-5 in Tuesday’s loss, he was also one of five Wizards with 15+ and six in double figures, so he didn’t have to carry the load.
Still, after that Toronto performance, his fifth double-double in the last eight, Grant Paulsen couldn’t help but gush on the Israeli forward’s surge.
“In his last 41 games, which is a pretty big sample as half of an NBA season, he’s averaging 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists, and shooting 52% from the floor with 40% from deep,” GP said. “He's become an excellent player.”
“This is what they had in mind years ago. It's taken a minute, which happens when you draft a teenager from a foreign country a lot of times, but our eyeline is always ruined when a 19 year old walks in and is immediately an All-Star,” Danny replied. “But he's been scoring consistently in double-digits really since a couple of months into the season. It's not just standing and waiting for someone to do something like a catch and shoot guy, which has never been his game, he's got a little bit of versatility. There's a little bit of Swiss army knife, he's got some, Scottie Pippen to his game. I realize I'm comparing him to players that are much more accomplished, but there's a little bit of everything and as he's gotten stronger, been able to go through some contact, je's not just standing around waiting for stuff to happen. You put the ball in his hands, he could create some things, and you're seeing it happen. It's really cool to watch him blossom.”
Before Tuesday’s game, he was averaging just over 14 and 7, and when you go through Wizards history, not many guys have gone 14.5-7-4 with Deni’s shooting percentages.
“Nobody's done it here since the nineties, Chris Webber in ’96-’97, and he would go on to be one of the best players in the NBA,” GP said. “That's the last guy to have a year statistically where he can do as many things as effectively as what Deni does – and on top of Webber, who did it twice, only four players in team history have ever had the year that Deni's having, and all of those guys made at least two All-Star teams. I don't know how to say it other than that to quantify that Deni Avdija is legit. They've unearthed a gem here to hopefully go along with whatever they're adding at the top of the draft board.”
And even though Avdija goes on the last regime’s ledger, this regime saw it.
“They identified that and extended him, so there's no ego there, there's no, ‘well, he's the last guy's mistake,’” Danny said. “In the 2027-28 season, he is under contract for $11.8 million. I’ll certainly take that with this level of production and, and the arrow trending up.”
“They get credit because they paid him early, and now it looks like a really smart, good contract,” GP replied.