What is Zicic's floor and ceiling?

[footey]

Offensive rebounding takes a certain mindset not necessarily vertical ability,it takes the willingness to absorb a pounding and awareness of angles.
Zizic is only 20 and offensive rebounding one of his strengths in a mans league.
The Eastern Europeans do put out some tough ,hungry big men.
David Blatt has used Zizic as an example of a tough young kid at 16 that kept getting up after being knocked down by the best older experienced big man star.
.Blatt knew he was special then.

Makes sense.  Historically, there have always been a lot of hungry people in Eastern Europe (sarcasm) .

I could see him being a Gortat at the very best, but I have tempered expectations.  2nd round stashes tend to not amount to much, so obviously his floor would be bench-warmer.

If he can reach that Gortat potential though, it would be yuuuuge for the Celtics

Luckily he isn't a second round stash.

Heh, I completely forgot that he was drafted in the 20's of round 1.  Still, my point remains; guys drafted outside of the lottery are pretty prone to hardly ever showing up.  I don't think it is unfair to say that his floor is to be a complete nonfactor

So what do you think about the multiple reports suggesting he'd be ~10 if he had entered the draft this year?

In this draft? No way.  That sounds like propaganda to me.

Kieth smith and Kevin O'Connor have said it.

Also he was seen as a bit of a steal at #23 last year and has certainly upped his stock substantially this year

No idea who Kieth Smith is, and while I do enjoy his draft guide even if I don't always agree with his assessments, isn't Kevin really just a glorified blogger?  I'm not knocking him or anything, as it's great to see what he's accomplished, but last time I checked he wasn't a scout.

You can google their resumes for yourself.

And if you can find more credible reporters putting Zizic later in this first round I'd love to see it

So they're both bloggers.  Woo .  If you can find more credible reporters putting Zizic at 10 or so I'd love to see it .  He just doesn't do anything for me , but I'm missing something, as usual .

20 Year old non-shooting/non-rim-protector from a league where Colton Iverson is his stiffest competition?  Wasted pick. 

The idea that he would have top 10 potential in this draft is definitely a drug-induced hallucination.  If he was worth the 5th pick in this draft that would be someone like Malik Monk/Josh Jackson/Dearron Fox/ J Smith/or Jayson Tatum... It's laughable to think Zizic (who would have slipped to the second round last year if not for the Celtics) is in that class.

Ainge and the Celtics pulled a Stan Van Gunday and panicked during last years draft.  They got nothing out of the multiple picks they had after the lottery.  It's too bad because they threw away a ton of value, but the sooner they accept it and move on from their mistakes the better off we'll all be.  YES they reached for Zizic and Yabusele and took both of them a round too high, YES they could have traded those first round picks for more value, but they're stuck with the decisions they made and now should just cut their losses and look to acquire help via trade.   

You are making this up. You lack credibility with the bolded statements above.  The mock drafts last year had Zizic being drafted right about where he was drafted by the Celtics. Some speculated that he might be taken with our 16 pick.  Fran Fraschilla, a highly respected anaylyst on foreign players, stated the Celtics got a very high value pick with Zizic the moment we picked him, meaning, in his view, he was worth being drafted much higher. More importantly, the kid has exceeded everyone's expectations in terms of how quickly he has improved since the draft. 

Why do you make this stuff up??

[kozlodoev]

They sure reached for Yabusele. Should have taken Zizic at 16, and were somewhat lucky he was there at 23.

As for where he'll go in this draft... Lauri Markkanen and Zach Collins are projected to go 9 and 10 at this point. I'm pretty sure Zizic is and will be better than those two, so yeah -- he definitely has top 10 potential.

[Surferdad]

They sure reached for Yabusele. Should have taken Zizic at 16, and were somewhat lucky he was there at 23.

As for where he'll go in this draft... Lauri Markkanen and Zach Collins are projected to go 9 and 10 at this point. I'm pretty sure Zizic is and will be better than those two, so yeah -- he definitely has top 10 potential.

...but Markkenen has a better outside shot, right?

My question is, how does Zizic compare to the 2018 draft big men?

[footey]

They sure reached for Yabusele. Should have taken Zizic at 16, and were somewhat lucky he was there at 23.

As for where he'll go in this draft... Lauri Markkanen and Zach Collins are projected to go 9 and 10 at this point. I'm pretty sure Zizic is and will be better than those two, so yeah -- he definitely has top 10 potential.

Agree regarding Yabusele being a reach at 16. 

[Boris Badenov]

They sure reached for Yabusele. Should have taken Zizic at 16, and were somewhat lucky he was there at 23.

As for where he'll go in this draft... Lauri Markkanen and Zach Collins are projected to go 9 and 10 at this point. I'm pretty sure Zizic is and will be better than those two, so yeah -- he definitely has top 10 potential.

Yes, this is the issue, this draft drops off around 9-10 players in. And, the pool of big guys available then isn't terribly strong.

[kozlodoev]

They sure reached for Yabusele. Should have taken Zizic at 16, and were somewhat lucky he was there at 23.

As for where he'll go in this draft... Lauri Markkanen and Zach Collins are projected to go 9 and 10 at this point. I'm pretty sure Zizic is and will be better than those two, so yeah -- he definitely has top 10 potential.

...but Markkenen has a better outside shot, right?

My question is, how does Zizic compare to the 2018 draft big men?

So does Steve Novak

[detour]

In 2 hours Zizic will play against recent Euroleague champions Fenerbahçe in Turkish league, where he will match up with Euroleague final four MVP Ekpe Udoh. He didn't perform well in first 2 games but Blatt didn't play him much either, as Fenerbahçe sometimes opted for 5-out lineups. Darüşşafaka is down 2-0 and they have to win at home. Broadcaster will stream the game online.

http://www.ntvspor.net/canliyayin

[moiso]

They sure reached for Yabusele. Should have taken Zizic at 16, and were somewhat lucky he was there at 23.

As for where he'll go in this draft... Lauri Markkanen and Zach Collins are projected to go 9 and 10 at this point. I'm pretty sure Zizic is and will be better than those two, so yeah -- he definitely has top 10 potential.

I really like Collins.  I think he's pretty underrated. 

[Ilikesports17]

They sure reached for Yabusele. Should have taken Zizic at 16, and were somewhat lucky he was there at 23.

As for where he'll go in this draft... Lauri Markkanen and Zach Collins are projected to go 9 and 10 at this point. I'm pretty sure Zizic is and will be better than those two, so yeah -- he definitely has top 10 potential.

I really like Collins.  I think he's pretty underrated.

He can defend inside and out which is huge.

[Ilikesports17]

from a league where Colton Iverson is his stiffest competition?  Wasted pick. 

plainly false

The idea that he would have top 10 potential in this draft is definitely a drug-induced hallucination.  If he was worth the 5th pick in this draft that would be someone like Malik Monk/Josh Jackson/Dearron Fox/ J Smith/or Jayson Tatum...

top 10 =/= pick #5. Stupid comment #2.

It's laughable to think Zizic (who would have slipped to the second round last year if not for the Celtics) is in that class.

Zizic was projected to go in the first round (actually was considered a steal at 23).

YES they reached for Zizic ... YES they could have traded those first round picks for more value,

according to mock drafts and post-draft analysts, the bolded is completely untrue

There is also 0 evidence that they could have traded pick 23 for more value

[IDreamCeltics]

from a league where Colton Iverson is his stiffest competition?  Wasted pick. 

plainly false

The idea that he would have top 10 potential in this draft is definitely a drug-induced hallucination.  If he was worth the 5th pick in this draft that would be someone like Malik Monk/Josh Jackson/Dearron Fox/ J Smith/or Jayson Tatum...

top 10 =/= pick #5. Stupid comment #2.

It's laughable to think Zizic (who would have slipped to the second round last year if not for the Celtics) is in that class.

Zizic was projected to go in the first round (actually was considered a steal at 23).

YES they reached for Zizic ... YES they could have traded those first round picks for more value,

according to mock drafts and post-draft analysts, the bolded is completely untrue

There is also 0 evidence that they could have traded pick 23 for more value

You seem to have taken some of what I said personally, I encourage you to take some deep breaths to relax before posting, or possibly investigate medical interventions.

It's tough to argue the rationale side of this situation with irrational posters... People on this board are arguing that Zizic has value as a top 10 pick in THIS draft which is beyond absurd.  Not only is it nearly impossible for a Euroleague player to get drafted in the Top 10 of ANY draft, there has never been a euroleague player drafted in the top 10 who didn't have an outside shot or next level passing ability.

But somehow a 20 year old center who averaged 6 rebounds a game playing against the dregs of the professional leagues is going to be the first player ever to break through that ceiling? 

Seriously, get real.

Here's links to 4 articles that did a redraft of the 2016 NBA draft, some just do the top 10 some redraft the whole first round.  You won't find Zizic in the top 10 of any of them... or even in the first round... because NOBODY thinks he's actually gained value. 

http://www.thesportster.com/basketball/re-drafting-the-first-round-of-the-2016-nba-draft/
http://www.foxsports.com/nba/gallery/nba-draft-no-1-pick-first-redraft-redo-worst-class-ever-brandon-ingram-ben-simmons-2016-033017
http://thesportsquotient.com/nba/2017/1/6/2016-nba-re-draft-what-should-have-happened
https://theringer.com/reevaluating-the-2016-nba-draft-class-46df7c76e2b2

[kozlodoev]

But somehow a 20 year old center who averaged 6 rebounds a game playing against the dregs of the professional leagues is going to be the first player ever to break through that ceiling?

He averaged nearly 7 rebounds in just 21 minutes of action in the Euroleague, starting 17 of 20 games in the process. The Euroleague, in case you didn't know, is widely considered the second strongest basketball competition in the world.

But yes, there's no way he could beat the kid that averaged 7 rebounds in 21 minutes playing against 18-19 year olds and undraftable upperclassmen for the 10th spot in this year's draft. Oy vey. 

[gouki88]

But somehow a 20 year old center who averaged 6 rebounds a game playing against the dregs of the professional leagues is going to be the first player ever to break through that ceiling?

He averaged nearly 7 rebounds in 21 minutes of action in the Euroleague, starting 17 of 20 games in the process. The Euroleague, in case you didn't know, is widely considered the second strongest basketball competition in the world.

But yes, there's no way he could beat the kid that averaged 7 rebounds in 21 minutes playing against 18-19 year olds and undraftable upperclassmen for the 10th spot in this year's draft. Oy vey. 

Well that was a bit of a flaming. TP.

[kozlodoev]

But somehow a 20 year old center who averaged 6 rebounds a game playing against the dregs of the professional leagues is going to be the first player ever to break through that ceiling?

He averaged nearly 7 rebounds in 21 minutes of action in the Euroleague, starting 17 of 20 games in the process. The Euroleague, in case you didn't know, is widely considered the second strongest basketball competition in the world.

But yes, there's no way he could beat the kid that averaged 7 rebounds in 21 minutes playing against 18-19 year olds and undraftable upperclassmen for the 10th spot in this year's draft. Oy vey. 

Well that was a bit of a flaming. TP.

Ye olde mortar was getting rusty

[LatterDayCelticsfan]

Floor on the ground, Ceiling above his head.





LDCF out