2015 NBA Draft: Kristaps Porzingis may be Orlando’s man
NBA fans may be aware of the incoming crop of NCAA prospects, but turning attention to international prospects reveals an intriguing seven-footer whose talents could eventually lead to legitimate stardom. That man’s name is Kristaps Porzingis of Latvia.
Kristaps Porzingis is a 7-foot-1 power forward and is projected to go in the top half of the lottery in this June’s NBA Draft. While he has the height necessary to play center, his thin frame renders him more likely a power forward, at least initially in his career.
Porzingis’ skill set will enable him to thrive at the 4-spot, and he has the mobility that he could stay there for his entire career if he never does add the necessary bulk to body up NBA centers. At just 220 pounds, he is far too thin to body up on the blocks, but he may never have to.
Porzingis, aside from his strength limitations, also has no back to the basket game to speak of. What he lacks there, he makes up for with coordination and athleticism, neither of which are necessarily synonymous with a player of his size. He shoots the ball well from the mid-range, which will bode well in pick-and-pop plays.
He is a lot like Nikola Vucevic, but he also does not turn 20 until just before next season, so he will have time to fortify his shortcomings.
He is a big man with a lot of finesse, which can work well in the NBA.
Donatas Motiejunas played a big role in the Houston Rockets’ regular season success with Dwight Howard on the shelf for a large portion of the season. He is not too dissimilar from Motiejunas, though his proverbial ceiling may be higher than the Rockets’ prospect.
That is primarily because Porzingis has great potential as a defender.
The Magic lacked weak-side coverage on penetration the entire season, and that is a defensive style he will be quick to import to the NBA.
He has already shown the lateral footspeed to react well in pick-and-roll situations, and he is adept at hedging guards to prevent penetration.
He forces tough shots from the ball handler in pick and rolls, and that is another area the Magic struggled in (Quick flashes back to what Kemba Walker did to the Magic this season will revive how badly the Magic need to improve its defense of guards in pick and rolls).
Often European big men are thought of as cumbersome but adroit, relegated to handling the ball on the perimeter, playing “soft” and basically becoming what former No. 1 pick Andrea Bargnani became (namely, a colossal bust).
But Porzingis could be nothing of the sort. On dunk attempts, his head frequently hovers around the rim. He attacks shots in the paint in a manner very reminiscent of Andrei Kirilenko (hopefully without the fragility). He is aggressive and athletic, which does not fit the “European mold.”
All of the things Porzingis does in this regard are far more like Kevin Garnett than Bargnani, and he does not just block shots because he is over seven-foot — or the Magic would be ready to roll with Vucevic and any random stretch-4. It is his leaping ability and timing that make him a feared defender in the paint.
This dreadful season illustrated fully the Magic cannot just put a shooter at power forward and expect to thrive defensively. Essentially, that is what sent sharpshooter Channing Frye to the bench in favor of the defensive-minded Dewayne Dedmon.
Porzingis would signal a move in the right direction for the Magic frontcourt, which never really reached a state of successful stasis during the 2014-15 season. Dedmon brought defense, but little offense. Aaron Gordon stepped in to bring offense, but little consistency.
Every Magic big man, including the seldom-used Kyle O’Quinn (referring to the latter part of the season in which he began recording DNP-CDs), brings some valuable traits that are all but offset by equally glaring weaknesses. But Porzingis brings great balance, most especially if he is to be a power forward.
His biggest shortcomings at this point all lie upon the fact he is not a center. But is that even important to the Magic?
Orlando already is well-committed to Vucevic financially and schematically, and barring the (unlikely) fortune of landing Jahlil Okafor or Karl-Anthony Towns in the draft, it will be Vucevic who starts once again at center. But the power forward spot is wide open, and Porzingis is rated among the top power forwards in the draft.
For as excited as some (this writer included) are about the prospects of Kentucky’s Willie Cauley-Stein’s defensive impact, Porzingis may offer nearly as much defensive ability with substantially better prospects on the offensive end.
And there is no illusion that the Magic are a proficient team offensively. They ranked 27th in offensive rating this season. The Magic managed just 95.7 points per game (25th in the NBA) and adding Porzingis would begin to address those issues.
Summarizing, Porzingis is not a typical Euro big man. For evidence of the evolution of Euro forwards and centers, one could even look at the successes of Kostas Papanikolaou, whose rookie season with the Houston Rockets illustrated that there are forwards in Europe equally as athletically gifted as the guys that grace the NCAA.
Porzingis is far more in the mold of Papanikolaou than the likes of Bargnani (notwithstanding that they play different positions), and the Magic will be smart to consider his potential impact.
Porzingis is currently slotted to go No. 6 in the 2015 mock draft provided by NBADraft.net, and it is not altogether too far fetched that he leapfrogs a player or two and goes before the Magic even pick.
Given teams’ reluctance to draft European prospects that high (yes, blame Darko Milicic), the Magic may benefit by snagging one of the more concrete prospects to enter the draft.
Porzingis has a few areas to improve, but from day one he can be an impact power forward. And that is really need 1-A for the Magic this offseason.
While it is easy to get excited about the guys we have seen like Cauley-Stein, Justise Winslows, et cetera, it is potentially more rewarding to start looking at the guys we have seen little of.
Do not sleep on Porzingis just because he is a mystery box to most NBA fans, in other words.