NBA Draft: 4 More International Big Men for No. 51 Pick
4) Mouhammadou Jaiteh (Nanterre) C
Jaiteh Mouhammadou is ranked the No. 35 overall player in the draft on Draft Express. At the NBA Draft Combine, he measured 6-foot-10.5 with shoes and had a 9-foot-2.5 standing reach.
Jaiteh is a very big body, and will need further conditioning to adjust to NBA play, but he has the kind of frame that can build bulk (in a manner not too dissimilar from the young Dwight Howard).
In the French League in 2015, he averaged 22.5 minutes per game while posting averages of 11.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals/blocks per game. He also shot 59.8 percent from the field, though he struggled at the line (58.6 percent on 3.3 attempts per game).
He is just 20 years old, but could be a major diamond in the rough (he has been on NBA radars for a while having pulled out of last year’s Draft too).
He already has starred for the French national team, and he did not start playing basketball until he was 12 years old, having only played soccer.
Does that sound familiar? It should.
Hakeem Olajuwon picked up his extra worldly footwork from having played goalie, and Jaiteh does have exceptional footwork for a 6-foot-10 center.
(Settle down! I am only saying it’s like the Dream, not that he will be.)
He is exceptionally coordinated with both hands, and his frame really projects well with some NBA conditioning. All the tools are there for Jaiteh to be a very good NBA player, which is why he obviously does not last to the 51st pick when Orlando takes the board.
He is basically Joel Embiid before he got to Kansas, and if a GM thinks he has what it takes to learn as quick as Joel did, he is the steal of the draft.
If he cannot be as cerebral, he is just another swing with a later pick. No harm, no foul.
Talents like Jiateh are the type that would be lottery picks if international players were not at such a supreme disadvantage. Just one year in the NCAA could have done him wonders. Or shown NBA scouts his flaws so they can evaluate him properly.
If the Magic or any team in the late second were to fall in love with his sky-high upside, it would require trading into the late-first or early-second round to obtain him.
He is a strong finisher and will be good in pick and rolls. Jaiteh has good speed full-court and will be able to get back in transition against even faster paced teams. Given his natural skills, if he’s placed in the right situation developmentally, he could be a force in the NBA.
Next: A Serbian Luis Scola?