STRENGTHS

Athleticism - Rangy SF with great athleticism - very fluid
Scoring Ability - Three level scorer - catches and shoots 3s, pull ups and floaters at mid range and can get all the way to the rim
Transition - Good transition where he plays above the rim; Great footwork in transition, throws defenders off with long steps and euro steps
Crafty scorer - Has mid range fadeaway, sidesteps defenders in traffic
Size - NBA build with the upper body strength to finish through contact
Passing - Decent vision in PNR, has the size to see over defenses
Defensive - Potential 3 &D guy due to length

WEAKNESSES

Shooting Efficiency - Needs to improve, has only been an average 3 point shooter thus far
Aggressiveness - Too talented to shoot only 3 free throws per game
Attacking basket - Doesn’t get all the way to the rim in the half court as much as he does going right
Shot selection - Will settle for a contested mid range jumper going left
Ball Screens - Pick & Roll play needs to improve, doesn’t get downhill enough and takes too many tough jumpers.
Ball Handling - Struggles handling the ball in traffic

There’s a lot to love about Deng Adel. Not like, but love. He has prototypical size at the 3 and can score at 3 levels. He’s very athletic and he throws down vicious dunks on the break. Playing second fiddle to Donovan Mitchell, Adel averaged a respectable 12 ppg/ reb pg/ 2.5 apg on 42/35/77 splits. As the clear cut #1 guy, Adel has a chance to propel himself as one of the top small forwards in the draft.

As previously mentioned, Adel is a 3 level scorer. From behind the arc he’s mostly a spot up guy. His percentages aren’t great but he’s fundamentally sound in his mechanics. At the mid range level, Adel has it all in his bag: step backs, floaters and fade aways. I think this projects well for him as he can play PNR. With better spacing (no defensive 3 seconds) Adel should be able to showcase his skill set. When he does get to the rim, Adel has great footwork where he side steps bigs and uses Euro steps. Adel is also a good playmaker with decent vision in the PNR; again he has the size to make the all the right reads.

This next season, I’d like to see Deng Adel improve his free throw attempts. He’s too talented and athletic to only get to the line 3 attempts per game. Hopefully this is due to his role last season, but he’d catch the scouts eyes if he could get to up to about 5 per game. Shooting 35% from 3 is respectable but again if he’s at 38% he becomes a more attractive prospect. Adel can handle with both hands but he’s less likely to turn the corner in traffic going left. He’ll settle for a contested pull up jumper. If he can shore up these flaws, the roof is the ceiling.

JAMES BARLOWE - OCTOBER 16, 2017

SUMMARY

Here is a breakdown of Adel's possessions over the 2016-17 season