Recapping the International Withdrawal Deadline
The international withdrawal period went by on Sunday, and which of these players benefited from their decision the most?
The international withdrawal period is always a time of intrigue. Occasionally when Givony or another source tweets out that X player has withdrawn, I don't even know who X player is! Eli Ndiaye anyone? Jokes aside, let’s break down the impact of the most impactful decisions of this deadline, both from the player and team perspective.
Guys Who Stayed In:
Pacome Dadiet and Melvin Ajinca
I will keep both of these pretty simple, as I have a higher grade on both of these players than most people, having Dadiet in my late teens, and Ajinca I have in my top 40. I think Dadiet is a quality floor spacer with upside and is more than worthy of a first-round pick, it just has to be a team that is willing to take a guy who might not contribute from day one. Ajinca is a bit more complicated, he is a guy who currently lacks feel for the game but is a solid, not elite shooter, who leans in my opinion to be a good defender. I think Ajinca is worthy of a guaranteed contract, granted he will likely spend his entire rookie year in the G League, but most consider him a stash candidate. If Ajinca is willing to be stashed for one or two seasons, I think that might be good for him, as his situation at Saint-Quentin was a bit complicated. I wrote about both of the French products in my piece breaking down the international class:
Ulrich Chomche
The Cameroonian product Ulrich Chomche is someone who has been keeping me up at night through the past couple of months since Hoop Summit. When I first saw Chomche’s BAL Qualifier tape in the winter I was in love. It was three games of tape, so I wasn’t too sure about where to place him on my board, but the raw intrigue and athletic pop was something I just loved so much, but I tempered my expectations and waited for Hoop Summit, where I would ultimately end up disappointed in what Chomche would present. To put it bluntly, I just thought the game looked too quick for Chomche, and considering this was an exhibition game against high schoolers who aren’t eligible for the draft yet and not fully organized play, this concerned me a lot. I ended up moving Chomche onto my 2025 board, hoping he would attend college, particularly a school like Arizona, which had been in contact with him, where I think he would fit well. But when I saw his decision on Sunday being that he would remain in the draft, I was concerned. I don’t have any intel about if Chomche was promised a particular selection, but if I was a team, I wouldn’t want to take on the multi-year developmental project that is Chomche, considering by the time his contract is up he might go play for another team and I have effectively developed him for someone else, and that isn’t even considering the outcome where Chomche never turns into an NBA player. I would have preferred Chomche to take his raw talent to college, or even the NBL, but right now I am not sure where to place Chomche on my board.
Juan Nunez
Nunez is an exciting point guard from Spain, who currently plays for the same Ratiopharm team in the German league as the aforementioned Dadiet, and he is someone who I am excited for. Nunez projects as a draft and stash in this upcoming draft, with reports he is going to take over next season as the point guard for Barcelona, with Knicks stashed player Rokas Jokubaitis departing. Nunez is a flashy point guard who doesn’t offer a whole lot as a shooter or defender but throws down some outright awesome passes, and is exciting to watch. Whether or not he develops as a shooter or has the burst to get into the lane in the NBA is to be seen, but he is at a minimum going to be a quality Euroleague point guard.
Nikola Djurisic
Djurisic was making waves on NBA draft Twitter a couple of weeks ago, but he is someone who I am a bit lower on than consensus. Djurisic is seen as a wing creator who can pass the ball well for his size, and that is not where I tend to discount his skills. Djurisic scares me in terms of his scalability to the NBA. He is a poor finisher around the rim, as he will often attack the rim with little plan and throw up a poor shot. He also doesn’t offer anything in his off-the-ball ability and requires the ball in his hands to impact the game. He isn’t a willing cutter and doesn’t run DHOs or any other actions that can transition him from on and off the ball. He simply requires the ball in his hands to create, which he likely won’t have at the NBA level. That all being said, if he is going to succeed in the NBA, I think being drafted this season is probably the best route for his development. The KK Mega system is a complicated one that makes one player the primary ball handler where the offense runs through them and only them, and an NBA team getting Djurisic in a different situation via a stash, or on a two-way contract in the G League where he can get reps.
The Other Guys
Babacar Sane, Quin Ellis, Yongxi Cui, and Armel Traore were guys I had been waiting to scout until they decided on the withdrawal deadline, so expect to see them on my final big board I publish closer to the draft if they end up making the list.
Guys Who Got Out:
Izan Almansa
I really feel for Almansa. The Spanish big man is one of the most accomplished youth players in the history of basketball and was a standout last season in the Overtime Elite Program before he took his talents to the G League Ignite, where he was projected to potentially be a top 5 pick. In all of the failures of the G League Ignite program in the last couple of seasons, no player has been failed more than Izan Almansa. Almansa is a center who struggles to get vertical to contest at the rim, isn’t incredibly mobile, and can’t space the floor. The Ignite program did nothing to play to the strengths of Almansa as a low post scorer, and frankly, it looked like they just left him out to die there, which probably had to do with the lack of quality personnel on the roster. I struggled to consider Almansa draftable, and the only reason he even remained in my top 60 was due to his junior career, and nothing he showed with the Ignite. Almansa is going to explore his options in Europe or the NBL next season, and I hope to have Almansa on my 2025 board, with the potential for him to be in the 1st round.
Malique Lewis
Malique Lewis of Trinidad and Tobago is a player I considered worthy of a two-way contract in the 2025 draft, and his withdrawal ultimately doesn’t change my long-term view of him as a prospect. Lewis played this last season for the Mexico City Capitanes of the G League, as the lone draft prospect on their roster. This allowed him to slot into a position as a high-energy role player who could use his near-freakish length and athleticism to impact the game defensively, while still developing as a shooter and decision-maker. Lewis also has to develop into his body, and he isn’t ready for the physicality of the NBA. I am excited to see where Lewis ends up, and I hope to see him in the 2025 draft.
Withdrawal season is always exciting, but nothing this year particularly surprised me, as even Ulrich had been rumored to be staying in the class.