Breaking Down This Year’s Big Men as Draft Day Approaches
There might be a better positional group of prospects than this year’s big men,
but no group in the 2019 Draft has a better collection of names than today’s
quintet.
In less than two weeks, the Wine & Gold will be on the clock with a pair of
first rounders – Nos. 5 and 26 overall – to work with. And although Cleveland
has a rock-solid collection of versatile big men, you can never have too much
length and muscle in the middle.
Today’s group features a freakishly-long big man who can shoot the trey with
ease, a banger with an NBA-ready body, a do-it-all scorer from the Adriatic
League, an undersized high-energy guy and a player who went from being a sixth
man spot in college to becoming a first rounder on June 20.
Left to Right: Naz Reid, Mfiondu Kabengele, Goga Bitadze, Bol Bol, Bruno
Fernando Photos by David Dow via NBAE/Getty Images
BOL BOL – 7-3, 210 – Born: November 11, 1999 – (Olathe, KS) – College: Oregon –
one of the Draft’s polarizing prospects; son of Manute Bol; only played nine
games before having foot surgery, but posted excellent numbers – averaging 21
points, 9.6 boards and 2.7 blocks while shooting 56 percent from the floor, 52
percent from deep and 76 percent from the line; has incredible range for a man
his size; got his first Division I offer in eighth grade; notched 12 points, 12
boards and three blocks in his Oregon debut; could be a decent rim protector,
but an overall weak and, at times, unwilling defender; 7-3 with a freakish 7-7
wingspan, 9-7.5 standing reach; good mobility for his size; weighed in at only
208 pounds at the Combine, well below his playing weight at Eugene; suffered
navicular fracture in his left foot; obvious durability concerns; very good
coordination for being so lanky; can have difficulty guarding in space; rebounds
well despite slight frame; can lack intensity; good hands; handles the ball
pretty well; good touch around the basket, gets put-backs; fluid shooting
motion; solid free throw shooter; needs to add plenty of weight, muscle to avoid
being pushed around in the paint at the NBA level and might need a couple years
to develop and learn the game.
GOGA BITADZE – 6-11, 250 – Born: July 20, 1999 – (Sagarejo, Georgia) – Team:
Mega Bemax – played in the Adriatic League and also against top American
competition (Kentucky and Michigan); very good basketball IQ, has been playing
against top competition from a young age; seen as ‘high floor, low ceiling’ guy;
strong finisher with both hands; sneaky athletic; moves well without the ball;
very good hands; can put the ball on the floor; good passing instincts out of
the post; soft touch; solid jumper – can stretch the floor; variety of post
moves; very emotional player – which is both good and bad, can be foul prone but
embraces contact and loves to mix it up; high motor on the offensive glass;
started out as a strictly low-post player; very good rebounder; porous perimeter
defender; will struggle against more athletic NBA competition; good pick-and-pop
guy; could develop into a Jusuf Nurkic-type player; not an above-the-rim player;
rolls hard to the hoop in pick-and-roll situations; needs to improve free throw
percentage; could be an intriguing late- to mid-first round project for a team
looking for offensive punch.
BRUNO FERNANDO – 6-10, 240 – Born: August 15, 1998 – (Luanda, Angola) – College:
Maryland – unfinished product with plenty of upside; emerged during sophomore
season and considered a bit of a late-bloomer; calm, composed demeanor, but
physically not afraid to mix it up in the paint; outstanding NBA frame, big
shoulders, long arms; good form on jumper and shoots solid percentage from the
stripe; has good mobility and footwork; good in the open floor; not a polished
offensive game – scores mostly on put-backs and dunks; can be foul prone; very
good shot-blocker, averaged almost two blocks per; very good back-to-the-basket
game; active motor; almost exclusively goes to right hand, making him easy to
defend; quick, explosive first step; not a willing passer; doesn’t have shooting
range to stretch the floor; needs to develop overall basketball IQ; already a
muscular frame that will only improve; ability to create his own offense;
dynamic athlete who could be a serviceable on both ends as a pro, but not a
finished product at this point.
MFIONDU KABENGELE – 6-10, 255 – Born: August 14, 1997 – (Burlington, Ontario) –
College: Florida State – led Florida State in scoring this season despite coming
off the bench; was ACC Sixth Man of the Year; nephew of Dikembe Mutombo; older
prospect – turns 22 in August; NBA ready body; Canadian; versatile defender;
uses length well, very good rim protector; doesn’t have ideal center height, but
excellent wingspan at 7-3; very good in the mid-range and shot and 37 percent
from long-range; tested well athletically at the Combine – among both forwards
and centers; can switch out on guards and hold his own; blocked 56 shots in his
sophomore season; good facing the basket, but doesn’t have any go-to post moves
yet; can fall in love with the jumper; needs to work on ball-handling, sloppy
when pressured; not a great passer; showed up big against top competition,
averaging 2.7 blocks per game against Virginia Tech, Virginia and Duke in the
ACC Tournament, then averaged 21.5 points, 8.5 boards and 2.0 blocks in first
two games of NCAA Tourney; shot 76 percent from the stripe; could develop into a
versatile two-way big at the next level.
NAZ REID – 6-10, 255 – Born: August 26, 1999 – (Neptune City, NJ) – College: LSU
– active body with an extremely high motor; best scoring off the move; brings
big energy, but tends to play out of control at times; tough and physical; good
face-up game; can hit shots off the dribble; solid passer when he wants to be,
but also has stretches of not getting teammates involved; has potential to
stretch the floor – shot 33 percent from deep in single season at LSU; can be
foul prone; lacks ideal size for a center, but measured well in terms of
wingspan and standing reach; needs to work on his back-to-the-basket skills;
versatile offensive package; should get to the free throw line more for a guy
who plays his style; didn’t quite live up to freshman hype; nice touch around
the rim; not a great NBA body – showed up at the Combine with 14 percent body
fat; bad overall agility and strength numbers at the Combine, only did three
reps on the bench; ball handling and overall basketball strength allow him to
create space for his shot; energy, effort and passion could make him a solid
sixth man at the next level.
Media Content:
https://www.nba.com/cavaliers/features/draft-positions-breakdown-panini-bigs-2019
Media Keywords: NBA, Sports, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Cavaliers
Media Thumbnail:
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Taxonomy: Features, Joe Gabriele, 2019 Draft, Naz Reid, Mfiondu Kabengele, Goga
Bitadze, Bol Bol, Bruno Fernando
Story Link:
https://www.nba.com/cavaliers/features/draft-positions-breakdown-panini-bigs-2019
