Nikola Vucevic

Nikola Vucevic
C, 7’0, 260lbs, 26 years old, 6 years of experience

This year was the year Vucevic started shooting threes, and while it was not a Marc Gasol (or even Pau Gasol) level of breakout, 23-75 shooting from beyond the arc is a decent start. 42% on 20 footers versus 31% on 25 footers, etc. A true shooting percentage of .495% is pretty terrible for a centre and his worst since his rookie season. Yet if Vooch is not going to go to the line (or make them) or attack contact around the basket, and is going to drop soft hooks and mid-range jumpers anyway, he may as well take them from further out. Elsewhere, his 31.3% defensive rebounding rate was an excellent fifth in the league, and while he will never be a rim protector or fleet-of-foot defender of switches, he rotated better this year, kept his hands up, and improved around the basket. So that’s something.

Player Plan: Two years and $25 million remaining. Decent salary for decent production, although to extend his career beyond being a backup rebounding specialist, those twos need to become threes. Then he’ll become very valuable, both in trade and tree agency. Keep for now, but take trade calls, and if he starts shooting threes on high volume, shop him hard.

Pick 16: - The Sixers take Nikola Vucevic from USC, whose stock skyrocketed when he was measured - seemingly for the first time in four years - and found to be absolutely bloody enormous. Measuring in at a well built 7'0 tall, Vucevic is up there with Valanciunas and Kanter as the biggest player in the draft, as well as being amongst the most skilled bigs available.

With his selection out of the way, this draft just ran out of centres.

Vucevic kisses a couple of men on his way to the podium, the complete opposite of the Vesely approach. All draftees should heartily tongue a lady friend on their way to the podium. If they didn't bring one, they should heartily tongue Jan Vesely's lady friend instead.

Nikola Vucevic - Vucevic was covered to some degree here, and whilst he played only one game after that post was written, he has nonetheless seem his draft stock grow on account of his favourable measurements. Rare is the day that a player is in fact bigger than they are listed, but Vooch - commonly listed at 6'10 and 220 - measured at the combine to be 7'0 and 260 with a 7'5 wingspan. If you were asked to choose the ideal centre size, it'd be about there. This, combined with the inside/outside offensive game, fine rebounding and sufficient defensive skillset that he had long since demonstrated, has made him a first rounder. Before he became a jumpshooting specialist as he aged, a younger Mehmet Okur was much like this.

The Trojan's leader is Nikola Vucevic, a talented, productive and versatile 6'10 Montenegrin big man. Vooch is not an athlete, but he's tall and has developed a strong upper body, which he uses to attack the glass and the rim in equal measure. He can shoot mid-range jumpshots, drive the ball and create in the post, be in the right place defensively, effective from both the high and the low posts, has good hands, shot selection, and passing vision. He has also added three point range this season. How he projects at the next level is a valid question, but as of right now, it's only important how he projects over the next week.