Cards in the Draft: Don’t be Surprised if Deng Adel is Drafted
By Jacob Lane
Deng Adel is preparing for the 2018 NBA Draft on Thursday night in Brooklyn. I don’t think it would be a major shock if the 6’7 wing was drafted.
After a tumultuous junior season wrapped up in a loss to Mississippi State in the Quarterfinals of the NIT, former Louisville forward Deng Adel decided he had enough of playing college basketball and was ready to pursue a professional career.
Though his decision was criticized by just about everyone, especially after his poor play throughout the season, moving on to the next step in his career was the right move for Deng Adel.
Currently rated as the 74th and 84th best player in the 2018 NBA Draft by Basketball Insiders, and Sports Illustrated, shouldn’t give fans much optimism about the hopes of being drafted, especially after he was left off the NBA Combine invite list.
Even with that being the case, it seems as though Deng Adel may be climbing up some team draft boards, and could be gaining steam as a late round round selection on Thursday night.
Deng did struggle significantly at times during the 2017-18 season for the Cardinals, but finished the season as the teams leading scorer, averaging 15.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. As noted by Deng himself in an interview with Basketball Insiders, what he brings to the NBA is “versatility”. Not to mention he has great size at 6’7, and in my opinion has yet to come close to becoming the best player he can be.
Adel knows he has a lot to improve on if he has any shot of being drafted on Thursday, but is confident in what he can bring to an NBA team, telling Basketball Insiders;
"“Just continue to compete. Show my shooting. I know I missed a couple of weeks but just show that I improve my jump shot. My perimeter game is improved. My play making ability has improved and just go out there and just compete.”"
Related Story: Three Potential Landing Spots for Ray Spalding
Cardinal fans are quick to point out the flaws that plagued him over his three year career at Louisville, specifically during his junior season. Adel struggled mightily with shot selection throughout the 2017-18 season, shooting just 35% from three, while taking a team high 4 per game, and could be pointed to as a large part for the Cards dropping several games including tough losses to Clemson and Miami.
He was extremely poor when handling the ball, averaging 2.0 turnovers per game, with a turnover ratio of 1:1. Not to mention, he at times looked like he didn’t care. I remember specifically watching the Virginia, Middle Tennessee, and Mississippi State games in person and seeing Adel get lost in coverage, and not doing much to change it.
“My perimeter game is improved. My play making ability has improved and just go out there and just compete.”
What fans won’t talk about is the things he did do well. Adel was money when he needed to be. The perfect example was the Virginia Tech game. Yes, he at times had a tendency to try and do too much, but under a first year coach (especially after playing for Pitino for two seasons) and no one else willing to step up, Adel attempted to be the team’s “alpha dog,” though it didn’t pay off all the time.
When engaged he showed that he could guard multiple positions, even looking at times like a “lock down defender,” which could be a perfect fit in the NBA as the league highly values “3 & D” wings. A great example was the Notre Dame game, which would be the first time the Cards knocked off the Irish on the road. Adel was switched onto senior guard Matt Farrell towards the end of regulation, essentially shutting him down after he had dominated throughout the entire game, leading the Cards to a huge victory.
With all that in mind, you might think, how the hell is Deng Adel draftable? Well take a look at what a current NBA executive had to say. It sums up just about everything I’ve laid out above.
"“With him this past year, with the little bit of the unrest at Louisville, changing of coaching staff they played a little bit different,” said Walt Perrin, Utah’s vice president of player personnel. “So we saw probably a little bit different things this year than we saw in the past at Louisville, but he has improved from our workout last year.”"
He’s apparently not the only NBA Front Office member who thinks that Adel is an interesting prospect who could prove to be worth a second round selection.
As of today, Adel has worked out with multiple NBA teams, several of which within the last week. Those teams include, the Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte Hornets, Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, Utah Jazz, Orlando Magic, Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
All of those could potentially need some help on the wing, and at the least could be targeting Adel to be apart of their G-League affiliate or sign one of the new NBA 2-Way contracts.
Along the way Adel has received wise counsel from two former teammates, and close friends, including Utah Jazz guard and NBA ROY finalist Donovan Mitchell, and Charlotte Hornets forward/center Mangok Mathiang.
"“If you go in there and compete, you’re going to be fine’… In terms of what to expect, just a lot of shooting, skill work, three-on-three and one-on-one stuff.”"
Thursday night could get very interesting for three former Cardinals; Ray Spalding, who many expect to be a mid-to-late second round pick, Deng Adel, and Anas Mahmoud, both of which have been working out for teams left and right over the last few weeks.
The Cards could have as many as three players drafted, but just as easily could have zero drafted, as these things have a way of being rather unpredictable.
However, I really believe that some team will fall in love with the potential of Ray Spalding, and could do the same with forward Deng Adel. Don’t be shocked if Thursday night you hear his name called in the second round of the 2018 NBA Draft.