By Howard Blas

(JNS) Basketball player Deni Avdija was the talk of the town in Israeli and Jewish circles last season. The 19-year-old Israeli was drafted No. 9 in the first round of the NBA draft by the Washington Wizards and was off to a fairly impressive start until he fractured his right ankle on April 21 during a game against the Golden State Warriors.

Avdija, now 20, has been recovering and rehabilitating, and is cleared to return for his second year in the NBA. He will play on the same Wizards team, though there will be two significant changes. Coach Scott Brooks, with whom Avdija had good relationship, will not be returning; he will play under a new head coach, former Bullets star, Wes Unseld. And superstar teammate and mentor Russell Westbrook was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.

In a recent press conference, team general manager Tommy Sheppard discussed Avdija’s recovery and plans for the upcoming season. Sheppard is taking a somewhat cautious approach with the young player and hopes to ease him back slowly. While Sheppard reports that “he’s doing everything full speed,” he adds that Avdija “hasn’t been jumping in the scrimmages quite yet. I think a lot of that is just being overly cautious to make sure there are no setbacks.”

Sheppard mentions that it has only been six months since Avdija’s injury. “When you start your training camp at the end of September, normally you think about an injury that happened last season; it seemed like it happened forever ago. We didn’t really have that full-time with Deni—we’ll ease him in and continue to monitor day-to-day.”

Sheppard alluded to other non-injury-related issues that have slowed Avdija’s return. “He wasn’t going to participate in summer league … and then we had some COVID protocols that he got washed up in,” with some team members testing positive and thus impacting the travel schedule.

“There were just a couple of opportunities that were taken away from him,” says Sheppard.

Avdija has thus far been kept from scrimmages with teammates in the lead-up to training camp, which opened on Sept. 28. Sheppard stressed that Avdija’s present restrictions are purely out of caution. He is expected to play in pre-season games, though his minutes will likely be limited at the start. “When you haven’t had a whole lot of playing time and a lot of 5-on-5 or anything, it’s not something you want to throw him into when everybody else is ahead. We’ll ease him in; I think that’s the wise thing.”

‘More to his game than he was able to show’

In a second media session, Unseld shared his impressions of and plans for Avdija this season, saying that “he has been great and he looks strong. He is moving well. He’s put in a ton of time.” While Unseld agrees with Sheppard’s cautious approach, he may move quickly to get Avdija on the court. “I don’t know who talked about bringing him along slowly and ramping him up cautiously, but he looks great. He is eager to go. I am excited to see how it translates.”

Sheppard and Unseld offered their thoughts on what Avdija’s second year with the team may look like, with Unseld reporting that “I think the next iteration for him will be his being a playmaker, playing as a secondary ball-handler, and at times, the primary ball-handler.”

Unseld said he is pleased to have the flexibility and versatility to move such players as Bradley Beal and Spencer Dinwiddie around, “so now they don’t have to orchestrate the offense as much, they don’t have to be the focal point as much, with another guy who makes plays.”

Unseld says he remains impressed with many aspects of Avdija and his game. “His size will benefit us defensively, giving us the ability to switch a lot, plus his shot-making along with the other guys, so the shooting has been amplified. You cannot have enough shooting on the floor in an NBA game.”

Sheppard notes the difference between being a rookie and returning for a second season and offered thoughts on the 6-foot-9-inch forward’s role this season. “I think there is more to his game than he was able to show last year, but a lot of rookies don’t get to do a whole lot. You are lucky if you get out on the floor!”

He reminds us that Avdija “is just 20 years old. And I think some of that gets lost when in your rookie year—you are just out there trying to figure things out. The best thing sometimes about your rookie year is when it is over. You get to year two, and that is where he is at now.”

Sheppard did get to see Avdija in action last season. “Deni was able to play quite a few minutes before he got injured. We know he can rebound. We know he can defend. I think he’ll be able to show as a secondary playmaker. I think he is capable of getting 10 toes on the paint and scoring. I think he is a guy who is a very clever playmaker. I think he’ll be able to help us.”

Like the rest of the Wizards players, Avdija will have to prove himself in the pre-season and earn his playing time. Sheppard has not yet determined how many minutes he will play per game. “We are certainly never going to put a cap on his minutes or on what we think his role is going to be,” he explained. “He is going to show us that. He has to go out and earn it. That is the exciting part of training camp. He is going to be out on the floor plenty and having plenty of opportunities to continue to grow. I know our coaches are very excited to work with him and expand his game. There will be a ton of opportunities for him to show his coaching staff and teammates all the things he can bring.”

The Washington Wizards will begin their preseason action at Toyota Center in Houston, when they take on the Rockets on Oct. 5. The team will return to Capital One Arena in Washington to face the New York Knicks on Oct. 9 and the Toronto Raptors on Oct. 12. The Wizards will close out the preseason in New York with a matchup against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 15. Their first regular-season game is on the road on Oct. 20 versus Toronto, and their first home game is on Oct. 22 against the Indiana Pacers.

Main Photo: Israeli NBA basketball player Deni Avdija of the Washington Wizards.Source: Screenshot.