What is Deni's ceiling?

He's 24 years old. He's already pretty good.

He's currently averaging 15 ppg, 6.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1 steal on 46.7% from the field and 34% from three.

Two areas that he needs to focus on:

Free throw shooting - 77% from the stripe
Three point shooting - 34% from three.

He's averaging 29 minutes per game and his PER36 is really solid.

19 ppg, 8 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals.

But what is his ceiling? Can he be a top 10 caliber player?

 

I think Deni's ceiling is an all star and even a perennial all star but not an MVP candidate or perennial first team all nba player.

I really think his floor is a guy who gets sixth man of the year a few times or a one or two time all star.

I have to think he'll get better and that either equals all star year in and year out or borderline all star. I do not think he could be the best player on a championship team and I think he'd have to be playing with a generational multi-time MVP to be the clear cut second best player on a championship team.

 

I think his ceiling is to become our next "he's basically an all-star" who will never make an all-star team!

 

Deni’s ceiling at 24 and Batum’s ceiling at 24 are the same.

 

I think Deni at 24 is better than Batum at 24. Batum disappeared too many games and Deni has showed he can take over games at a higher rate. That said if Deni can be as productive as Batum in his later years I’d be very happy long term.

 

Top 10? Probably not. SGA Luka wemby Tatum Ja jjj Mitchell Mobley are all another level than Deni off the top of my head. Have those guys peaked yet? Probably not.

Deni would need to become a true sharpshooter and stop turning the ball over so much. But I am a big fan and hope he will stay in POR for a while.

Any big big deal Joe tries to make, god forbid, would have to include either Deni or Tou.

 

Agreed; I’m saying Deni’s closer to his ceiling than Batum was at the same age

 

I’d agree, but Batum never reached his ceiling. He left a lot out there, coulda been really special.

 

Indeed; it’s why a lot of us were a little disappointed with his career here

 

Don't know but look forward to finding out.

 

Look at this point I just want any player we acquire to be top 10 on our roster… which sadly isn’t a guarantee.

 

A white Michael Jordan.

 

This is about his ceiling right here

 

Top 10?? Hell no lol.. but very high level role player for sure

 

He’s pretty close now. That’s not a bad thing

 

per game:

points - 67th of 241
rebounds - 43rd of 242
assists - 69th of 242
turnovers - 208th out of 242

shooting:

2ptFG% - 60th out of 128
3ptFG& - 128th out of 170
eFG% - 78th out of 128
FTA - 25th out of 242
FT% - 76th out of 110

advanced:

PER - 78th out of 187 (NBA average is 15.0; Avdija at 16.3)
TS% - 72nd out of 201
FT Rate - 7th out of 242
winshares/48 - 97th out of 187 (league average .100; Deni at .101)
BPM - 78th out of 187

Deni has been pretty elite this season at getting to the FT line. His FTRate is .448. But his career mark is .311 so there is some reason to be a bit skeptical about that mark. Might be that teams in the West haven't learned how to defend him yet. Or, his turbo mode is a major weapon; or a bit of both

looking at all of the numbers it's debatable he's a top-50 player at this point; ranks in the top-50 in only 3 of 14 categories. But the numbers might be a bit deceptive. He is certainly a jack-of-many-trades-swiss-army-knife kind of player. As he enters his prime he may drag all of those numbers quite a bit higher. He'll need to to reach all-star consideration

 

Probably my favorite Blazer in a long time.

Even if this is his ceiling I’m happy with it. But I think he still has room to grow.

 

2 quick Blazers examples
1. Steve Blake improved on micro skills whenever the next, young phenom arrived at PG. Challenged by a guy who could drive the lane, then Blakey got better at it. He was “just good enough” and played his role complementing others to start and be a significant rotation player.

2. Wesley Matthews earned and got his MLE to go to Portland. Too bad he had heel problems and eventually the achilles. The dude had strengths as a tough defender. Active hands. Grit. Then a 3-point shot. Then backing guys down in the low post and hitting fadeaways. He added something important each year. Even with an achilles he got paid … just not by the Blazers.

DENI needs to tighten his handles especially as he goes into traffic. That skill would help several other skills. Will he be like Matthews and add something important each year? Something effective. On a real playoff team, Deni as 3rd best works well, IMHO.

 

I don't think he will surpass a "taller Manu Ginobili"

If he comes close, as a Blazer, I will not be unhappy