While Denzel Valentine may or may not be selected ahead of Deyonta Davis in the 2016 NBA Draft, it’s very likely that Davis is the Michigan State player with more long term NBA career potential. In the short term, Davis’ draft stock might not be as high as Valentine’s.
Deyonta Davis declined to participate in the physical portion of the draft combine, meaning that he now must prove himself in private workouts with teams.
ESPN College Hoops and International Draft expert Fran Fraschilla discussed the 2016 NBA Draft on a media conference call, and Deyonta Davis was brought up in the very first question. Fraschilla agrees with out assessment that Davis is a “project” kind of pick with a lot of excellent potential down the road.
Fraschilla thinks the Spartans big and McDonald’s All-American will be selected in the late lottery.
Here’s the entire transcript of the Q&A below, via an ESPN release.
Q. Is Deyonta Davis a guy that you can see making the NBA next year or is he going to take some time before he’s quite ready?
FRAN FRASCHILLA: Deyonta is in that perfect storm of when you look at the first round, particularly, you’re looking at production versus projection, production being older players who you expect to come in and play right away versus projection, a young player, in his case, really good size, good length, pretty good motor, good athlete, but he’s 19 years old.
I expect him to go somewhere in the middle of the first round, late lottery, up to about 20. But when you’re taking a guy like Deyonta Davis, you are looking long term. In fact, he was a little bit of a project this year at Michigan State, as you know, and only played 19 minutes a game. So there’s a lot to like about Deyonta.
There are some things that I’m not comfortable with right now, if I were putting him on an NBA court, and a lot of that is on the defensive end, both guarding in the low post and on the perimeter. In terms of defending the way the game is played right now, it’s a speed and space game at the NBA level.
But you’re talking about a kid — it would be like drafting a 19-year-old high school pitcher who throws 95 miles an hour. You’re looking down the road a little bit hoping you got yourself a solid NBA player at the power forward position.
Related: Updated College Basketball Transfers List
Related: NBA Draft Early Entries List.
Here’s where we have Deyonta Davis projected in the first round of our latest NBA mock draft:
13. Phoenix (from WAS)-Deyonta Davis, PF, Michigan State, 6-10, Fr.
The Suns don’t have a long-term solution at power forward and Davis possesses the physical attributes of a prototypical four-man in the NBA but needs to become more well-rounded on the offensive end. Go here for more on Deyonta Davis.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram