It just seems strange to go from out of the top 100 to inside the first round with no workouts. Great for him if it happens.
Gotta take those lists with a grain of salt. Scouts may see things differently. In general, it’s probably pretty close to where they rank players, but they could have one kid a lot higher, or lower, depending on what they value as an organization. There’s a team out there that will take a shot on him based on production, not potential. It certainly could be in the 2nd round, but it only takes one team to love your game to go in the 1st round.
Even if he somehow goes undrafted, since teams start taking flyers on foreigners in the 2nd, it won’t be the worst thing for his career. As he can then pick the organization he wants to go to, depending on who is interested. He can stay away from the TWolves, and Kings, so that’s a plus. Where Cuse players go to die. Things will work out for him, regardless of what round he is drafted in. As long as he doesn’t end up stuck in a terrible organization, and get buried in the G League, then he will have a shot to prove himself, with the summer league especially. There’s gonna be solid team drafting at the end of round 1 that may need a 3, and D guy to play the 2 for their second unit. Or they could put him at the 3 in a small ball lineup.
He really fits in well for what teams are doing in the NBA today. Would love to see him get a shot in Orlando. They could use a ball handling shooter/scorer at the 2. Could move on from Fournier in 2021, start T Ross, then plug Eli into the 2nd unit. Also have Fultz, MCW, and DJ that split time at the point, and sometimes they put two of them on the floor together, so Eli wouldn’t be asked to do too much right away. They may not even keep all 3. A man can dream.
I’d say I hope the Knicks grab him, but wouldn’t wanna do that to the poor kid. Plenty of solid organizations that could use a player like Eli. Excited to see where he ends up. He would be nuts to stay. Waters says there’s a chance. I’d obviously love it if he did stick around, but there’s nothing more for him to prove, and he really could only hurt his stock with another year. Risking injury, or not performing as well as he did this year. Gotta strike while the iron is hot.
