NBA Draft 2020 Prospect Watch: Daniel Oturu
What the experts say
ESPN [$] (Jonathan Givony): 37th
The Athletic [$] (Sam Vecenie): 28th
Sports Illustrated (Jeremy Woo): 51st
Sporting News (Chris Stone): 35th
Bleacher Report (Jonathan Wassermann): 46th
Quotes:
Having placed him 51st on his most recent Big Board, Woo outlined many of the concerns over how Oturu’s game will translate to the NBA level:
"“Oturu is a powerful athlete, but lacks the ideal size and skill level for an NBA five-man, and can be somewhat of a black hole when catching the ball in the paint, leading to a poor assist-turnover ratio that probably limits him to a rim-running, play-finishing role. He’s got some potential to shoot it, and has legit strength for his size to overpower defenders. But the big question here is translation, and while he’s been solid defensively, there are few teams in the Big Ten with the type of guards that can really burn slower bigs in pick and roll coverage. There’s a chance Oturu ends up drafted much closer to the first round, but you have to really value post-up points to fall in love with him, and he’ll have work to do during the pre-draft process to separate himself from a glut of centers.”"
On the other side, Wassermann pointed to the productivity and Oturu’s potential to meet the modern ways his game can translate in the NBA after putting Oturu 36th on his recent Big Board:
"“Averaging 20.0 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.5 blocks, Oturu’s effectiveness has been too strong to ignore just because post bigs have been devalued in the NBA. Though 30.7 percent of his possessions come from the post, he’s a tough scorer there, but he’s also flashed potential to face up around the perimeter, making 42.9 percent of his non-dribble jumpers and 16-of-22 of his takes to the basket out of spot-ups.”"