Bam Adebayo left Kentucky early, but is it the right time for the Indiana Pacers to select him with the 18th pick in the NBA draft?
Is Bam Adebayo the answer to the Indiana Pacers problems from last season, or does he represent a future that rebuilds around Myles Turner?
While his one year in college certainly looks promising, his résumé is short enough to give teams pause before taking him too early in the first round. Whoever takes Adebayo must work to expand on the skills we’ve seen from him and either improve or minimize his most obvious flaws.
That said, he did well in his lone college season. After making the All-SEC second team and the All-SEC tournament team, Bam Adebayo and the Kentucky Wildcats made a run to the Elite Eight before falling to eventual champion North Carolina.
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Looking at the main contributors on that Kentucky team, he was first in field goal percentage at 59.9 percent thanks to his tendency to try and dunk everything. He also led the team in rebounds (8) and blocked shots (1.5) per a game and his 13 points a game were third on the team.
Adebayo has the body of an NBA player at 6-foot-10 and 250 pounds with a 7-foot-1 ½ wingspan, but he may need to move to power forward in the NBA as he isn’t the strongest player either. His wingspan and speed can serve as a counter to that, but there will be matchups at center and power forward where he can be overpowered.
DraftExpress sees him as very unrefined on the offensive end, but a steady rebounder and screener. His shot needs work, but Abedayo is impressing teams with his shot during workouts so far this summer.
Defensively, he can switch on to guards without getting burned but needs to improve his defensive rebounding which isn’t as strong as his offensive skills on the glass, according to DX.
NBADraft.net is higher on him than others, seeing his physical skills as a cover for some of those concerns about size. His speed getting up and down the court allows him to out hustle other bigs even if he isn’t as strong as other centers. While they like his versatility, the concerns about his basketball IQ and limits as a player make him a riskier pick in their eyes just like DX and other experts.
"Everybody wants to see a fighter so that's what I do." More from @Bam1of1 of @KentuckyMBB at yesterday's workout: https://t.co/uslH7TPo7V
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) June 6, 2017
“We gotta get out of here.”
On the personal side of things, Abedayo relayed his story of growing up in a trailer park to the Indianapolis Star’s Brody Miller during his visit, explaining one of the reasons why he left Kentucky early.
"“We gotta get out of here,” Adebayo said. “That’s pretty much it.”He watched her walk to work every day with bad tendinitis and watched her deal with a circle of people causing her extra stress. He watched her fight to put clothes on a 6-foot-10 kid’s back and feed a young man who admits he eats like a pig.Adebayo, normally a smiling presence, slows down as he talks about it. He said 99 percent of young men don’t want to grow up watching their mother struggle.“I grew up, she struggled,” he said. “I never want to see her struggle again. So I’m out here beating my body up so she can live happy and she ain’t got nothing to worry about.”"
Seeing Adebayo get to the NBA — with the Pacers or somewhere else — and being able to help out his mother is something hard not to cheer for.
Outside opinion
I asked Kyle Mann of the Bogans Heroes Podcast about Adebayo, to which he had mixed reviews of the big man, going as far as saying he isn’t a good fit for the Pacers.
"In terms of fit with their roster, I’d have to think about that, not sure. In terms of who he is — undersized four that can really only hit set shots from any distance. High motor, doesn’t need the ball all the time. Really strong finisher but has a tendency to lose the ball on the way up. Struggles to have any kind of fluidity in his post ups, not much of a left hand… Has a decent right and left baby hook though… I wouldn’t pick him if I’m the Pacers.He’s a good kid and he improved a lot at Kentucky. But he killed us at times with his lack of basketball IQ around the rim. He’s a big runner/jumper/dunker. If you expect much else you’d be disappointed. Think Montrezl Harrell with fewer ball skills."
The Pacers are on the clock
If the Pacers don’t select him with the 18th pick, it might be because it is a little too early to take him, but if they to select him hopefully he can show more potential and improve on his basketball IQ to make the pick worthwhile.
He could be a quicker, more versatile defender to compliment Myles Turner. That pairing could work for Indiana as Turner could remain at center and lead offensive threat in the frontcourt while Adebayo focuses on rebounding and handling the more athletic bigs on defense that the Pacers face.
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Adebayo is raw, but is young enough to improve on those rough spots. If the Pacers want him, they could likely trade back and still draft him, but there are plenty of players who fit the Pacers needs at No. 18 as well.
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