According to a report from Sheridanhoops.com, Danny Ainge has been in Greece scouting a 6-10 point guard named Giannis Adetokunbo.
In the latest installment of “Catch a Rising Star,” Boston Celtics president Dany Ainge traveled to Greece to get a first-hand look at Giannis Adetokunbo, the 6-foot-10 point guard who is moving up draft boards by leaps and bounds.
Ainge was in the house — and got heckled by Lakers fans — as Adetokunbo scored 19 points and grabbed 9 rebounds and two steals in the championship round of the Greek A2 league.
Ainge also saw the CSKA-Panathinaikos Euroleague game, an qs quoted by Greek media as comparing Adetokundo as reminding him of a young Scottie Pippen.
So who is this Greek freak? And why is he surfacing on the draft radar so late in the process?
For one thing, Adetokunbo grew up as an undocumented immigrant of Nigerian ancestry, and he does not currently hold a passport. That may change in the weeks ahead, as both the Greek and Nigerian national federations are trying to secure him for their national teams, and Adetokunbo’s next big test — should that passport arrive — would be an appearance at the NBA pre-draft Eurocamp in Treviso, Italy.
Aside from getting heckled by Lakers fans (although the thought that there were enough Lakers fans at a random Greek league game is gross), this is Ainge at his best. Danny is always looking around the globe for the best talent around, despite the position. While it’s kind of crazy that this guy is already being compared to a young Scottie Pippen, if that’s even a relatively accurate comparison, sign me up! The piece goes on to suggest that he is projected to be selected in the top 24, well within the C’s range in the first round. It’s far too soon to begin to evaluate potential draft picks since there are a handful of regular season games left as well as playoffs. But this is intriguing for sure. Stay tuned for any updates. Below is a video from Draft Express, highlighting this mysterious man (err, kid):
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km632hL-XCo]
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