Introducing Danilo
by Ryoga Hibiki on Fri Jun 27, 2008 4:14 am

I'm sorry if I'll start a new thread, but I've seen so much disappointment in this boards about Danilo's pick, so I wanted to write a few things to let you know what you're getting, to gave reasonable expectations about him. I'm not saying he was the BPA or anything, to knowing the college guys well enough.
- I know Danilo since 2004, when he played in Treviso at the Reebok Eurocamp and was the youngest guy there. He did very well, playing SG next to Roko Leni Ukic (Raptors 2nd round pick, who's 4 years older than him). He was skinny and maybe a bit shy, but the talent was there and scout were already very interested about him
- after that he played in minor leagues in Europe up to 2006 when he came to Milan. He had a very deferred role (he just turned 18!), like any young player in Europe, but at the end of the season he was supposed to be the starting SF in the italian NT (doesn't mean much, but it's not a bad thing...)
- very important, that season could only at stretches show his offensive talent, but unlike other prospects (Bargnani) he was VERY smart and mature on the court and was one heck of a defender, really physical and guarding anyone from the 1-4 positions. Any comment you might hear about a no defence/all offense player is trash
- he asked for a major role in the team last summer and got, as the season progressed he was clearly the star of the team. Milan, btw, was no Cska so it's not one of the very best teams of Europe, it's still good enough and I'm ready to think it's good enough to win the NCAA championship. Only 15-20 players of each class manage to stay in the NBA their whole careers, the rest of the top college guys are in Europe in their prime. That's the competition he was facing even in domestic leagues, there's no way it's weaker than CB
- his stats were much better in the Italian League not only because of an inferior competition (that's one thing) but also because Danilo's game progressed very strongly at the and of the season when his team was out of EL, as you might expect from a 19yo guy
- Danilo is a decent athlete, but has serious limitations about lateral quickness and explosiveness. He has the balance and body control, but don't expect him to create too much from a standing position, that's not his game.
- his defence regressed over the last year, but there's no reason to think he can't pick it up again. Don't expect a specialist because of his limitation, but not even a liability
- his best asset on offense is his ability to get to the line. He was a very developed offensive game, he doesn't drive past people ala LeBron, of course, but has an incredible set of fakes and moves he uses to catch the defender out of balance
- he has a good outside shot, but I'm not expecting him to automatic from 3pt range, not immediately
- he has a great basketball IQ, for sure, put him a in structured offense and he'll find his role very easily. That's why I would have liked him more in LA or in Utah
- I don't know how really good he can be, but the only scenario in which he can really fail is imo if he's asked to JUST stand in the corner of the open 3 and be a defensive specialist, the situation that killed several european players
- he's no more of a project than any 19yo in the world. His body is not that undeveloped, and you can't find any guy his age tested at a higher level and with such a complete game
- D'Antoni has the task to find the way to use his talents, because an unstructured offense they might go wasted. He's not going to be a dominant scorer immediately nor a energy guy, so finding a niche for him might be tough at the beginning
- you haven't seen a young european player with such a huge role in Europe, in the NBA. So most of the comparison's I'm reading are foolish, the Darko one just made no sense
Ryoga Hibiki

Thanks for posting this. Sounds like a pretty honest take on Danilo.

again, if danilo sky turns out to be hedo/dunleavy/tim thomas, then knick fans should be happy. I don't think its possible for him to be a bust because everyone looks good in d'antoni's offense provided there's a pg to run it. so no danillo wafers with this pick. the only thing everyone was wait and see on is how walsh leaves this team by the time he's 70.