The first part in this series, scouting the European guards in this draft and beyond, can be found here. The second part, dealing with the European centers in this draft and beyond, is right here.
Fran Vázquez, 6-10, PF/C, 1983, Unicaja Malaga
Considered by most to be the top European player in this draft, Fran Vázquez is a guy that has upped his stock considerably over the past 18 months from being a player who almost no one had heard about outside of Spain to a likely lottery pick on draft night.
Watching him play and comparing him with players his size in this draft, its not too hard to figure out why. Thanks to his physical attributes and the fact that he starts and puts up numbers for a Euroleague team, Vázquez is in a class of his own when it comes to big men in this years class. Standing at a legit 6-10 and with an outstanding wingspan, the automatically eligible Vázquez looks the part of an NBA Power Forward and most definitely has the athleticism needed to play the position in the NBA. He is a fluid player who moves very well up and down and the court and possesses an explosive vertical leap. Vázquez gets off the floor quickly on both ends of the court to challenge shots defensively and finish strong with an emphatic dunk every time he receives the ball around the basket. He rotates quickly and elevates with purpose to challenge many shots in the paint area, in fact leading the Euroleague in blocked shots on the year.
Offensively, Vázquez knows his role and does a very good job sticking to his strengths. Almost all of his offense revolves right now off setting screens and either opening up for the catch and shoot mid-range jumper or moving to the right spot, catching and finishing strong around the rim. The fact that so many teams run heavy doses of the pick and roll should play into his favor as this is a play that he understands well and really excels at. You dont see him try to do much more than that, which is a good thing considered that he is pretty limited besides those two things. His mid-range jumper is easily one of the best things he brings to the table right now, if hes open on the perimeter there is a very good chance its going in. The mechanics on his jumper look good, and he gets good lift on as well. Its not hard to tell that hes worked very hard on this part of his game, and hes recently begun to expand his range even farther out, to the point that he can hit the European three. Vázquezs off the ball movement is very solid. He really knows how to pick his spots well and present himself to catch the ball, shoot it fluidly if hes on the perimeter or dunk it aggressively if hes inside the paint. Those two things on the offensive end, along with the fact that he is a weakside shot-blocking threat defensively thanks to his wingspan and athleticism will give him a few areas in which he can help an NBA team out with right off of the bat. That should give him a defined role and solid minutes on most teams (especially the needy ones drafting from 5-15) in the NBA right away, something that should be attractive to a team drafting in his area who are looking for an elusive big man to add to their rotation.
In terms of weaknesses, he has his fair share. The debate seems to be right now whether or not these flaws will be magnified playing in the NBA, where everyone is bigger, stronger and more athletic, or whether the NBA game is better suited for him because of the increased spacing that big men enjoy, the emphasis on athleticism over skill, and the fact that hell have a very defined role that he will be asked to execute.
The thing that sticks out most about Vázquez is that despite the fact that he is an automatically eligible 1983 prospect, he is not a very polished player for his age. His frame is rather narrow and this clearly hurts him on both ends of the floor. Offensively, he struggles to establish any type of real back to the basket game besides catching, turning around and dunking, and the fact that his footwork is rather poor does not do him any favors here either. Adding strength (especially upper body) and developing some better post moves is something that should be considered a priority for him once he makes the league. Hes the type of player that really needs a solid playmaking PG next to him who can help create offense for him. His ball-handling is limited to dribbling the ball once somewhat awkwardly with his head down before pulling up for an unpolished pull-up jumper. Dirk Nowitzki hes not, but Im not sure if thats something you want to hold against him considering his position and role on the floor.
Vázquez appears to be fairly content being a role player, and he is indeed always the 4th or 5th option on his team, although this is normal for a young player on a strong team in Europe. He will go through large stretches where hes not very active offensively and he wont even look for the ball.
Defensively, he struggles at times to hold position in the paint against stronger players, being muscled around a bit, especially in man to man defense. Just like on offense, he needs to improve his footwork and lateral movement in order to become a better man to man defender. Too often he will get torched guarding someone his size, which is not something you would expect to happen to a player with his athletic gifts. Learning how to use the angles better will help him cover more ground quicker, something that should come with time and experience.
In terms of rebounding, his lack of bulk hurts him a little bit here, although once again his size, wingspan and athleticism usually make up for it against European competition. Vázquez needs to improve his positioning for rebounds, as sometimes hell be caught not boxing out his man and relying too much on his outstanding physical gifts. He too often risks his position on the blocks for a rebound or leaves his man wide open for an easy basket after coming to help out for a weak-side block.
In general, his feel for the game is not off the charts and his decision making therefore suffers in the process. Its not rare to see him bite on pump fakes and overcommit by leaving his feet too early. The mantra about him being the most polished European player in this draft is a meaningless statement, even if it might be true. The problem is that that doesnt say anything in a draft like this. Im still trying to figure out who was the most polished European player in last years draft or the year before, and exactly how much that helped his stock or NBA career. Even though it sounds good, thats really not a way to describe a player like Vázquez and it most certainly wouldnt be a legit reason to draft him.
The reason Vázquez will be drafted somewhere between 5-15 in this draft is because he is a physically gifted player that has some very real translatable NBA skills that he can take advantage of right off the bat. His weaknesses are all things that hopefully he can get better at. The fact that he seems to have a good work ethic and attitude towards the game lead you to believe that he still has the upside to improve on those weaknesses. The question to what degree? can he improve on those is what will ultimately decide whether he becomes a starting caliber PF or just a solid big man in someones rotation. We need to keep in mind that hes a late bloomer who wasnt even really considered an NBA prospect by most until midway through the season last year. NBA teams have their work cut out for them since Vázquez will not be conducting any private workouts with teams to help them figure him out. Watching both play almost side by side, he reminded me somewhat of a more explosive current version of Antonio McDyess in the role hes been playing for the Pistons in the NBA finals so far.