NBA Draft prospect Zhou Qi might be older than 20 years old
According to ESPN NBA Draft expert Chad Ford, Chinese prospect Zhou Qi might be older than his listed age of 20 years old.
There were already question marks surrounding Zhou Qi and whether or not he would be able to enter the 2016 NBA Draft due to a contract dispute with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers, Qi’s team in China.
His contract was recently bought out, which would will allow him to join the NBA in 2017, but now there’s another issue.
ESPN NBA Draft insider Chad Ford dropped this note on Twitter about some rumblings he’s heard not about Zhou Qi’s game, but his age.
Zhou Qi is listed as a 20 year old born in 1996. But a number of NBA scouts believe he was born in 1992 or 1993. Big difference to teams.
— NBA Big Board (@chadfordinsider) June 13, 2016
Qi looked like an intriguing prospect in the weeks leading towards next week’s draft, but this age confusion could either be a non-issue or the difference between him going late in the first round or falling further into the second round next Thursday night.
In terms of NBA draft prospects these days, younger is better. The more years a team can get out of a player’s development, the better they feel they’ll be off in the future. There’s a big difference between a 20-year-old prospect and a 23-year-old prospect, no matter if he’s 7’2″ or not.
Still, Zhou Qi’s potential is interesting because of his size, his ability to block and alter shots and his touch on the offensive end.
Next: Potential No. 1 pick Ben Simmons will likely avoid all draft workouts prior to draft night
DraftExpress currently has Qi going 28th overall in the draft to the Phoenix Suns.
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