European NBA Prospect Rankings: Winter 2016

Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Ante Zizic greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number twenty-three overall pick to the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /

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15. Arturas Gudaitis, C, Lietuvos Rytas

Kings Draft-and-stash (2015 Draft)

2016-2017 stats: 11.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.6 blocks per game

I’ve been adamant about my love of watching Rytas this season, and Gudaitis has been at the forefront of that. Rytas has one of Eurocup’s best frontcourts, with Gudaitis, a ground-and-pound traditional big man, next to the hyper-athletic Drew Gordon. The result has been that one or both puts up video game numbers depending on the week’s mismatch, and it helped the squad advance out of the toughest opening group in Eurocup.

Gudaitis lacks the foot speed to be a competent NBA defender, but he can block shots one-on-one, and his post game is magical, as he has the footwork and raw strength to just abuse small-ball defenders on the block.

Gudaitis, were he to come over, has the potential to be an Enes Kanter-type post-up master, a bench scorer who can bully non-starter centers. The depth at center for Sacramento makes this a difficult proposition, but he’s talented enough to find a spot somewhere in the NBA.

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