NBA scouts analyze Vitor Faverani's game, as well as his amazing nickname
When the Celtics were first linked to Brazilian big man Vitor Faverani a few weeks ago, my first response was, "Who?" Admittedly I do not know a ton about the European leagues, following only those who the mainstream media talk about as potential NBA first round picks, but usually I'll at least recognize the name. That wasn't the case with Faverani.
After digging into him a bit more, it was clear why. He played only 17 minutes per game for his team in the Spanish league, basically serving as the teams backup center. Not exactly a major showcase of his talent to say the least.
Now that he is with Boston, we are of course hungry for information on the 6'11", 260 pound big, and the Boston Globe's Baxter Holmes helped us out by talking to several NBA scouts about Faverani's history, as well as his skill-set. From Holmes' article (link).
In terms of how Faverani fits in with the Celtics, the scout said, "I can see him as a pick-and-pop big, offensively. Where he fits defensively and being a consistent rebounder will be the key."
In describing Faverani's strengths and weaknesses, both offensively and defensively, the scout noted that Faverani can shoot and that offense, overall, is his biggest strength.
"That's what puts him on the floor – being hard to guard versus mismatches," the scout said. "He was never considered a defender/rebounder. He can run, is a good athlete."
A Western Conference scout provided this take:
"He has got an NBA frame and great wingspan. He is pretty athletic and likes to work on the defensive end of the floor. He has good feet and he is good in (pick-and-roll) defense.
"He is active, can block shots from the weak side and likes to bang. This is where his nickname "El Hombre Indestructible" comes from.
"On offense he is still raw, he is not selfish and has decent passing skills from the low post. He is good as a roller in pick and rolls. He was shooting threes decently three years ago in a weaker team, but not consistently enough to let him continue that in Valencia (a high level team).
The scouts also discussed why Faverani was not selected in the 2009 draft despite the fact that he was eligible, saying that he "could not be trusted" and did not take the game seriously at the time. The scout went on to say that Faverani has matured since then.
The Celtics signed Faverani to a 3 year, $6 million deal, using a portion of their mid-level exception to bring him in. While fans will certainly wait to see him in actual games before rushing to judgment, it's always good to hear from scouts who have seen him play. 6'11" guys who can run the floor and have range out to the three point line do not grow on trees, so Danny rolling the dice on one for a pretty low rate of $2 million per season seems like a pretty decent gamble.
Plus the dude's nickname is "El Hombre Indestructible" (Translation: The Indestructible Man). They say you can tell a lot about a man by the nickname he keeps, and that's one hell of a nickname.
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