Washington Wizards: has Deni Avdija finally arrived?

After an inconsistent first two and a half seasons, it seems as if Deni Avdija may have finally turned a corner for the Washington Wizards. He has looked much better since the Rui Hachimura trade.

In the last three games, Avdija has had back-to-back double-doubles and a game with nine rebounds as well. He has seemed much more aggressive and has made the Wizards better on both sides of the ball.

The Wizards have run him at the four, keeping him near the rim and available for rebounds. More importantly, they have allowed Avdija to be a primary distributor for the team, playing the point-forward role popularized by Draymond Green.

This new role on the team is nothing new for Deni Avdija.

This is the role that he played in the Israeli League before being drafted into the NBA. Playing in a system that capitalizes on his vision will get the best out of not only Avdija, but also every one of his teammates.

Before moving him into a more familiar role, the Wizards struggled on offense with Avdija on the floor. This is no longer the case as he is now scoring at an efficient rate and creating good looks for others on the floor as well.

Not only has he improved on offense, but he has remained one of the best all-around defensive players in the league. This has made his minutes incredibly valuable for the Wiz as they have seen five straight wins.

In that stretch, Avdija has been a genuine threat in four of them, only really struggling against the Orlando Magic. In those four games, he is averaging 13.5 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.75 steals, and half a block. Everything but the assists are well above his averages for the season and for his career.

He is also seeing an increase in efficiency as he is shooting 48.6% from the field, 36.3% from beyond the three-point arc, and 70% from the free throw line. Other than his efficiency at the free throw line, these are huge increases over his normal efficiency.

If Deni Avdija can keep up this type of production and on this efficiency, he will quickly become a starter and main piece of the rotation for the Washington Wizards. This type of player is incredibly valuable to any team and could be a major part of a rebirth for the team.