Last Saturday, the NY Knicks held a workout with potential draftee Vrenz Bleijenbergh.
If you don’t recognize the name, the dude is Belgian, he plays basketball for a living, and he’s really really good at it.
Not only that, he wants to come and play for your city.
Vrenz’s draft standing has been a bit up in the air. Some mock boards having him in the mid to late 20s, while others say he’s more likely to be taken near the top of the second round, while still others wonder if he should be drafted at all.
Well, let me just tell you, folks, he’s gonna get drafted. The only question is; where?
Five NBA teams have shown specific interest in Bleijenbergh’s talents; the Pelicans, Warriors, Nuggets, Thunder, and Knicks. Each packing draft picks in the 20-40 range, many with more than one.
Should Vrenz Bleijenbergh be on the NY Knicks’ radar during 2021 NBA Draft?
You may remember a certain knuckleheaded Daily Knicks writer (me) penning a piece on this 6’11 Belgian unicorn a few months ago.
Well, I hate to say I told you so, but for those who don’t, the kind of basketball biography Bleijenbergh brings to the NBA on paper is about as close to video game stuff as you’re gonna get.
A point-forward with legit 3-point range, the passing vision of a guard, fluidity with the ball, and natural movement on the perimeter, and all while matching measurements with guys like John Collins, Chris Boucher, and Michael Porter Jr.
It’s almost like it’s too good to be true.
Well, that’s what most GMs seem to be thinking anyway. These kinds of foreign gems, the guys who on paper looks like the second coming of Dirk or Durant, come around the draft too often to be reliably scouted.
Their beautiful basketball quirks and ridiculous profiles make them impossible to ignore, but they almost never work out in the end.
Though then again, there’s still that nagging possibility of “what if?”. That chance at a Jokic or Giannis or Marc Gasol type diamond in the rough keeps GMs at the drafting table like a bad gambler.