Draft Projection

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Background

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Henri Drell's father and mother were basketball players and he had that connection with basketball. Drell started 9 years old and at 15 when he got offers from outside of Estonia he decided that. 

He mostly works on his dribbling and shooting, but outside of that HD is lifting weights to improve his body in three hours per day.

He is in internet school, so it doesn’t affect his basketball badly. Sometimes Drell has to make more lessons, but overall, it is very good and balanced. He chooses more basketball. 

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He loves plays easy plays, quick hitters, where the offense flows naturally. On defense, he loves man defense.

His top five players from the USA are Durant, George, Pippen, Kobe, Will Clyburn. Top five players from the Europe are Kukoc, Doncic, Bogdanovic, Marciulionis, Petrovic.

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One of Henri Drell's coach in Germany said good things about his game discipline. There was no such thing as coming to workouts early and going late, so he is not an extremely hard worker, but he always complied with the hours set by the team. His off-court life is casual. There is nothing about party, full free time or something. He is like a classic teenager with high love of basketball.

On 1 July 2016, Drell signed a six-year contract with Brose Bamberg. He made his professional debut for Brose Bamberg on 18 March 2019.

Drell played at the Division B tournament of the 2018 FIBA Europe U18 Championship, where he was named to the All-Tournament Team. He made his debut for the senior Estonian national team on 21 February 2019, in a 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifier against Serbia.

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Physical Tools

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I am hopeful about the physical properties of Henri Drell. Because Drell combines his physical tools with good gaming IQ and two pure gaming skills, becoming a versatile player. His arms are long and strong. Chests are wide and strong. He has 7-0 wingspan and can use it well. Hands are very fast. Had hand-eye coordination and average general body coordination. His shoulders are not wide and have an average strength. Hip mobility is not very fluid, but good enough to give him enough acceleration. Feet are not perfect, he knows how to read footwork but has trouble doing. I think his lower body is not very strong, he can dunk and block, but HD does not have elite vertical pop. Has an average lateral quickness. I think Henri Drell may be a prospect physically NBA fit. However, I have a few doubts here. Drell is tall and his wingspan is wide, but body is thin overall. Estonian forward experienced some of the problems that this created in Europe, but the first year and even the second year at the NBA level he can has problems about it. He has to be physically strong because Drell doesn't have a good shoot and plays in the painted area. He needs to add more weight and get stronger for the NBA level but I think Henri Drell has a good base for that.

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Offense

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I think best thing about his offense is Henri Drell can play multiple positions with his good size and length. He uses his size to attack the basket with floaters, short jumpers, dazzling dunks, and lobs. He can create his own shot off the dribble and I think his shooting form is smooth. Showed some flashes on CnS, movement and jumpers but Drell is not a shooter who can create spacing with hit threat. He needs to work on his shoot. Despite Drell can play physically versatile, he must have a shooting threat in game understanding at the NBA. I do not think he is currently ready to play as SF in the NBA, his ideal role could be SG. However, if he does not have a good shot threat, HD will not be a good choice as SG, and he is not a good passer play as a PG. So, I think he definitely has to improve his shooting. I have hope for his shot because he does not hesitate to use a shot, HD has a shooting mentality. He uses the shot where he should use it, and in some matches, Drell did good at it. It is very important that he can create his own shot and dribble jumpers, but he should be able to do it consistently. Henri Drell, 6-9 height and 7-0 wingspan, is able to dribble with wide court vision, quick steps and soft last touch. Also, I think he knows very well how to use his body for take contact. He cannot finish in traffic and Drell, not a dribbler who can make shifty moves - crossover, step back, etc. - but he is a dribbler who can control the game pace, read the game and dribble after all these things. I think his athleticism skills are very good for the NBA level. As I said, he has not strong frame, but Estonian prospect is a good athlete. He has both fluid and explosive athletic skills. Vertical pop is not elite, but sometimes HD can do fascinating things about it. After doing reverse in the baseline, he can go to the basket with explosiveness. He is also a fluid athlete. Especially when driving from top or wings, he can go to the basket with perfect fluidity with the last soft touch, strong first step. He can change direction in the ground but not in the air. Thanks to his active motor, Drell excels at scoring on off-ball motion plays. I think his handling is reliable. I mean, he knows how create a shield around the ball. In my opinion, Drell is not a passer who can create deep positions or like that with passes. He is a classical read and reacts passer. In my opinion, thanks to its physical properties, Drell can be effective both as handler and roller in PnRs but has not been very effective in this regard so far throughout his career. He needs to develop the PnR weapon.

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Defense

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I think Drell knows very well how to use his physical tools on defense. Yes, he needs to add more weight and get stronger for the NBA level but showed good flashes. Henri Drell can defend PGs, SGs and SFs during isolation and PnR. He stands upright in stance, not watch the man, watch the ball. I think what makes ISO defense worthwhile is that he moves well laterally and can use fast hands at the right time. I mean, Drell is reading the ISO situations well and moving laterally and his hands are very fast when he moves to the ball. The important thing here is that he can do this without going into a foul problem. In PnRs, I think he is valuable defender thanks to his quick screen reading. His head is upright and his hands are always active. HD is an average team defender. Estonian prospect is not a defensive playmaker, but sometimes does good rotating around the perimeter to protect the team's defensive shell and talks to friends but this is not consistent. He can close the passes angles thrown from the top to the baseline. I think he is good at deflections. I think that his fast hands, average footwork, fluid athleticism, game IQ and physical skills are effective in this. However, all the rest of it poses big question marks about Drell's defense. I mean, HD is not someone who can follow his man well during off-ball motions. He is not someone you want to move around screens. Drell is not a defender you will want to use after the switch. Although he shows some things about protecting rim, inconsistent and lack of elite vertical pop hurt him. I also think that his defense discipline is very low. The active engine on the offense is not valid for defense. Opponents can play and score in his defense. This is a big question mark.

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Summary

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I think Henri Drell can be an NBA rotation player because he play versatility, can play and guard multiple positions, can attack to the rim with fluid & explosive athleticism, can create his own shot and he is a good team player. However, his huge deficiencies on defense, his inconsistent in the threes, his lack of power and his questionability engine may cause his NBA career to be short or not at all. End of the day, I think, Drell is a good gamble from 40th-60th pick or as an undrafted player.