Scouting Report: Cedi Osman

Cedi Osman is a small forward for Anadolu Efes. Osman is 6’8. For the year. he averaged, 20.3 minutes per game, 7.7 points per game, 4.0 rebounds per game, 1.0 assists per game, 0.9 steals per game, 0.3 blocks per game, while shooting 42.2% from the field, and 33.8% from three.

Pros:

• Good size
• Good speed
• Has great court vision
• Good ball handling skills
• Excels in transition offense
• Above average rebounder
• High motor
• Aggressive style of play

Cons:

• Needs to add strength
• Terrible shooting form(although has improved slightly this past season)
• Inconsistent shooter
• Must work on three point consistency
• Stays away from contact
• Average defender

Overall:

Osman is flying up NBA draft boards. To start the season, Osman was looked at as a mid-to-late second round pick. Osman improved his shooting mechanics slightly, and with more playing time this year really showcased his skills, which has worked him up into first round discussion. I have seen some mocks having Osman in the teens of the first round, which is too high since he is at least two to three years away from having enough NBA skill to come over and make an impact. Osman, when he does come over will be a great addition for any team’s bench. He is a confident ball handler, with great court vision to find any open man. His shooting mechanics are a work in progress, but since they have improved this past season, there is hope he can find his form and become a more consistent shooter. Osman does play aggressive basketball, and will hit the boards hard. Osman uses good fundamentals to obtain these boards as well. On defense, Osman can be terrible, or very elite. For this reason, I said he was a average defender. As of late, Osman has played great one-on-one defense. He stays with his man, contests threes, and fights through screens. Some say this is because he knows teams are looking at him with first round hopes so he is trying to improve his resume. Others say this is the real him. I agree with the first statement, since for the majority of the season he was merely average. Overall, Osman is not coming over anytime soon. He possess good ball handling skills, vision, defensive potential, and an inconsistent shot. After a few more seasons in Europe, Osman should be able to contribute off the bench for whatever team selects him. I have said before in a previous article, I think Osman will be a bust, depending on where he is selected. If he is selected late first round, early second round he will not be a bust, as the expectations are low of those players. If Osman is selected in the teens of the first round, I expect most people to agree to him being a bust, as I see Osman as never being more than a bench player at most. Osman draft range is all the way from 14-40.

Pro Comparison:

Hedo Turkoglu

I like to try and break the boundaries of just comparing foreign players to other foreign players, but this comparison is just to easy to make, due to their similar skill sets. Osman and Turkoglu are both point forwards, possessing great court vision, passing skills, and ball handling ability. Neither player has good shooting mechanics either and struggle with consistency. Turkoglu had a up-and-down NBA career, as one season he would be dominate, the next, he was a liability. Osman has this same type of potential if he does not find consistency. When both have their shots falling they are electric, but when they can not hit, they disappear from contributions on the floor, hurting their teams. On defense, both players could be good and bad, just depending on the game. Inconsistency is a word used a lot with these two players. Turkoglu had a good NBA career, and although I view him as more talented than Osman, Osman can still come over and make use a nice bench player, who can hopefully be a consistent offensive threat.

By: Mac Crowe, @Mac_Truck17