Weight has to be the easiest thing for a young big to work on, it shouldn't shy anybody away from him at all. He has incredible length, is quick, can jump, great shot blocking instincts, has good footwork and a polished offensive game including a long range jumper. That's a hell of a combo for a 20 year old prospect to have, surprised he isn't a top 10 player.
Yao was thin up top but he had tree trunks for legs. The potential for him to fill out was always there. This guy looks like he'll always be thin but that's by no means a deal breaker. Durant is still a rail.
The Chinese sports officials use to change players' ages for younger in order for them to participate in youth tornaments. But I don't think Zhou Qi's age is fake. He really looks 20. I mean even if he's 24 he still has potential
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Zhou Qi is listed as a 20 year old born in 1996. But a number of NBA scouts believe he was born in 1992 or 1993. Big difference to teams.</p>— Chad Ford (@chadfordinsider) <a href="https://twitter.com/chadfordinsider/status/742503366568378368">June 13, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I guess they are trying to say that he is going to hit his peak or is at his peak real soon or already has and he is too far along to grasp his full potential.
I really hope we draft either him or Thon Maker if we can. I think with Dwight moving on and having only Clint as our 5 these guys can come in and lessen the burden a little bit.
Last week, Kevin Pelton published his complete stats projection. Zhou Qi has the best translated stats(3.5 WARP) in this draft. He's been followed extensively by US scouts for many years, and his physical growth records are well documented in China. I'm not concerned about his weight/age. He's been productive and competitive in CBA against former NBA bigmen. His biggest problem is stamina. He also needs a more physical front court partner(either 4 or 5), kind of like how Anthony Davis had his most healthy and productive season playing with Asik.
There's so many players in this draft that have measurables potential through the roof. The difference between Porzingis and Qi on a pre-draft basis? I've really got no clue... just hype I guess. Porzingis probably had more real, measurable experience in better league. A little more weight to Porzingis. This is where it is basically impossible to be a scout, and becomes hard to fault GMs on some of these picks post lottery. Phil was basically "forced" into taking Porzingis last year because the guys he would have preferred were gone. He was universally booed. And look what happened. Meanwhile, Qi perhaps goes in the second round. Why some international players work and some fizzle in the NBA... roll of the dice. I like Qi. I'd be very happy if the Rockets grabbed him in the second round, but I also would not expect anything from him immediately. But I do see serious long-term upside, and in today's NBA there is certainly potential for him to come in relatively quickly and be a positive on the court, just given his size and skills, which are great for someone his size.
Zhou's agent has reached agreement with his CBA team. He may stay in China for another year if selected in second round. Words is he may had a first round promise already.
