Weaknesses
Hezonja is very skilled on the offensive end, but he is not as dazzling on the other end of the court. As DraftExpress writes, his defensive struggles are not due to a lack of ability, but rather commitment:
"Questions also remain about Hezonja’s ability to defend consistently. Those questions don’t revolve around his actual ability to defend as much as they’re based on his sometimes non-chalant approach on that end of the floor. He tends to run very hot and very cold in terms of his intensity as his worst moments are just as glaring as his best ones. Hezonja could stand to get stronger, but his combination of size and quickness seemingly give him the potential to hold his own if he’s committed to being a factor on this end of the floor. The question is, in a long 82-game season, where minutes will be handed to him much more easily than they were in Europe, will he feel the desire to get in a stance and compete at max intensity on every possession?"
Something like this is a major concern, especially for a franchise that wants to build their foundation on defense like the Sixers. Could they be interested in a player that is not going to consistently buy in on the defensive end? This is a red flag to consider about Hezonja and it ties in with his final weakness as a prospect, which is his attitude.
As the Fran Fraschilla quote mentioned above, Hezonja has maturity issues, such as having run-ins with coaches, which led to his lack of playing time. He has a certain cockiness about his game, which is not horrible because it means he has a lot confidence in himself, but you don’t want it to come as a detriment to the team. For example, if he does not get a lot of playing time at first is he going to get down about it and let it affect his play?
His overconfidence is something to also worry about on the offensive end as well in terms of his shot selection and play making. A good number of his jump shots in his highlights come from very deep and did not exactly come within the flow of the offense. Of course all of them are makes in the highlight reels, but that does not necessarily classify them as good shots. Hezonja could also be a bit turnover prone, as he coughed it up 1.73 times per game in international play last season.
Next: When Should Hezonja Be Drafted?