Kenny Kadji adjusts

New Vipers rookie forward Kenny Kadji has been busy getting acquainted with the NBA D-League’s faster pace and his team’s unique, 3-point-heavy system.
“The speed, the way we play … you have to be in tip-top shape,” said the 6-foot-10, 242-pound Kadji, who is averaging 4.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in 11.3 minutes in four games. “The last week has been rough. Once I get my legs under me, I’ll be fine.”

Kadji, a range-shooting forward, averaged 9.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in four college seasons split between Florida and Miami. He played his first two years at Florida, where one of his teammates was current Houston Rocket Chandler Parsons.

After going undrafted in last summer’s NBA Draft, Kadji played a month in Germany before returning to the States. It didn’t take him long to figure out that the D-League was the best route to the NBA. While he has not talked to Parsons in a while, he knew what the Vipers could offer.

“I know a lot of people from this team get called up and I felt it was a good fit as far as the Rockets and that relationship,” Kadji said.

Kadji has impressed with his defense. Having spent the NBA preseason in camp with the Cleveland Cavaliers under defensive-minded coach Mike Brown, he is further ahead in that aspect than offensively, where his lack of conditioning has affected his shooting (3-for-19 from the field, 1-for-9 from 3).

“He’s gifted athletically,” Vipers coach Nevada Smith said. “He’s really long, he’s got good feet and good instincts. He does a good job with rotations and knowing where to be.”


(themonitor.com)