David Gómez Scouting Report
DOB: 11-02-2004
One of the best-hidden secrets in Europe that is likely to remain under the radar might be David Gómez, a power forward who belongs to Coosur Betis and has been loaned into LEB Silver in back-to-back years. In his first year, fresh off the gold medal in the U18 European Championship, he played a minor role in one of the trending teams in Spain, CB Tizona, under Diego Ocampo, one of the Spanish coaches with the most NBA success cases. Then, after a strong performance in the stacked U19 team that won the gold medal in the World Cup of the category, he was again loaned into Ciudad de Huelva Gestia. His stat sheet is not out of the standards for a 20-year-old player, the reason why my initial statement about him is even stronger.
David Gómez made a strong impression at the Adidas Next Generation Tournament Varese in 2022. As part of the Next Generation Team, he displayed great defensive instincts and his shooting ability, showing an interesting archetype of the modern stretch four. His long wingspan allowed him to grab rebounds at a high rate and average 1.5 blocks per game for a team that was the runners-up of the tournament.
Not many times you will expect an NBA prospect to be a respectable shooter at the next level while having two under-30% three-point percentage seasons, but this might be the case with this player. His shooting mechanics both off the catch and off movement are outstanding, and the most important thing, consistent. His makes and misses might be more related to him being a low-volume shooter who is willing to take bad quality shots, which is more related to the context than to him, but that in the upcoming years will likely improve his efficiency and become an above average three-point shooter.
One of my favorite developments of David has been his post-game. While playing for Tizona last season he was more asked to space the floor and set screens, but was not really strong enough to have success in the post against grown players. His footwork was actually sloppy and not being an athletic player made his FG% at the rim below the average. Where he stands now, he has been able to score way more efficiently and in a higher volume, posting a respectable 53.1% on twos while averaging 11 PPG, which is great for a 6'10 player who a year ago would not be able to really impact the game from the scoring standpoint.
What makes David really impactful it's his activity and willingness to be utilitarian in all aspects of the game. His rebounding instincts make him a player that the opposite team has to box out in almost every possession, which it's difficult since he's usually coming from the perimeter at full speed to grab as many offensive boards as he can, averaging 2 per game. In defense, he's usually the one who is boxing, since he plays at the four with a rebounder center in Soulemane Chabi.
Setting useful screens at the right angles is his best suit. He's usually making the calls in the offensive sets, something all coaches will be grateful for in a young player. His teammates usually don't involve him in many pick-and-pop actions, but his potential in this kind of action has been tremendous. The dribble hand-offs are one of the most used plays in his team this season, being also one of the most efficient manners to get clean looks for the guards since David seems to be a hard player to go over the screen.
His defensive activity results are undeniable, he's always trying to make shots difficult for his opponents both inside and outside of the three-point line, where he has been able to use his wingspan to heavy contest shots. However, he's far away from being an NBA-level defender and even has been a liability for his team because of his foul tendencies, sometimes in unnecessary situations. Being prone to being in foul trouble it's never a good trend for a young prospect, and this season he has been ejected four times for reaching the 5th foul.
Needs too much work to use his physical attributes properly, especially against smaller players, who are usually looking for the switch in the pick-and-roll to attack him and if not scoring, being fouled by him. This is primarily caused by his lack of hip mobility and fluidity in his footwork, something that has been consistent in him since 2022. Coordination in his movements, using his arms, and avoiding illegal contact is something that he will require to not be hunted by guards in the perimeter.
Works better as a secondary defender, especially due to his size and shot-blocking ability. Has really good timing to contest shots at the rim, especially when the opposite player does a stationary and low jump. A secondary defender could do a better job stealing the ball, or at least deflecting it, considering his frame and defensive background.
A big problem for him might be not being able to define his tools into a specific game style since he can be considered an in-betweener since he might not be skilled enough to be considered a forward, and also not powerful and bruising enough to be considered a big. Being impactful is not worth enough if the configuration of lineups in which you work better is not likely to occur, so his defining his role better moving forward and putting the necessary effort to develop into that role is going to be the key to his success and the way to avoid to be stuck into positions.
Gran partido de Jose David Gómez ('04), que sigue madurando paso a paso con un muy buen rendimiento en Plata. 25 pts (9/11 T2, 0/1 T3, 7/10 TLs), 6 rebt, 3 ast y 2 tap en sus 27 min.
— Dugongcesto (@Dugongcesto) March 17, 2024
Con esas condiciones, en el momento que su muñeca gane un punto de regularidad desde fuera... pic.twitter.com/XLY1XKXEJl
As with every hidden gem, he needs to be trusted first, beginning with the team that owns his rights, Coosur Betis, which will likely stay on LEB Gold unless something unexpected happens. Playing in the second tier of Spanish basketball next year should be mandatory in order for him to pursue any day an NBA career, that right now seems highly unlikely, but with a process like the one he has been going through, can just only need one good season to be a reality.
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