Kings Looking to Europe
by Tom Ziller on May 2, 2010 7:51 AM PDT
in NBA Draft
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PrintA quick note: the Michael Beasley discussion has been fascinating. As you can likely tell from the tone of my post, I err on the side of section214, who argues while Beasley is a good young prospect he doesn't fit the team's needs or the blueprint for the team. But I see the arguments those like jjham are making -- the kid's practically a 21-year-old producing like Carl Landry (though with worse efficiency). Fascinating discussion.
Turning our attention, then, to the actual Kings movement -- Geoff Petrie is headed to Europe. Jason Jones of The Bee has a story on what Petrie is looking for: potential prospects beyond the top six, potential veteran free agents and players whose NBA rights are accounted for but who could be on the trade block this summer. You can read all about it by following the link to Jones' story. (Amazing how that works, no?)
As Jones writes, there are no international prospects considered worthy of a top-6 pick. Czech Jan Vesely was in the mix that high before pulling out. The top international prospect draft bible DraftExpress lists is Donatas Motiejunas at No. 12. Motiejunas is a 7-foot Lithuanian who plays for Treviso (Andrea Bargnani's old team). Petrie mentions visiting Treviso during his European trip -- they play today at home Carife, and given the team doesn't play at home again during Petrie's trip, we'll assume he's attending that match-up. Treviso also plays host to the adidas Eurocamp, but that's not until the first week of June.
DraftExpress lists just one other international player in the first round of its latest mock draft: Kevin Seraphin of Cholet, a 20-year-old 6'9 center from French Guiana. Cholet played Saturday, but not again until after the Euroleague Final Four.
DX's current second round international prospects include Miroslav Raduljica, a 7-footer from Serbia; Alexey Shved, a 21-year-old combo guard from Russia; German wing Robin Benzing, who apparently can't get out of his club contract this summer; Nemanja Bjelica, a 21-year-old Serbian swingman; Vladimir Dasic of Montenegro, a 6'9 combo forward; and Spain's Pablo Aguilar, a 6'8 face-up power forward.
DraftExpress also has a comprehensive ranking of the top overseas free agents. No. 1 on that list -- Greek titan Yiannis Bouroussis -- was tied to the Spurs last summer, but never made the leap. Bouroussis plays for Olympiakos, one of the teams featured at the Euroleague Final Four next weekend. (Olympiakos also features Josh Childress, who is still a restricted free agent of the Hawks.)
There's a lot going on in the Old World, and we'll see if anyone strikes Petrie's fancy. The Kings have the No. 33 pick in the draft, as well as one in the top six.
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Not sure how many
Undersized big men we need (we are already starting Laundry who is undersized)
Petrie will find someone out there
I'm not sitting in your car, or your living room with a gun pointed to your head telling you to listen to 1140. - Grant Napear
Just say no to Motiejunas
Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order and Originator of the "Brock Ness Monster".
I would if I could pronounce it.
"Sometimes the capriciousness of youth anesthetizes common sense." -Let Geoff's words guide our patience this season.
by AnotherStupidSN on May 2, 2010 8:35 AM PDT up reply actions
Easy
It’s a homonym of no.
Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order and Originator of the "Brock Ness Monster".
your command of Lithuanian is impressive
this may be a Kings meme
by betweentheeyes on May 2, 2010 9:21 AM PDT up reply actions
Sure I can give lessons
Donatas Motiejunas is pronounced Don’t-draft-as Mo-tee-a-junas
Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order and Originator of the "Brock Ness Monster".
I watch a bit of Olympiakos every now and then
(Although I’m more a Pathanaikos or PAOK fan, Olympiakos are like the Yankees or Lakers of Greece. Peja played for PAOK while he was still in Greece.)
Bouroussis is a talent. He reminds me a lot of a cross between Memo Okur and Troy Murphy. He can shoot and rebound as well as take it inside (good at both). I’m not surprised the Spurs would’ve had interest in him, he would’ve been fantastic paired with Duncan. His defense isn’t bad although he isn’t much of a shot blocker. I would be intrigued if the Kings showed interest in him. He’s better than JT or Spencer are now, that’s for sure. He’s also 26 and has been playing professionally for a while so he should be relatively NBA ready.
Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order and Originator of the "Brock Ness Monster".
The Spurs need to be looking for a player to replace Duncan-
not play alongside. Duncan keeps ticking along but father time catches up to everybody.
The Sacramento Convergence concept offers Sacramento, the Central Valley, and the State a solution to feasibly construct a new multi-use Entertainment and Sports Complex.
Duncan is a once in a lifetime player
You don’t just find a replacement. And look at how good they still are. That team could still go to the Finals this year.
Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order and Originator of the "Brock Ness Monster".
As an Olympiakos fan,
I have to say that Bouroussis is a great rebounder. In fact it’s very rare to see double digit rebounds in Europe, and he is one of the few players that does it around here. His shot is nowhere near Murphy’s or even Hawes’. He might have a place in the NBA as a backup center or a complement to a great PF (what McDyess is for Duncan). He’s also a very dirty and big mouthed player.
Olympiakos and Panathinaikos players are hard to approach because their salary has reached very high levels. It’s tough for them to leave Greece for the NBA without asking a MLE type of salary. And they definitely don’t worth it. There’s no point for them to leave a luxurious career in a less skilled basketball level (Europe), for a lower salary and questionable playing time (see Spanoulis, the Rockets rookie in 2006). We have a saying here “It’s better to be first in the village than last in the city”.
Brilliant final statement.
and thanks for the analysis of Bouroussis (does that name even fit on a jersey?)
The Sacramento Convergence concept offers Sacramento, the Central Valley, and the State a solution to feasibly construct a new multi-use Entertainment and Sports Complex.
Europe and the second round
I spend a lot of time looking at old NBA drafts on wikipedia. I can’t explain why, but I like just looking over the old results and seeing what emerges. Patterns, trends, etc.
The second round (and the first round in some years) is absolutely littered with the names of foreign prospects that never made it to the NBA. But among the many misses are some serious home runs. In more recent years, there are the unknowns, players who might be able to come over still and make a difference.
Petrie has shown tremendous judgment in picks from Europe. Whether he finds another immediate contributor like Casspi or someone to stash away, I’d be ok with it.
Never forget: I am a complete idiot
Seriously
All of Petrie’s Euro Picks:
2009 – Omri Casspi at 23 – looks to have a very good career
2000 – Hedo Turkoglu at 16 – was probably the 2nd or 3rd best player from this draft.
1996 – Peja Stojakovic at 14 – in 2003-04 finished 4th in MVP voting and made All-NBA 2nd team
1995 – Dejan Bodiroga at 51 – possibly the best European to never play in the NBA
Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order and Originator of the "Brock Ness Monster".
What about that monster center in Portland with bad feet
I cannot remeber his name but he was pretty good and I think GP was the GM, plus he brought Vlade to us. Darius was alo a pretty good second rounder although he played in the US and is still playing. And Funderburke was overseas when we brought him over.
"If my aunt had a set of nuts, she'd be my uncle"
Arvydas Sabonis?
The Lithuanian was drafted in 1986 by Portland, GP was the GM of the Blazers starting 1989.
by betweentheeyes on May 2, 2010 11:02 AM PDT up reply actions
Thanks BTE
That guy was a load! Too bad he came to the states so late and had the problems with his feet
"If my aunt had a set of nuts, she'd be my uncle"
His head is the size of a volkswagon bug.
Great passing/ball handling skills.
The Sacramento Convergence concept offers Sacramento, the Central Valley, and the State a solution to feasibly construct a new multi-use Entertainment and Sports Complex.
I completely forgot about that
You are right it was HUUUUUGGE!!!
"If my aunt had a set of nuts, she'd be my uncle"
and his wife was a DRUUUUUUNK
Could some of you maybe use a condom once in a while?
by wallywagon11 on May 2, 2010 10:57 PM PDT up reply actions
Bodiroga was very good
But there were others, like his countryman Pedrag Danilovic.
From longer ago, you have Nikos Galis from Greece, for instance, and the Israeli Miki Berkovich.
Dunking Dutchman
What? No Rik Smits thrown in there?
The Sacramento Convergence concept offers Sacramento, the Central Valley, and the State a solution to feasibly construct a new multi-use Entertainment and Sports Complex.
Overseas Free Agents- I would like to take a long look at along with Yiannis-Bouroussis-
Here are 2 more bigs that could be a help to the kings as back-ups and would not cost too much.
Mozgov – 7 footer
He seems to be making big strides in his game year after year and is clearly not a finished product at this point. With his outstanding physical attributes and especially the way he runs the floor, it not out of the question that he could be a much better fit for the more up and down style of play that is found in the NBA than he is for Europe.
Hendrix – 6-8 PF
Hendrix, as he’s already established himself as one of the more productive big men in the league—averaging nearly 20 and 10 per-40 minutes pace adjusted—despite being a 23-year old rookie in the toughest domestic league in Europe. If anything, he’s upped his value significantly in Europe by showing that he can translate his game over to a new style of play, and he’s surely improved in his own right along the way.
What Hendrix brings to the table is quite obvious for those who have seen him or followed him throughout the years on this site. He’s a brute force underneath the basket with his terrific body, huge hands and 7-3 wingspan. He’s not a terribly skilled offensive player but is regardless fairly effective around the paint, particularly with his back to the basket. His main virtues lie in his rebounding ability, as he boxes out opponents extremely well and does an excellent job pursuing loose balls with his soft hands and long arms. He is yet to develop much of a face-up game and still a liability from the free throw line, two things he must address as his career moves on, but is a highly efficient player (leading the ACB in field goal percentage) who understands his limitations and comes off as quite an intelligent and fundamentally sound player.
"If my aunt had a set of nuts, she'd be my uncle"
I like how Draft Express has Mozgov at 7'1 and 0 lbs.
No wonder he’s so quick running the floor.
Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order and Originator of the "Brock Ness Monster".
obviously
their assessment of him carries no weight
by betweentheeyes on May 2, 2010 9:58 AM PDT up reply actions 7 recs
Nice.
He seems to be awfully “light on his feet”.
The Sacramento Convergence concept offers Sacramento, the Central Valley, and the State a solution to feasibly construct a new multi-use Entertainment and Sports Complex.
But is it an European 0 lbs or an American 0 lbs?
Tanking? I don't know what you're talking about, tanking. I'm just losing more efficiently.
I like Hendrix
DraftExpress compares him to Carlos Boozer.
Another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance. Vonnegut
by Ice_9ine on May 2, 2010 12:39 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Answer me this
When did a team full of foreigners win the NBA championship?
Spurs
Parker, Ginobili and the Demon Deacon from St. Croix
by betweentheeyes on May 2, 2010 10:13 AM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
And 1
San Antonio through the years-
2007 – Parker, Ginobili, Duncan (if you want to call him a foreigner), Oberto, Elson, even Udrih
2005 – Duncan, Parker, Ginobili, Marks, Udrih, Nesterovic
Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order and Originator of the "Brock Ness Monster".
That settles..Wabeno is the key to our Championship Run
"If my aunt had a set of nuts, she'd be my uncle"
That settles it...hendrix will be a free agent pick
And sense Nellie did not want him we know he must play a little defense
"If my aunt had a set of nuts, she'd be my uncle"
Lakers-
Pau- Spain
Mbenga- Zaire
Sasha Vujacic- Yugoslavia
Adam Morrison- 1978
Ron Artest- Outer Space
That’s a lot of people not from here and didn’t even pull out the guys from “the South” which is clearly foreign.
The Sacramento Convergence concept offers Sacramento, the Central Valley, and the State a solution to feasibly construct a new multi-use Entertainment and Sports Complex.
by jjham15 on May 2, 2010 12:48 PM PDT up reply actions 6 recs
Reke'd for Morrison.
Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order and Originator of the "Brock Ness Monster".
But isn't Vujacic from Slovenia like Beno?
Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order and Originator of the "Brock Ness Monster".
Not according to CBS.Sportline.
The Sacramento Convergence concept offers Sacramento, the Central Valley, and the State a solution to feasibly construct a new multi-use Entertainment and Sports Complex.
what about Petteri Koponen?
I know the Blazers have his rights, but a pass first PG who’s 6’5" playing w/ Tyreke could be intriguing
i have tried to find info on Xavier Rabaseda
whom is the name Jason Jones mentions in his spot. 6’6" SG is all could find. Anyone have more?
Tiago Splitter?
I remember hearing some rumblings not too long ago that the Spurs were looking to trade his rights to a team with cap space, as they might not be able to afford to bring him over. Would be interested? Would he be worth the investment (since it sounds like he wants more than MLE money to leave Europe)? What would the Spurs want in return?
Spurs are looking to bring him over next year from what I've read
Not sure what his buyout situation or restrictions are like in Europe. I do know, next year, he;s not longer bound by the rookie scale so the Spurs can negotiate any type of deal for him.
"Children want what they want when they want it." ... Andy Sims
by edm7 on May 2, 2010 12:53 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
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