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| Greek League Preview |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| October 19, 2008 |
Russian League Preview
Italian League Preview
Spanish ACB League Preview
A league of contradictions is what the Greek A1 has become these days. Franchises with massive budgets are pitted against clubs on the constant brink of bankruptcy. The domestic talent base offers a lot of value, but very tight restrictions on American imports (just two allowed per team). Some markets feature huge, passionate fan bases and NBA style arenas, compared to others who play in almost empty gyms not even suitable for some high school teams. This is a league with a terrific tradition of success, which has been spoiled somewhat by a waning national interest in basketball and the incompetence of far too many team front offices. Still, the competition level is always extremely high, as the teams are well coached, everyone plays extremely hard, the refs call the game fairly loose, and there is rarely such a thing as an easy road game.
Once considered arguably the top leagues in Europe, the Greek league has lost some of its prestige with the ascent of the Spanish, Russian and neighboring Turkish league, despite sporting one of the strongest national teams in the world and two of the most prestigious teams in the Euroleague—Panathinaikos and Olympiakos. Unfortunately, there is a huge drop-off after those two storied franchises, as once powerful organizations such as AEK Athens and PAOK Thessaloniki are trying to restore their severely tarnished images after struggling with massive debts incurred by past administrations.
No other league in Europe is as widely feared by players and agents for its instability and shoddy payment history as Greece, and as evidence we find teams such as Kavala (where Americans Billy Thomas and Will Daniels were slated to play) disbanded from the league last week, just a day before their first game. Basketball insiders will tell you with a straight face that a contract is often nothing more than a piece of paper in European basketball, and nowhere is this spirit embodied more than in the Greek league.
Last Year’s Champions: Panathinaikos
Ten of the last eleven domestic championships have been won by Panathinaikos, but they will face a much stiffer test than usual this season from cross-town rivals Olympiakos. After bringing home a well-deserved Euroleague championship in 2007 (hosted in Athens that year), the team shockingly crashed out of the Euroleague last season in the Top 16 stage—a tragedy by their standards. They responded by beefing up the roster substantially with new signings, while still holding onto all of their core players from last season, giving them one of the strongest and most expensive rosters anywhere in Europe.
Led by legendary Serbian coach Zeljko Obradovic, an old-school, conservative, and extremely dominant personality with three Euroleague titles, a world championship, and eight Greek league titles underneath his belt—Panathinaikos will be aiming to win every award possible once again this season.
The strength of this roster lies in its backcourt, flanked by three of the top guards in European basketball—Sarunas Jasikevicius, Vassilis Spanoulis and Dimitris Diamantidis--oftentimes all playing alongside each other in an extremely undersized lineup. This is mostly a blessing, but at times a curse, as each of these three players fancy themselves as point guards, making their individual roles and responsibilities a bit unclear at times, at least looking from the outside. With two of these three (Saras being the exception) known as just average long-range shooters at best, the team saw the need to add a sharpshooter in the form of American SG Drew Nicholas to discourage teams from sagging off the perimeter.
With once dominant inside player Mike Batiste (going into his sixth season with the team) taking somewhat of a step backwards last season as he entered his 30’s, Obradovic decided to go out and sign the best center in European basketball last season, Serbian Nikola Pekovic, to shore up the interior. His teammate from Parizan, Dusan Kecman, joins him, as well as talented but enigmatic face-up power forward Antonis Fotsis (from Dynamo Moscow), bringing even more scoring power.
All in all, this is an extremely deep and talented roster, which might gel better in the backcourt this season now that Jasikevicius, Spanoulis, and Diamantidis are getting a second season to play together. Still, it’s hard not to feel like Panathinaikos has been outdone to a certain extent in the transfer department by hated rivals Olympiakos, but there are always question marks about how that will actually be reflected on the court.
Predicted Champions: Olympiakos
Anyway you look at it, Olympiakos made all the right moves this past summer, starting with the hiring of extremely successful Greek National team head coach Panagiotis Giannakis (midway through last season actually) and finishing with the dazzling array of acquisitions made on the transfer market.
The signing of Josh Childress made noise not just in Europe, but around the globe, providing a fascinating test-case for basketball fans to study this upcoming season. Not only were the proportions of his contract (3 years, 20 million dollars net) absolutely unprecedented by European basketball standards, but there may not have been a better overall pick in terms of character, feel for the game, defensive ability, passing skills, and all-around versatility to make this a home-run pick by any standard imaginable.
Very few remnants from last season’s team--which lost to CSKA Moscow in the Euroleague quarterfinals and Panathinaikos in the Greek league finals—are still intact. The most notable returners are scoring point guard Lynn Greer, perimeter oriented big man and dominant rebounder Giannis Bouroussis, versatile combo forward Panagiotis Vasilopoulos, and the maddeningly frustrating Sofoklis Schortsanitis.
New to the roster are legendary Greek combo guard Theodoros Papaloukas, talented Israeli combo guard Yotam Halperin, highly decorated but often injured big man Nikola Vujcic, face-up power forward Zoran Erceg, and Greek small forward Mihalis Pelekanos.
There is a great deal of talent, versatility, and especially character to be found amidst this bunch of excellent passers, shooters, and highly disciplined players—making it extremely easy to identify the contrast between this year’s team compared to past editions. Coach Giannakis has everything at his disposal to finally knock off Panathinaikos and bring the Angelopoulos brothers the team’s first championship since 1997, and it probably wouldn’t surprise anyone if he clinched a Euroleague Final Four berth (potentially their first in ten years) along the way.
Other Contenders:
There really are no other contenders for the crown besides Olympiakos and Panathinaikos—there is just that much disparity in this league as far as budgets are concerned.
Some of the top contenders to finish third include Panionios, Panellinios, Aris and Marousi.
Panionios is Greece’s third Euroleague contender, and they sport two very good American players in Aaron Miles and Lonny Baxter to keep them competitive internationally. Giannis Kalambokis does not get much recognition outside of Greece but is an excellent scoring swingman, while Serbians Ivan Zoroski and Branko Cvetkovic will play big roles as well. This looks like the clear-cut best third team in the league.
Panellinios has a lot of offensive firepower in the likes of Anthony Grundy, Brad Newley, Jurica Golemac and Djuro Ostojic, but it’s questionable whether they have the defensive ability to hang in the extremely tough and disciplined Greek league.
Aris is another team that can put points on the board with the best of them, thanks to Americans Keydren Clark (playing under a Bulgarian passport), Sean Marshall, and Spencer Nelson, but there might not be enough quality depth here to contend on a weekly basis against the other second-tier teams.
European Competition Participants:
Euroleague: Panathinaikos, Olympiakos, Panionios
Eurocup: Aris Thessaloniki, Marousi, Panellinios
EuroChallenge: Olimpia Larissa
NBA Prospects:
Greece has produced a very small amount of NBA draft picks in recent years relative to how strong their national team and overall domestic pool of players is by European standards. Currently there is not a single Greek-born player in the NBA. Greek players are known for their toughness, versatility, discipline and fundamentals—but they are often lacking the type of athleticism the NBA typically looks for in its draft picks, which has caused most teams to bypass the likes of Diamantidis, Papaloukas, Zissis and Bouroussis, even if there have been some exceptions.
This year looks no different. Big point guard Milos Teodosic is probably the top-draft eligible prospect in the league, but he looks far more likely to continue to ply his trade in Europe than eventually make it over to the NBA. He’s already paid a huge salary by Olympiakos and is locked up for the next four years.
More interesting than A1’s draft prospects are its rights-held and non-draft eligible players on some of the top teams in the league. The most interesting player in this group is obviously Josh Childress, who is still the property of the Atlanta Hawks, but will have such a large cap-hold next summer (nearly 11 million dollars) that he has some decent leverage himself to possibly wiggle his way out of restricted free agency status. If not, he will have two years remaining on his current 20 million dollar contract, which is great leverage in itself for Atlanta to finally negotiate in good faith. Every team in the league will keep track of how Childress is doing in Greece regardless, since he’s an obvious difference maker if signed.
The Minnesota Timberwolves will surely be keeping an eye on their 2008 second round pick Nikola Pekovic, as he has an affordable buyout option in his contract this summer and has all the makings of a quality NBA rotation player. Yotam Halperin’s rights are held by the Oklahoma City Thunder. They’ve shown little to no interest in bringing him over, but may decide at some point to trade/sell his rights to a team that does.
Sofoklis Schortsanitis is about 100 pounds away from ever joining the Clippers, and at this point looks extremely far from mustering up the motivation needed to accomplish that feat. Giorgios Printezis was drafted in the late second round by Toronto in 2007, but it’s questionable whether he’ll see enough playing time this season to show the Raptors that he’s worth a guaranteed contract. Fellow 2007 draft pick Brad Newley had a terrific showing in the Olympics this summer with the Australian national team and will likely be looked at extensively by the Houston Rockets. Loukas Mavrokefalidis looks like a lost cause at this point for the Timberwolves who took him in 2006, but considering where he was drafted (57), no one is probably shedding any tears.
While Greek A1 features an incredible disparity in the talent levels of some of its clubs, it still features some of the best basketball that any domestic league in Europe has to offer this season, and thus is very much worth following. |
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jonathan@draftexpress.com |
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| Russian League Preview |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| October 14, 2008 |
Italian League Preview
Spanish ACB League Preview
Clearly the biggest wildcard in European basketball these days, this year’s edition of the Russian League will be absolutely fascinating to watch, from a variety of different angles. Sporting some of the biggest budgets to be found anywhere outside the NBA, the top five or six clubs have been stockpiling heavy artillery all summer long, and will attempt to accomplish the impossible: dethrone the six-time consecutive champions—CSKA Moscow.
In the wake of the recent global financial crisis, it will be interesting to see if all of the owners can afford to write the massive monthly checks to pay off the huge debts they’ve accumulated—there are already some behind the scenes whispers that that might not be the case. The real test will be what happens if the results don’t follow their anticipated pattern mid-way through the season—we’ve seen everything from powerhouse clubs (such as Dynamo St. Petersburg) completely dissolving in the blink of an eye, to others (such as Dynamo Moscow Region, now known as Triumph Moscow) changing their name to (allegedly) cleverly avoid the financial responsibilities of past administrations.
The Russian league is a big wildcard on the court as well because of its very unique rules, designed to protect local players. Teams must have two Russian national team-eligible players on the floor at all times, which severely restricts the tactical options of most clubs not named CSKA Moscow (with their near monopoly on domestic talent), and also ridiculously inflates the salary demands of even marginal Russian players.
The implementation of these rules hasn’t achieved their intended purpose—as the lack of competition for playing time and the incredibly poor level of development of young Russian players has not increased the extremely thin talent base for teams to choose from. It’s not because of a lack of talent—there is plenty of size and athleticism naturally found in Russian athletes, and a total population of over 140 million to draw from, but the poor fundamentals, motivation and overall intangibles are just too prevalent for any of the rules to serve their intended purpose at this point.
The creative solution that some have found is to naturalize American players—such as J.R. Holden (CSKA), Travis Hansen (Dynamo) or Kelly McCarty (Khimki) who are eligible to play for Russia in international competition according to FIBA regulations—but this is a cumbersome, bureaucratic process that apparently only the richest/most powerful clubs can afford.
In the year where interest in its product will obviously be at its highest, the Russian federation oddly decided to pull the plug on its official English website. So unless you know how to read the Cyrillic alphabet, good luck trying to find boxscores or even the schedule of when teams are slated to play.
That’s just one small sign of how far off Russia has to go before being even considered in the same breath as a near-flawlessly organized league like the Spanish ACB, despite the massive budgets made possible by the incredibly deep pockets of a handful of oligarchs/magnates. How long will the diamond laced Rolexes and suitcases of hundred dollar bills continue to be handed out like candy after big wins? How long can teams “afford” to operate with zero revenue and massive overhead? No one can answer that question with any type of certainty right now.
Last Year’s Champions: CSKA Moscow
 | | Ramunas Siskauskas / CSKABasket.com |
Not just last year’s champions, but also in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007, as well as the owners of two of the last three Euroleague titles, and participants in an astounding six straight Euroleague Final Fours. With that in mind, there is obviously no way to predict anything less than a repeat of last year’s triumph. Particularly since their leader and architect, the incredibly well respected Italian head coach Ettore Messina, is back despite being heavily rumored to be on his way to Barcelona for much of last year.
Gone are two of the most recognizable faces in European basketball over the past few seasons—Greek combo guard Theodoros Papaloukas (to Olympiakos)—on a severe decline as of late, as well as Australian big man David Andersen (to Barcelona), who apparently could not stand the thought of another Russian winter.
In their place are a number of more than ample reinforcements: Croatian combo guard Zoran Planinic, Slovenian big man Erazem Lorbek, American big man Terence Morris, and Russian big man Sasha Kaun, who is a valuable asset thanks to the “Russian rule” described in detail above.
Viktor Khryapa arrived mid-season from the Bulls and will give the team more versatility at both forward spots, he looked to be in poor form last year, but should be able to recover despite playing through a nagging injury that hampered him during the Olympics.
The keys to the team lies on the perimeter, where Lithuanian swingman Ramunas Siskauskas could be considered the most valuable player in Europe, and American/Russian point guard J.R. Holden only seems to be improving year by year under the tutelage of Messina. American shooting guard Trajan Langdon is much more than a spot-up shooter these days, as he showed by winning the Euroleague Final Four MVP award, and Slovenian face-up power forward Matjaz Smodis (maybe the second best player in Europe) is back from injury and near-impossible to guard at this level thanks to his combination of back to the basket scoring ability, toughness, skill-level, basketball IQ, and perimeter shooting touch.
Russian center Alexey Savrasenko and Greek combo guard Nikolaos Zisis provide depth to the roster despite clearly being able to start on any team in Europe, and just for good measure the team added the most athletic Russian player in the league—swingman Viktor Keirou.
In case you haven’t noticed, CSKA is loaded this year. Despite the incredible amount of talent, though, Messina has always been able to get his players to buy into playing strong defense and unselfish, disciplined half-court basketball—and this year should be no exception. Organizationally, and particularly with the conditions they provide their players, CSKA is as close to an NBA franchise as you’ll find on this side of the ocean, and will clearly be the gold standard for other clubs to follow until proven otherwise. The loan chink in their armor (and a very small one at that) may be their youth program, which isn’t as strong as it was in recent years.
Other Contenders:
Dynamo Moscow has rehauled their roster almost completely from last season, hiring Russian national team head coach David Blatt and his former assistant from Maccabi Tel Aviv Dan Shamir, and investing a large sum of money into its payroll, even by Russian league standards.
The core of import players is impressive. American Hollis Price was one of the best point guards in the Euroleague last season with Lietuvos Rytas, and he was inked almost immediately upon Blatt being hired in late May. Joining him in the backcourt is NBA combo guard Jannero Pargo, an incredible shooter and all-around scorer with the natural toughness and instincts needed on both ends of the floor to make a smooth transition to European basketball. Being able to sign him, as well as Slovenian combo forward Bostjan Nachbar, were huge coups considering that both had numerous free agent offers from NBA teams for above the minimum. Nachbar brings athleticism, perimeter shooting touch, and is a clear mismatch at the 4/3 position. Also noteworthy is the inking of Lithuanian big man Darjus Lavrinovic, an athletic and skilled PF/C who can play alongside returning strong and athletic Lithuanian center Robertas Javtokas or without him at the center position, giving the team added versatility.
Possibly the most important player on the roster (due to league rules on local players) thanks to his Russian passport is swingman Travis Hansen, an athletic sharpshooter and former NBA draft pick who will likely spend heavy minutes on the court in the Russian league.
Because of the dreaded “Russian rule,” Dynamo may struggle at times domestically since they do not have the same caliber of local players that their cross-town counterparts CSKA does. Combo forward Sergei Monia has been a marked disappointment on many fronts since being drafted in 2004 by the Portland Trailblazers, and the same can be said for Yaroslav Korolev since being drafted by the Clippers in 2005. Combo guard Sergei Bykov and big man Juri Vasiliev are solid backups at best, swingman Dmitri Domani has had a productive career but is on the decline at age 34, and point guard Dmitriy Khvostov is still too young to be counted on consistently.
Undersized in the backcourt--with its two tiny yet explosive scoring combo guards Price and Pargo--but featuring arguably the best collection of shooters in European basketball, Dynamo will be an athletic and up-tempo team that needs to mesh quickly as a unit under Blatt and get after it on the defensive end to stand a chance at knocking off CSKA in a five game playoff series. They will also participate in the EuroCup and will make it their goal to win the competition in order to secure a spot in next year’s Euroleague.
Khimki made just as much noise on the free agent market this summer, sharing Dynamo’s ambitious goals of knocking off CSKA and securing a spot in next year’s Euroleague.
Former NBA point guard Milt Palacio earned himself a fat contract after an outstanding season in Partizan Belgrade last season, and will be the team’s catalyst and primary ball-handler. Joining him is Argentinean swingman Carlos Delfino, a prolific shooter/scorer and one of the five highest paid players in Europe these days. Another huge signing was Spanish power forward Jorge Garbajosa. While he is coming off a serious injury, he could prove to be one of the few players in Europe who can go toe to toe with a player like Matjaz Smodis when healthy. Somewhat forgettable was the huge contract handed to athletic French big man Jerome Moiso, who despite showing a pulse for possibly the first time in his career playing alongside Ricky Rubio and Rudy Fernandez last season, looks destined to mail it in for the next two years.
The returning core was already promising for last year’s semi-finalists. Polish big man Maciej Lampe has blossomed in a huge way recently and is really starting to live up to the huge expectations many had from him when he prematurely declared for the NBA draft back in 2003. Finnish point guard Teemu Ranniko is a very valuable asset to have in the backcourt, while American/Russian small forward Kelly McCarty makes a great combo next to backup American/Macedonian power forward Mike Wilkinson (if there is any room for him on the roster). The team’s other main Russian players are combo guard Anton Ponkrashov and swingman Vitali Frizdon, giving them a decent core, but probably not a talented enough one to give CSKA a scare.
Khimki has an unbelievable amount of talent, particularly at the forward positions. However, there seems to be a good deal of overlap and a lack of ball-handlers/shot-creators and depth at the guard positions. It will be interesting to see how the team comes together, as the Russian league only allows five import players to be registered on any given night, but Khimki has seven, meaning two will have to sit out each game.
Also upgrading their budget significantly is the fourth Russian team from Moscow, Triumph, only going into their second season as an organization after having “replaced” Dynamo Moscow Region, who accumulated a significant amount of debt.
The team will accumulate a significant additional amount after completing the shocking signing of NBA center Nenad Krstic, as well as “Bosnian” point guard J.R. Bremer, who is now drawing a huge paycheck after a successful season with smaller Russian club Vladivostok last year. Other big-name signings include the incredibly talented, but often underachieving American swingman Alan Anderson (from Virtus Bologna), experienced American big man Marcus Goree (from CSKA), and versatile Turkish combo guard Kerem Tunceri from Real Madrid. The acquisition of each of these players were significant signings on the European level, for sums close to or often well over seven figures each. One of the few holdovers from last season, but a very important player nonetheless, is Serbian face-up power forward Ognjen Askrabic, a productive and highly efficient cog in Triumph’s rotation.
After that there is a clear drop-off as far as budgets are concerned. The next best roster likely belongs to Unics Kazan, sporting well known players on the European scene such as Marko Popovic, Vladimir Veremeenko, Tariq Kirksay and Kresimir Loncar. Lokomotiv Rostov also falls into this group after making a big splash with the signing of Zalgiris point guard DeJuan Collins, one of the more productive playmakers in the Euroleague last year. They also acquired the services of athletic swingman Fred House from Pamesa Valencia, as well as productive Bulgarian big man Pero Antic, but don’t have a great deal of quality beyond that, especially with their group of Russians.
European Competition Participants:
Euroleague: CSKA Moscow
Eurocup: Khimki, Dynamo Moscow, Triumph Lyubertsy, Unics Kazan, Ural Great Perm
EuroChallenge: VVS Samara, Lokomotiv Rostov, Spartak St.Petersburg
NBA Prospects
Russian combo guard Alexey Shved (1988-born) will be an afterthought on CSKA Moscow’s loaded roster this season, but is the top draft-eligible NBA prospect in the league regardless. Athletic, skilled and ultra-talented, Shved is probably good enough to get minutes on most other Russian teams, but will be glued to the bench for most of the season if he isn’t loaned out to another first division team. It is possible that he gets minutes on CSKA’s Under-23 team in their respective league. Much of the same can be said for 7-foot beanpole Artem Zabelin (88), also more than talented enough for someone to take a flyer on in the second round, but too much of an unknown commodity at this point to warrant a larger investment. Dimitriy Khvostov (89) will get some looks too and may even enjoy some minimal playing time this year, but he’s probably not going to get anyone overly excited. Semen Shashkov will play in the U-23 league as well. He’s a good athlete and showed promising signs in Treviso a few months back, but is a long ways away from serious draft consideration.
Probably a lot more interesting for NBA scouts and executives is what’s going on at the top level of the first division with the non-draft eligible free agents. There are quite a few players here who could easily be solid rotation pieces on playoff teams if franchises were willing to fork over the cash needed to make it worth their while. We’ve spoken at lengths about the prospects of Ramunas Siskauskas and Matjaz Smodis (click their profiles to read the still-relevant scouting reports), but there is also no reason why someone like Terence Morris or Trajan Langdon wouldn’t deserve a. second look. The problem is that as far as most of these players are concerned, they already play in the NBA, so they may not see the need to take a huge paycut for the honor of sitting on someone’s bench.
Jannero Pargo and Bostjan Nachbar are well known commodities and clear-cut NBA rotation players (if not more than that), and will likely heavily explore the option of returning to the NBA next season if the free agent market is a little more lucrative than it was this past summer. Travis Hansen is no worse than most third string NBA shooting guards, while Hollis Price could be deemed mature and experienced enough at this point to get consideration for a guaranteed contract as a backup, ala Will Solomon. The same can probably be said for Milt Palacio who has plenty of experience in that capacity in the past.
With Carlos Delfino, Jorge Garbajosa, Alan Anderson, Maciej Lampe, and especially Nenad Krstic also headlining the League’s top rosters, there is no shortage of NBA talent to be found here in Russia. It’s really just a matter of opportunity and making the finances work. |
Feedback
for this article may be sent to
jonathan@draftexpress.com |
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| Italian League Preview |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| October 7, 2008 |
The Italian league kicks off next weekend, two teams smaller than it was just days ago, after the late breaking tax-evasion scandal involving two fairly important league members—Naples (a Euroleague participant just two years ago) and Capo D’Orlando, last season’s 6th place finishers and slated EuroCup/ULEB Cup members. In the meantime the schedule has been jambled, the former teams’ players and coaching staffs unemployed, and a significant amount of damaging PR has taken away even more luster from this former powerhouse league.
This is somewhat emblematic of what has gone on here over the past few seasons, not the first controversy we’ve seen by any stretch. The budgets of the average Italian league team has dropped significantly compared to their counterparts in places like Spain, Russia, Greece and Turkey, while the quality of the local Italian league player appears to be deteriorating as well. For the first time in since 1961 the National team, bronze medal game losers in Athens four years ago, did not manage to qualify for next summer’s Eurobasket in Poland.
The result is a somewhat watered down product dominated by mid-level American players (four are allowed per roster, possibly changing to three next season), while the more stringent immigration laws (compared to other top European leagues) does not allow teams to import European players from non-EU countries (such as Serbia, Croatia, Turkey, Israel, etc) without them counting against the American quota. Players are dropping to play in the second division and often seeing superior salaries.
The result is a league where the champion appears to be decided in advance, but beyond that, interestingly, everything is completely and utterly wide open-- anyone can beat anyone on any given night.
 | | Brandon Jennings / VirtusRoma.it |
ACB League Preview
Last Year’s Champions: Montepaschi Siena
Domination is the lone way to describe what Siena has done to the Italian league as of late. The team from Tuscany rattled off 18 straight wins to start off the season last year, shrugging off an injury to star shooting guard Rimantas Kaukenas midway through to breeze through the Italian league playoffs and come away champions. They also made the Euroleague Final Four for good measure, looking to be in pole position to get past Maccabi Tel Aviv in the semifinals before collapsing in the second half and squandering a comfortable double digit lead.
Siena plays a disciplined and highly attractive style of basketball, heavily reliant on pick and roll play, unselfish ball-movement, outstanding 3-point shooting and steady defense.
Arguably their most important player, American point guard Terrell McIntyre, is back-- despite heavily being rumored to be bought out by teams like Barcelona, Panathinaikos and Tau Vitoria—thanks to the team having the foresight to sign him to a multi-year contract. As insurance, and probably to prepare him to fully take the reins next summer once McIntyre finds his big payday outside of Italy, Siena signed scoring point guard Morris Finley, one of the best players in the league last season, and improved incredibly from his time in college.
Also back is defensive stalwart and rock-solid wing Romain Sato, along with sharp-shooting, athletic and ultra productive Lithuanian big man Ksistof Lavrinovic. The gritty, defensive oriented American Shaun Stonerook also returns with his dubious Italian passport, and is a huge key to the team’s system. Athletic Nigerian shot-blocker Ben Eze also somehow managed to come across an Italian passport which drew quite a bit of ire from opposing league teams. The way naturalized players can compete in the league has been restricted now. The aforementioned Lithuanian wing Kaukenas is healthy and present and will be just as important a creative force as ever.
New players include American shooting guard Henry Domercant, a terrific shooter and one of the best pure scorers in all of Europe. Some would say there is some duplication here when considering the presence of Kaukenas, Sato and Finley, but you can probably never have enough firepower when competing simultaneously in the Italian league and Euroleague.
It will be interesting to see how the very offensive minded and often trigger-happy Domercant fits into Coach Pianigiani’s system, especially replacing such a valuable all-around role player like Bootsy Thornton, but no one can dispute the quality of this signing. Considering how much of last year’s roster Siena managed to retain (giving them a huge advantage over their competitors), the chemistry should once again be excellent.
All in all, this is an outstanding roster that Siena has built once again, and they are heavily favored to win their third straight championship this season. Another question is, how far can they go in the Euroleague?
Other Contenders:
Money is the name of the game here, like in all leagues in Europe, and in that regard, there are only a few teams in Italy that can compete with the big bucks that Siena has at its disposal.
In the predicted order we see them finishing: Virtus Bologna, Lottomatica Rome, Air Avellino, Armani Jeans Milano, Benetton Treviso and Fortitudo Bologna. Each team has its flaws, some of them being fatal.
Virtus Bologna could not have possibly been any more of a mess last season, partially due to their chaotic front-office situation, and partially because of the excessive amount of egos that were thrown together onto a single roster –but it appears that a very high quality product has been put in place this time around.
Earl Boykins was obviously the most marquee signing—not for anywhere near the 3.5 million dollars that was reported on ESPN (closer to 1.2 million net is accurate we’re told) by the way-- and it will be fascinating to see how his amazing blend of speed, strength and moxy will translate to European basketball at just 5 foot 5. Most veteran players struggle to adapt initially to such a new and foreign style of play, and Boykins had a terrible season last year--but considering his background, the confidence he exudes, and the success of other diminutive playmakers in Europe recently, he could be a force to reckon with as a scorer.
Athletic slasher Keith Langford joins him in the backcourt, and based off what we saw in the summer league, appears primed to have a big season. Backing them up will be talented, promising, but inexperienced Finnish point guard Petteri Koponen, bringing the added versatility of being able to play with either guard thanks to his excellent size at 6-5.
The frontcourt looks terrific as well, with athletic and ever-improving power forward Sharrod Ford matched with the back to the basket scoring presence of Jamie Arnold. If this roster gels under the very old-school and demanding presence of head coach Renato Pasquali, they may even have a chance at knocking off Siena if the cards fall into place.
Rome had the honor of losing in the finals to Siena last season, and has rehauled its roster almost completely. The frontcourt looks strong, with Slovenian center and NBA fixture Primoz Brezec manning the pivot at 7-2, alongside sturdy and steady big man Andre Hutson. Backing them up is Italian finesse player Angelo Gigli, in need of a good season to finally start cashing in on the potential many saw in him a few years back.
The question mark revolves around the backcourt, where an unbelievable amount of faith has been put in teenage future NBA lottery pick Brandon Jennings. There will surely be many ups and downs in the “education” process of this inexperienced point guard, but there also aren’t many who can compete with his rare blend of athleticism and creativity.
Second year American combo guard Ibrahim Jaaber returns after being bought out of his contract in Greece midway through last season. The two-time Ivy league player of the year picked up a valuable Bulgarian passport this summer in exchange for helping their national team qualify for next summer’s European Championships in Poland, and thus does not count against the American quota. He is fresh off a tedious squabble between Panionios and Rome, which was just resolved after Rome agreed to pay a 300,000 Euro buyout. Jaaber’s scoring potential along with his uncanny ability to get in the passing lanes makes this a price Rome was more than willing to pay.
The question marks here revolve around whether Jaaber and Jennings big enough and especially good enough shooters to play together? And will their lack of experience come back to haunt Rome in key moments? Slovenian combo Sani Becirovic is a big talent still and also will contribute quality minutes as an additional ball-handler, we must remind. Also returning is undersized shooting guard Allan Ray, an undisputed disappointment in his rookie European campaign last season before a foot injury put him on the shelf midway through the year, but still a dangerous shooter. Rome is a mystery after being inconsistent in both the Euroleague and Italy last season.
Avellino is one of the few names that definitely don’t typically belong in this category, but after a breakout season last year (finishing an unprecedented third during the regular season), they’ve managed to qualify for the Euroleague and have invested adequately in the roster. Chris Warren looks like a big steal considering the season he had with Cibona last year, and the snatching of Drake Diener from disgraced Capo D’Orlando was pretty shrewd as well. Travis Best was signed very late after Dan Dickau’s back forced him back to the States to oddly sign with the Golden State Warriors. Tamar Slay had a breakout season in Capo last year and will do a good job spacing the floor for them in the half-court. There is some talent here, although finishing third again might be difficult.
With Danilo Gallinari off to the NBA, Milano decided to blow up virtually the entire roster and rebuild from top to bottom. That’s always a dicey proposition, especially considering how heavily the team will be relying on its import players. A good deal of the offense will go through slasher/scorer David Hawkins, an experienced player in the Italian league after playing in Rome for the past few seasons, but notably inconsistent from game to game and shot to shot. Jobey Thomas was a big part of Montegrenaro’s success last season thanks to his outstanding perimeter shooting ability. The frontcourt will be made up of super athletic shotblocker/rebounder Pape Sow, and rookie face-up power forward Mike Hall. Young Italian point forward Luca Vitali will do a good deal of playmaking at 6-7.
A good amount of money has been dropped on this team, and there are some nice names to be found, but there are just as many question marks about how quickly everything can come together in the Euroleague and Italian league.
Benetton Treviso doesn’t quite have the money that some of their counterparts here, but they appear to have done a much better job of building their roster this season compared with last year, which was a true disaster for this prestigious franchise. The problem is it isn’t holding up too well. Young point guard Dashaun Wood was going to be the key, but recent reports indicate that a nagging knee problem may force him to miss the beginning of the season. Who they manage to find to temporarily replace him at this juncture and in what kind of shape he manages to return will be deciding factors obviously.
Elsewhere on the team, Gary Neal wasn’t ready to be bought out of Turkey by Barcelona midway through last season, but this could be a good level for him in his second year in Europe. Matteo Soragna is a quality Italian swingman, and the frontcourt will be composed of two highly skilled PFs in Radoslav Rancik (a real sleeper possibly) and Judson Wallace, along with veteran Sandro Nicevic.
Fortitudo Bologna looks very ambitious with the money they spent this season (also coming off a disappointing year), but the manner in which the roster has been composed leaves serious question marks. Legendary former Serbian player Zoran Savic finally got the ax as GM of Barcelona this summer and was promptly hired by Bologna. His first manner of business was reneging on a signed three year contract with Israeli head coach Sharon Drucker for no apparent reason—a matter which is currently going through legal proceedings to resolve.
The talent is evident, especially in the form of Brazilian/Italian point guard Marcelo Huertas (one of the revelations of last year’s ACB league). Elsewhere, there is great physical tools, but just as many question marks, especially around rookie combo guard Jamont Gordon and Qyntel “never a dull moment” Woods. Also of note: returning shooting guard Joe Forte, Italian combo forward Stefano Mancinelli, and big men Earl Barron and Uros Slokar. On paper, there is a lot to work with here, but there is also a great deal of high-level European inexperience, questionable personalities and egos, and not much leadership, mental toughness or defensive qualities to speak of. In short, it will be fascinating to see come together.
European Competition Participants:
Euroleague: Montepaschi Siena, Lottomatica Roma, Air Avellino, Armani Jeans Milano
Eurocup: Benetton Treviso, Capo d'Orlando (disqualified, no replacement named yet), Fortitudo Bologna
EuroChallenge Cup: Virtus Bologna
NBA Prospects
Some may question the wisdom of Rome signing Brandon Jennings considering his inexperience and the incredible amount of pressure he will be under the deliver on a nightly basis, but no one will question the amount of intrigue it will generate. How he will fare will be the subject of intense media coverage on both sides of the ocean and could play a huge role in the decision making process of future high school players and high-level European clubs, making this easily one of the top storylines for NBA draft fans to follow. If that wasn’t enough, the Euroleague draw provided us the gift of an incredible pair of matchups between teenage sensations and primary ball-handlers Jennings and Ricky Rubio later this month and in early December, a game that will likely be attended just as heavily by NBA decision makers as last year’s Derrick Rose-O.J. Mayo matchup in Madison Square Garden.
The next best draft prospect right now is probably Jonas Jerebko, a Swedish combo forward with nice athleticism, an improving skill-set and some mismatch potential. He’ll be playing with upstart Angelico Biella, one of the smallest budget teams in the league, but very competitive on paper, with possibly the most athletic frontcourt in the entire league. Jerebko will be joined by 2008 NBA draft picks and European rookies James Gist and Trent Plaisted, a trio that could run over any team in Italy on any given night.
The best draft-eligible Italian prospect that deserves attention right now is likely Luigi DaTome. We’ve been waiting for this combo forward to break out for quite some time, and it just hasn’t happened, in no small part due to a lack of playing time. Siena decided to loan him to Rome for the next two seasons, which might give him more of a chance to develop.
Future consideration should be given to Italian combo forward Nicolo Melli from Reggio Emilia, from the very competitive Italian second division (Lega Due). This is a good spot for him to get playing time and continue to develop his perimeter skills, as he is being billed as having the ability to play small forward down the road. Born in 1991, and probably two or three years from serious NBA draft consideration, he’s still an interesting prospect to keep in mind.
Draft-eligible Swedish point guard Rudy Mbemba is playing in Lega Due as well, and should be able to put up solid numbers, but considering his size and questionable playmaking skills/perimeter shooting ability, looks like a long-shot to get drafted. |
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| ACB League Preview |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| September 29, 2008 |
We’ll be canvassing the top leagues in Europe over the next few weeks previewing the action that is just about to kick off over the Atlantic, looking at some of the top teams to be found, as well as the NBA draft prospects that are worth keeping an eye on. First off we start with the Spanish ACB League, which has lost some luster as of late and is barely holding onto the title of “best domestic league in Europe. The “petrol fueled” Russian league, armed to the teeth with expensive transfers from the NBA and Euroleague is nipping at their heels.
 | | ACB.com |
Last Year’s Champions: Tau Vitoria
The Baskonians had what would be considered a wonderful season by any team’s standards anywhere in Europe, winning the ACB championship, making the Euroleague Final Four (where they lost a close game to eventual winners CSKA Moscow), and reaching the Finals of the Copa del Rey. Still, that apparently wasn’t enough, and management decided to replace Slovenian head coach Neven Spahija (who is quickly becoming the Rodney Dangerfield of Europe) with Serbian Dusko Ivanovic, who was fired by Barcelona midway through last season.
Ivanovic is quite possibly one of the most conservative coaches in Europe, a product of the staunch ex-Yugoslavian school that demands an almost unreasonable standard of physical conditioning, mental toughness and tactical discipline that many of today’s athletes just aren’t really interested in subjecting themselves to. Tau was surprisingly rebuffed by some of the free agents they approached in turn, and ended up having to sign Mustafa Shakur as one of their two Americans, which certainly raised some eyebrows. Much of last year’s roster returns, besides Zoran Planinic (bought out by CSKA) and James Singleton (signed by Dallas). Brought in to replace Planinic is talented Spanish swingman Fernando San Emeterio, a versatile and fairly athletic scorer.
Predicted Champions: Barcelona
It’s hard not to be impressed by the moves Barcelona made this summer, coming up with arguably the two biggest signings of the transfer period by returning home-grown favorite Juan Carlos Navarro to pair with one of the top big men in Europe in David Andersen. Andre Barrett will make his European debut this season and will take some of the ball-handling responsibilities off the offensive-minded Jaka Lakovic, and Ersan Ilyasova will try to show that his emergence in the second half of last year’s campaign was a sign that he’s finally starting to reach his full potential. There is a lot of depth here after the signing of athletic and defensive minded guard Victor Sada and the very steady swingman Lubos Barton, but the team is still looking for another big man to complete the roster, possibly Daniel Santiago. There will be a lot of pressure on inexperienced 36-year old head coach Xavier Pascual to deliver the goods on all fronts, but there is no question that he has the resources at his disposal to get the job done.
Other contenders: Real Madrid added two big time American athletes to the roster in Jeremiah Massey and Quinton Hosley, and will likely be looking to run a bit more than they did last season. With incoming point guard Pepe Sanchez, a more mature Marko Tomas, the silky smooth shooting of Louis Bullock and the tough as nails duo of Axel Hervelle and Felipe Reyes, this a loaded squad that will contend for the Euroleague Final Four and ACB Championship.
Unicaja Malaga starts a new chapter by letting go of ultra conservative Sergio Scariolo and replacing him with the incredibly popular Aito Garcia Reneses, known for his innovative style of offense and the freedom he gives his players. Malaga retains the likes of Marcus Haislip, Boniface N’Dong, Carlos Jiminez and Jiri Welsch, but will likely only go as far as their new “Montenegrin” point guard Omar Cook takes them. Cook is as ball-dominant and pick and roll reliant a point guard as you’ll find on this side of the ocean, and it will be fascinating to see how his style of play works against the very organized and tactically sound defenses the ACB is known for. Adding fuel to the fire will be the #2 scorer in the ACB last season (behind Rudy Fernandez), recently signed French combo guard Joseph Gomis.
European Competition Participants
Euroleague: TAU Vitoria, FC Barcelona, DKV Joventut, Unicaja Malaga, Real Madrid
EuroCup (formerly ULEB Cup): Pamesa Valencia, iurbentia Bilbao, Cajasol Sevilla, Gran Canaria
Euro Challenge (formerly EuroCup): None
NBA Prospects:
Every year Spain gives NBA scouts a good excuse to use to come and spend time in this beautiful country. Some kid named Ricky Rubio sounds like the perfect reason to pay a visit to Barcelona, as he’ll be given an even bigger role this season with the departure of Rudy Fernandez to the NBA. While they’re here, the scouts can also take a look at draft-eligible Henk Norel, coming off a solid showing at the Reebok Eurocamp in Treviso, as well as young Spanish guard Pau Ribas and former NBA players Bracey Wright and Pops Mensah-Bonsu.
Athletic Spanish combo forward Victor Claver is another noteworthy attraction in Pamesa Valencia, even if his star has fallen a bit as of late. He has a chance to reclaim some of his shine now that a good deal of playing time looks to be coming his way at the small forward spot in particular, on a fairly ambitious Eurocup participant squad.
Probably still a year or two away from seeing serious playing time at this level, Argentinean guard Matias Nocedal has managed to stir up some hype already despite being only 18 years old. He’ll be a part of Tau Vitoria’s extended senior roster this season.
There is an athletic, intriguing and incredibly enigmatic Brazilian big man who goes by the name of Vitor Faverani that is overdue for a breakout season sometime soon. His rights are still owned by Unicaja Malaga, and he will be alternating between playing on the first team and spending time with their very competitive farm team in the second division (LEB Gold) with Clinicas Rincon Axarquia.
Last but not least, lurking in the third division, LEB Silver, will be Bosnian scoring machine Nihad Djedovic (on loan from Barcelona), still young as a 1990 product, but definitely a player to keep an eye on considering his skill-set and maturity level.
In terms of free agents that NBA teams might want to think about, guys like Quinton Hosley and Pops Mensah-Bonsu are certainly young enough to garner an extended look considering their physical tools, while Marcus Haislip is clearly an NBA plus level athlete with a well rounded skill-set, but somehow shockingly continues to be ignored. Does Omar Cook have what it takes to be a backup in the NBA? We will probably find out this season. Pooh Jeter is also certainly deserving of a look.
On the domestic front, Felipe Reyes is no less talented than someone like Fabricio Oberto, and has clearly been an NBA-level player for some time now. He showed as much in the Beijing Olympics against Team USA, but would be hard to draw away from Real Madrid without a substantial offer. Still, playoff contending teams would be foolish not to try.
Only the incompetence of the Atlanta Hawks organization could keep a talent like David Andersen out of the NBA for so long, while Axel Hervelle is more than ready to join the Denver Nuggets if they are keen on making a strong push for his services. Serge Ibaka will be challenged in moving up to the ACB league to play for Manresa, and the Oklahoma City Thunder will be watching him intently. Tiago Splitter is likely a lost cause for the Spurs considering the incredibly restrictive rookie salary scale.
All in all, this promises to be another very interesting year in Spain. |
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| Word on the Street: Who's Moving Up or Down? |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| June 19, 2008 |
Trade Talk
Numerous teams we spoke with today discussed the rumors of a potential draft-night trade that is making the rounds in NBA circles. Presuming that Derrick Rose goes #1, Miami would select Michael Beasley at #2 regardless, and wait to see if O.J. Mayo were to fall to the 5th overall pick. If that indeed was the case, Memphis would select him, and then trade him to Miami along with Mike Miller in exchange for Mark Blount and Beasley.
Seattle is also reportedly trying hard to move up to #2, and is dangling Chris Wilcox as bait (in exchange for the cumbersome contract of Mark Blount). The Supersonics would also take Beasley there. This is all assuming that O.J. Mayo doesn’t go third to Minnesota, which is not something teams should take for granted just yet based off what we know so far.
Memphis’ additional first round selection, the #28 pick, acquired from the Lakers in the Pau Gasol trade, is also reportedly in play. Rumors have the Grizzlies potentially trading this pick to Denver along with Kyle Lowry in exchange for the #20 pick. It’s possible that they would try and leap-frog the Orlando Magic and select Courtney Lee, who reportedly had a terrific workout there last week.
Other picks that we’re hearing rumors about include #6 (New York, trying to move up, or back), #19 (Cleveland, possibly to move up and take Brandon Rush), and #29 (Detroit, who supposedly isn’t enamored by anyone in this area). Two teams that are reportedly looking to acquire an additional first round pick are the Spurs (who unfortunately have very little to offer) and the Suns. The Wizards wouldn’t mind moving out if someone would offer them a good deal involving a point guard, but at this point that doesn’t seem likely to happen. Cleveland is trying to buy their way into the mid-first round, but unlike in years past, it won’t be Phoenix that is selling.
Look for the Los Angeles Lakers to try and land an early second round pick (possibly from Seattle) in order to draft IUPUI’s George Hill. He worked out in Los Angeles and reportedly was very impressive. His college team actually ran the triangle offense, and that is always a big factor in the Lakers’ workouts.
Who’s Gonna Slip?
As we continue to work the phones to discuss with teams who they hear is going where, we first of all need to establish which prospects will be on the board. At this point it’s clear that there is a fairly significant drop-off in this year’s draft class right around the 12th (Sacramento) or 13th (Portland) pick, as all the prospects that are getting mentions have some serious “warts” in the words of one NBA executive, which make teams hesitant about drafting them. The question is which will be overlooked, and which will cause players to slip.
Players that might find themselves being drafted a bit lower than they hoped include DeAndre Jordan, JaVale McGee, and possibly even Anthony Randolph. If Sacramento selects Darrell Arthur at #12 like many NBA sources we spoke with anticipate (this was his last workout stop before cancelling numerous workouts), then Randolph could be in for quite a tumble, as he would likely continue to slip past Portland at #13, Golden State at #14, Phoenix at #15, until reaching Philadelphia at #16. That’s about 10 spots lower than some mocks have him projected right now, but isn’t out of the question depending on how things play out next week. Randolph is not helping himself reportedly with the way he’s working out, being very average so far according to numerous people who’ve watched him, looking “laid back” or even “out of shape.” Compounding the problem is that he may have recently hurt his shoulder.
Another player who could crash the lottery unexpectedly and even shockingly go just one spot below his twin brother is Stanford center Robin Lopez. Lopez reportedly canceled all his remaining workouts (with the Pacers, Kings, Sixers, and more) with a supposed “sprained ankle” after working out for the New Jersey Nets this past week. Although the tenth pick is widely believed to be Danilo Gallinari’s, no one would know better about where the Italian small forward will get drafted than his agent Arn Tellem, who also happens to represent the Lopez twins. Robin being promised to go tenth (a speculatory rumor that is definitely making the rounds) almost surely means that Gallinari is going sixth to the Knicks. The Nets can’t expect to wait and pick Lopez at #21, as there is very little chance he gets past Phoenix at 15, or at the very worst (if Donte Greene slips past Golden State), Toronto at 17, where he is extremely coveted.
While DeAndre Jordan and JaVale McGee are refusing to conduct workouts with certain teams drafting outside of the lottery (McGee’s mother foolishly won’t let him visit anyone past 12 from what one frustrated team told us), there is no shortage of workout warriors on the prowl looking to take their spot in the teens portion of the draft. One of those is Alexis Ajinca, who may be working himself into that 12-14 range, based off the workouts he’s having.
One executive who recently watched him expressed shock at his combination of physical tools (7-1 in shoes, 240 pounds, with a near 7-7 wingspan), coordination and agility. “If he were in college, let’s say at Nevada instead of JaVale McGee, he would be a sure-fire top 10 pick,” the executive noted. “He’s bigger than McGee, and he’s also more skilled…with that length, he is going to be able to bother some people for sure” Ajinca is answering question marks about his toughness by not backing down from anyone he’s faced so far, particularly in an outstanding workout in Charlotte where he matched up with Jordan, McGee and Roy Hibbert. His experience playing against grown men all season long in the French league is certainly showing in workouts so far it seems.
The safest pick amongst players being projected to go from 13-19 is likely Brandon Rush. He could seemingly be picked by any of those teams, and be able to find a way to be productive thanks to his size, shooting ability and defensive skills. He’s probably not going to be a star, but as you’ll be able to read in the research conducted by Heather N. Allen and Paul Gearan tomorrow, that’s not such a bad thing in this range. |
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| Word on the Street: Golden State Workout, Walker Injury |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| June 16, 2008 |
Representatives of 17 NBA teams (including numerous GMs) congregated this past weekend at the practice facility of the Golden State Warriors to take in 24 (mostly first and second round) prospects over a two day stretch. Participants included Brandon Rush, Nicolas Batum, Marreese Speights, Courtney Lee, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Alexis Ajinca, DeVon Hardin, Bill Walker, Ryan Anderson, Jason Thompson, Richard Hendrix, Gary Forbes, Joey Dorsey, Trent Plaisted, J.R. Giddens, Kyle Weaver, Jamont Gordon, Sonny Weems, Darnell Jackson, Rudy Mbemba, Ron Steele, Giorgi Shermadini and Josh Akognon.
A couple of injuries early on changed the dynamics of the workout early, including a very unfortunate setback to Bill Walker at seemingly the worst moment possible. Walker hurt his knee during the three man weave early on and was unable to make it past stretching, forcing him to pull out. An MRI conducted later (which is now circulating amongst teams) concluded that he has a partial tear in his meniscus, which will force him to sit for at least three weeks and not allow him to work out for any more NBA teams from now until the draft. There is reportedly no structural damage to the knee, but concerns could very well still linger considering that the 20-year old freshman already suffered two separate ACL tears in his short career, making teams possibly even more nervous about what the future may hold in store for him.
Walker declined to participate in the NBA pre-draft camp in late May and decided to pull out of two workouts with Houston and New Orleans last week. Up until now, he has only managed to visit the Toronto Raptors (where he looked extremely nervous and was tentative, but checked out just fine on his physical) and Detroit Pistons (where he was reportedly outstanding), meaning NBA teams will have much less information to go off on draft night than they would likely prefer.
Ironically, the injury was suffered just 48 hours prior to the deadline for underclassmen to withdraw their names from the draft. Walker, who has yet to hire an agent for this exact reason, will take the decision down to the absolute last minute, and as of right now could still return to school. He will likely be looking for assurances that he will be taken by the Detroit Pistons (where he fills a legitimate need and is likely the best SF on the board), because otherwise, he will almost certainly fall into the second round.
Also withdrawing from the workouts were Rudy Mbemba (hip flexor) and Nicolas Batum (halfway through after being poked in the eye).
A workout of this nature can be extremely important to a player’s draft stock considering the amount of teams present. We spoke to numerous people (both NBA executives and participants) afterwards to get a feel for what went on there. The three names that kept coming up more than others when asked who looked good were: Richard Hendrix, Brandon Rush and Courtney Lee.
Hendrix did everything he possibly could to help himself reportedly, blocking shots, rebounding well, scoring points both inside and outside, running the floor and playing strong defense. This is not the first strong report we’ve received from a workout he’s been in-- others have mentioned how much better he’s shooting free throws and mid-range jumpers, as well as the confidence he exudes and how impressive he is off the court as well. As we’ve discussed before, Hendrix’s numbers and overall profile compares favorably with Carlos Boozer’s at the same age, and even though we might not ever become an all-star like Boozer, he could develop into a Paul Millsap type steal if he falls into the second round.
The reports on Courtney Lee indicated that he looked “good enough to play in the NBA right now,” as he was “explosive, very polished, made good decisions, excellent defensively, jumped right over guys, and was terrific from mid-range.” Lee has reportedly been working out well almost everywhere he’s gone recently, and looks to be making a strong push to be drafted at 22 by the Orlando Magic, who had him in last week for a workout, and sent GM Otis Smith to Golden State to see him again.
Brandon Rush also drew some extremely high praise, as his size, length and skill-level were mentioned as big pluses, as was the fact that he can play two positions and looks to be in terrific shape athletically. He played strong defense, shot the ball well from outside, and even showed some nice craftiness with a few hook shots inside. Most executives we spoke with have Rush going either at 15 (Phoenix) or 17 (Toronto) in their personal mock drafts, but there is a chance that a team like Seattle or Cleveland for example could jump up ahead of them and take him at 13th if they can strike a deal with Portland (whose pick is clearly on the block).
Chris Douglas-Roberts was reportedly “just OK” in the workout, which is similar feedback to what we’ve heard consistently over the past few weeks from different cities he’s been to. As we’ve discussed in the past, he’s not proven to be a great workout player, which might be pushing his terrific season with Memphis a little further out of teams’ minds. Jason Thompson (good offensively, poor defensively) and Sonny Weems drew similar reports. Gary Forbes reportedly looked very poor, being outplayed athletically by both Brandon Rush and Courtney Lee, as he was unable to get past them and could not just bully them around the way he did to lesser prospects a few weeks back in Orlando.
JaMont Gordon measured out at a chiseled 6-3 ½ and 230 pounds, and reportedly got to wherever he wanted on the floor, but shot the ball extremely poorly, played a bit selfishly and even displayed some bad body language. Kyle Weaver was mentioned as having worked out favorably. The same can be said for Ron Steele. Alexis Ajinca received a couple of strong reports thanks to his terrific physical tools and skill-level—he reportedly played very hard (“battling inside”) and showed nice touch on his jump-hook shots and shooting the ball from outside. It appears he helped himself. Nicolas Batum was supposedly playing very well until he got hurt mid-way through.
News and Notes:
-A few teams we spoke with this weekend were wondering about the whereabouts of Darrell Arthur. The Kansas power forward reportedly canceled workouts with the Clippers (#7), Philadelphia (#16), Toronto (#17) and Indiana (#11) after working out for Seattle (#4, 24) and Sacramento (#12). Arthur has not hired an agent and is reportedly conducting all his business through his mother and AAU coach, although he will surely stay in the draft. One NBA team we spoke to had a hard time figuring out where he was and whether or not he’ll be showing up for their workout, as he did not bother to cancel or notify anyone of his plans. There were talks of a potential back and/or hamstring injury, leading some to question if anything funny is going on. He was reportedly 100% healthy when he worked out for Sacramento on Friday. Arthur’s camp could not be reached for comment.
-Danilo Gallinari was in Los Angeles this past weekend, working out for the LA Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies for solo one on zero workouts. Teams we talked to indicate they believe Gallinari will pull out of the draft if he does not receive a promise in the top 10 by the early-entry withdrawal deadline (5 PM EST Monday).
How could a near-certain lottery pick like Gallinari not keep his name in this year’s draft? The word is that the main sponsor of his current team in Milan, Giorgio Armani, recently bought a controlling share of the club, and is reportedly offering a large amount of money for him to return. There are whispers in Italy that the team will hire legendary Italian coach Ettore Messina next season, and will be splurging on expensive reinforcements on the player market this summer, in anticipation of playing in the Euroleague once again. Gallinari himself told us that he is waiting to get “as much information as I can about the situation in Milano…the new situation in Milano” when we asked him whether there is a chance he stays in Europe this year.
His American agent Arn Tellem—for the sake of his own reputation if anything-- is much more likely to pull him out of the draft tomorrow than risk a Fran Vasquez/Orlando situation where a team drafts him in the lottery but essentially forfeits the pick by seeing him decide not to come over. Still, that uncertainly can’t be helping Gallinari’s stock in the least bit.
-O.J. Mayo will conduct another workout on Saturday for select NBA teams in Chicago. Those who are invited according to one report we received are only the four big market teams in the top 7—Chicago, Miami, New York and Los Angeles. Mayo continues to snub teams ranked three through five-- Minnesota, Seattle and Memphis, it appears. Speaking of Memphis, Kevin Love reportedly had a very strong workout there this past week. He looks like a solid candidate to be drafted fifth overall at this point.
-With Milwaukee surprisingly showing very little interest in Danilo Gallinari, it appears that it’s a two man race at this point for the 8th spot between Joe Alexander and Anthony Randolph.
-There is some talk that Russell Westbrook (who is working out, as expected, extremely well) could find a way to sneak up and get drafted as high as 6th or 7th, as long as Mayo and Bayless are already off the board at that point. That could knock Eric Gordon down a few slots lower than he’s probably expecting at this point.
-Two players we haven’t heard great things about from their workouts so far as DeAndre Jordan and JaVale McGee. Both have reportedly been outplayed by lower rated prospects such as Alexis Ajinca (in Charlotte) and Roy Hibbert. Jordan has not impressed anyone by showing up for his job interview (what this is essentially) in a t-shirt and shorts while players such as Hibbert and Courtney Lee arrived prepared to get down to business in a suit and tie. Jordan, in the words of one scout "could drop right out of the lottery" if he isn't careful, based off the way he's been working out. Hibbert on the other hand has gotten some strong reviews from teams who have seen him so far, as he appears to be in excellent shape and is reminding people why he was considered a lock for the lottery just a year ago, running the floor well (better than his peers), finishing with either hand around the basket, and shooting the ball better than expected from outside. Not surprisingly, the 21-year old Georgetown product has been extremely impressive off the court as well—which is an underrated element in this process. |
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