Hey basketball fans. It's Alberto from across the pond here in Spain. These are my observations on Thursday's draft, giving you the unique opportunity to know more about the European prospects that were selected, and a forecast on their future performance. This year’s Europeans haven't been selected as high as in recent years. Now it's time to predict if we're going to find another Tony Parker (remember, pick #28 in 2001) or a Nikoloz Tskitishvili (remember, pick #5 in 2002), BIG DIFFERENCE! So let's take a look at Marco, Rudy, Tiago and Petteri......
#18 MARCO BELINELLI to Golden State Warriors. Wow, wow, what a night for Marco. First he's picked 18th, then they send Jason Richardson to Charlotte in order to bring some power in the paint. This sounds good for him. Of course the Warriors have depth in the 2-3 position, but I don’t think they would've traded Jason if they didn't trust Marco. Marco is a pure shooter, a killer as it sounds. We've heard of the comparisons to Ray Allen (maybe), but I say Reggie Miller. I know this is a huge statement, but tell me in a couple of months if he doesn't remind you of Reggie. If the Warriors keep playing fast ball and Baron is fit, Marco will get open shots and won't miss. That'll give him confidence to make some shots that only a handful can. On the other hand, he'll have a lot of trouble defending most shooting guards in the league. Marco is very aggressive on the line pass, but not enough on the ball, and incapable of defending at the low post. I would tell him to watch one hundred videos of Reggie and learn how to play defense with that body. If Marco is able to break the apparent miss-match on the defensive end, he'll see lots of minutes and make Warriors fans much happier.
#24 RUDY FERNANDEZ to Portland Trail Blazers (via Suns). How bad did the Blazers want Rudy? That's my only concern. Rudy could turn out to be a steal, but only if he sees minutes. In my opinion, he's not going to see them because Brandon Roy is a very good player and a key part of the Blazers’ near (and bright) future. What’s the deal then? There are several factors; Sergio Rodriguez is a very close friend of Rudy, which will help him integrate in the team, and whenever they're together on the court they understand perfectly and look for each other. BUT, I'm afraid Sergio is leaving Portland this summer. Although having played in 67 games, 13 minutes a game in his rookie season, and being 3rd in the league in assists every 48 minutes, he doesn’t have the confidence of coach Macmillan, who can choose other options such as playing Jarret Jack and Francis on the point. So, Rudy might stay in Europe for one more year (contract doesn't help on the contrary) and then fly to the NBA via Portland. As a player, Rudy is exceptional. Check out Matthew Maurer's scouting report on him from this past season. He's a Ginobilli kind of player - aggressive, physical, disciplined, coachable…and just as good as the Argentinean was at his age. So don't miss on Rudy, whether he sees minutes or not, he's very highly favored around the league.
#28 TIAGO SPLITTER to San Antonio Spurs. Have the Spurs ever been wrong on an international draft? Splitter is a sure bet, a perfectly sure bet. The Spurs have picked Oberto again, or Varejao if you will. Splitter is a serious and disciplined player who understands his role and is very capable of doing it well. He can run the court like only very few big men in the league, (that will help him if Duncan isn't on the court), he's a good rebounder, but not excellent, a decent shot blocker, very good defender on and off the post, and possesses a very high basketball IQ. He's probably the most experienced rookie of the class, having played three Euroleague Final Fours, and the Olympics Games as well, besides competing in the ACB league in Spain for 4 years. That will help him integrate quickly. Now, landing at #28, he's probably not going to earn enough to buy-out his contract, so the Spurs will have to wait one more year. Oberto is just fine, and Tiago will keep improving in Europe, so no need to worry. Most likely, you'll see him in a year.
#30 PETTERI KOPONEN to Portland Trail Blazers (via 76ers). WHAT A SURPRISE!!! I am going to be frank on this; I had to run to see a video of him after I heard he'd been picked in the first round! A player from Finland, and from the Finnish league. Just to give you an idea, this is like picking a guy from Alaska, or Hawaii, who plays in a Division II (maybe III) in his hometown. The guy looks fine for a basketball point guard, good size, very quick, dribbles with both hands, good fundamentals…but I'll be astonished if he can make the jump from the Finnish league directly to the NBA, it's just too big of a leap. I haven’t heard a rumor about it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Blazers let him play in a big club in Europe for a couple of years, who knows, maybe he's worth it. You probably don’t remember Roko Leni Ukic, but he's the same kind of player. Roko was a very highly favored point guard in Europe, assisting in the Trevisso Camp, playing with the Croatian National Team from a young age, and so on. He was selected in the 2005 draft by the Raptors, and in an agreement with Tau Ceramica, Jose Calderon signed with the Raptors while Roko came to the Spanish team directly from his hometown team in Croatia (a league quite better than the Finnish by the way). Well, the thing is, Roko isn't a star in Spain, and he's not ready (if ever) to make it to the pros. On the other hand, our Finnish friend has attracted the interest of at least two teams, (76ers and Blazers), so although I'm betting against him, you might not.
Next time we'll take a look and the 2nd rounders (some interesting stuff about them too). Thanks for reading. Comments are very welcome.
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