Feeling a Draft: International Prospects Cheat Sheet
Start cramming…
By Jeff Fox
This story is all about impressing your friends at your NBA draft party. So this year, when that 7-footer from Kazakhstan with a first name consisting totally of vowels and an unpronounceable last name gets picked, you can look more like Fran Fraschilla than Dick Vitale. Here is your International Draft Prospects Cheat Sheet, giving you the scoop on this year’s top prospects from abroad. Print it off, study it and prepare to amaze your friends and colleagues.
Danilo Gallinari, Italy
Projected Draft Range – Lottery Pick
A big (6’9”), strong, athletic wing player capable of putting points up on the board in a hurry. Playing with and against grown men in the world’s top league outside of the NBA, the Euroleague, the 19-year-old Gallinari was his team’s go-to guy. Look for him to start his NBA career in the vicinity of the SLAM Dome, either with the Knicks or Nets.
Nicolas Batum, France
Projected Draft Range – Mid first round to early second round
Perhaps the most versatile, skilled, unselfish player in the draft, the 6’8” Batum is similar to his fellow Frenchman Boris Diaw. Unfortunately, he also doesn’t bring it every night like Diaw. With a potential heart ailment that has been identified in recent physicals, Batum’s stock is plummeting.
Alexis Ajinca, France
Projected Draft Range – Late lottery to late first round
A 7-footer with a 7’9” wingspan. Do you need to know more than that? Well, he is also very athletic, smart but also beanpole skinny and inexperienced.
Serge Ibaka, Spain via Congo
Projected Draft Range – Last first round to early second round
Think Samuel Dalembert but with more athleticism and explosiveness and a better jump shot. Sounds good, right? But, in the words of Big Daddy Kane, he’s r-a-w.
Nathan Jawai, Australia
Projected Draft Range – Early second round
A wide (270lbs), still developing big man from down under. However, at his age (22 when the season starts) you’d expect a more polished game and lack of NBA center height (6’9”) will limit him.
Nikola Pekovic, Serbia
Projected Draft Range – Early second round
A big, strong, experienced big man whose lack of NBA athleticism limits his potential. Should still find his way into the League though.
Goran Dragic, Slovenia
Projected Draft Range – Early to mid second round
A big, quick athletic point guard who draws comparisons to Tony Parker. He also shoots over 60% from the field, but is already 22-years-old.
Omer Asik, Turkey
Projected Draft Range – Early second round pick
In the latest issue of SLAM, Hedo Turkoglu mentions some young, big Turkish prospects he hopes to see in the NBA in the near future. Asik, a two-time Turkish League all-star, would be one of them.
Ante Tomic, Croatia
Projected Draft Range – Early to mid second round pick
A skinny, skilled athletic big man who measures in at the 7’1”-7’2” range.
Jeff Fox writes more extensively about the NBA draft and college basketball at www.collegehoopsnet.com. All hate mail can be directed to him at foxyjj@sympatico.ca.
27 Responses to “Feeling a Draft: International Prospects Cheat Sheet”
Jun.24 at 9:11 am
Mr. Bob Dobolina says:
2 Phirsts
Jun.24 at 9:15 am
H to the izzo says:
Nathan Jawai=Kendrick Perkins part duex
Jun.24 at 9:15 am
Lz - Cphfinest3 says:
Thx, for the heads up Jeff. Saw Danilo play, he looks like he could be an all-star down the road imo.
Jun.24 at 9:17 am
H to the izzo says:
Remember when Nicloas Batum was a guaranteed top 3 pick?Me neither.
Jun.24 at 9:20 am
Lz - Cphfinest3 says:
Anybody knows if that Jawai-Tank playing in the Olympics?
Jun.24 at 9:31 am
SMK says:
If Serge Ibaka really is 19 he is a nice late-first pick. He can stay in Spain for a couple of years, develop a little handle, then explode like a junior Shawn Kemp on the scene here (not to be confused with all the Shawn Kemp Jr.’s also about to explode on the scene, but w/ever).
Jun.24 at 9:35 am
Lz - Cphfinest3 says:
Speaking of Kemp, isn’t there some of his kids who inherited his athletic ability? I mean he has like 30 kids (just the ones we/he knows about)so the odds of one of them making it to the league must be pretty good. Or did he get them all with short, obese, white women?
Jun.24 at 9:52 am
Mr. Bob Dobolina says:
Shawn Kemp had roughly 54 children. We know them collectively as the Baltimore Ravens. Also, all the players in this article need their names spelled phonetically.
Jun.24 at 9:56 am
TADOne says:
Which one is Chad Ford pimpimg?
Jun.24 at 9:59 am
TADOne says:
Or pimpiNG.
Jun.24 at 10:08 am
H to the izzo says:
TAD:Ford has Batum falling to the second round and Bill Walker still in the first round,I think he’s finally lost it.
Jun.24 at 10:28 am
TADOne says:
Well, it is saying that Batum has a heart ailment and compares his game to Boris Diaw, so he sounds like a 2nd rounder to me. From what I heard about Walker, his workouts were quite impressive before the injury.
Jun.24 at 10:38 am
H to the izzo says:
Well Batum’s heart problem is a misnomer,it’s been revealed that there’s no heart problem.In reality,he’s a sharpshooting Rudy Gay.He’s a big prospect.
Jun.24 at 11:04 am
Lz - Cphfinest3 says:
The question mark about Batum is not his skills, it’s his mental toughness imo. But if he can deal with the pressure, which his last season in France puts in doubt, for sure he’s a big prospect.
Jun.24 at 11:51 am
Matt Caputo says:
Love to see Devoe Joseph in draft talks in a few years.
Jun.24 at 12:10 pm
B. Long says:
I’m confused, I thought this was a list of International Draft hopefuls, not the Lakers roster besides L.O. and Kobe.
Jun.24 at 12:17 pm
DP says:
Batum is the future. I’ll put a hundre mil on that.
Jun.24 at 12:27 pm
d_dub says:
RICKY RUBIO….. RICKY RUBIO….. RICKY RUBIO….. RICKY RUBIO….. RICKY RUBIO….. RICKY RUBIO….. RICKY RUBIO….. RICKY RUBIO….. RICKY RUBIO…..
Jun.24 at 12:30 pm
Jeff Fox says:
Matt - you must have read my SLAM profile on my fellow Canadian Devoe!! NBA might be a bit of a stretch for him though.
Jun.24 at 1:31 pm
TADOne says:
If anyone wants a different, but great, preview of the draft, click my name.
Jun.24 at 2:06 pm
Mo Charlo says:
I don’t want to hear another word about European prospects until Ricky Rubio comes to the L.
Jun.24 at 4:25 pm
cyanide says:
ricky rubio…ricky rubio…ricky rubio…ricky rubio…ricky rubio…ricky rubio…ricky rubio…ricky rubio…ricky rubio…ricky rubio…
Jun.24 at 5:18 pm
Franchise Baller says:
Wasnt Ante Tomic a projected lottery pick a couple of years ago?!
Jun.24 at 5:19 pm
Franchise Baller says:
Now he is projected as late 2nd round? Ouch.
Jun.24 at 7:47 pm
Josh Grover says:
Aaron Bruce has gotta b there. Nd Jawai aint no Kendrick Perkins… more like Shaquille O’Neal!!!
Jun.24 at 10:47 pm
Dacre says:
Nathan Jawai - I don’t know if he’ll be on the olympic squad this year….he’s awesome though…he was like the Australian version of SHAQ (young squire..) last year.
Jun.25 at 9:31 am
Money Bill Williams says:
jawai is in the boomers squad picked for ‘jing. Also having watched him dominate the NBL for the Taipans this year i think he is more of a dwight howard type player who tries to dunk on every play , however in saying that he lacks dwights athleticism.