NBA GMs have to look everywhere for talent. The ones that are good at it succeed (Spurs), the ones that won’t struggle. A good GM can’t afford to care where a player is born or what league he develops his skills in?

So if I’m picking after 20th or so, why not take a European. Maybe I hit the jackpot and at least I don’t have to dole out a guarnteed contract to a player unlikely to make my squad in a few years. Save a million dollars and wait. If the team chooses not to sign the guy in a few years, people probably won’t even notice.

To sit here and proclaim that an amateur league like the NCAA is superior to the Euro-League is ridiculous. For every “athletically-superior” player in the NCAA there are 15 who wouldn’t be given a job getting coffee for a Euro-League team. The Euro-League is a PROFESSIONAL league filled with savvy, PROFESSIONAL players with years of experience. Most players who don a uniform in the NCAA will NEVER be heard from again.

Another question: look at the NBA drafts from the last twenty years, and tell me how many names that you actually recognize as legitimately “great” basketball players who made an impact to their franchise? How many of them fell by the wayside? The fact of the matter is, the number of people in the world who can compete and contribute in a grueling league like the NBA is VERY SMALL. And you know what? Some of those guys come from Europe. Get over it.

What teams are looking for, and willing to gamble on, is the guy who can become stars. It’s tricky, and there are probably more failures than successes, but the potential payoff is worth it.

Comparing stats and the level of competition is largely irrelevant.

The writer of the article hit many key points on head. When the media has had so much exposure on the NCAA players, their weaknesses obtain focus. People see a few highlights of the European players and suddenly they’re ready to dominate the NBA. I think a European with equal talent will get drafted over an NCAA player everytime because of the exotic idea and media attention.

I fully believe basketball is moving in the direction of becoming the world sport. So I guess I can’t complain since it is based here in America, where European players dream to play.

In other words. They listen, They understand (even though they sometimes have to learn a new language), They practice Free-Throws (therefore they can actually shoot Free-Throws), They have respect. I also get the feeling that they have less emotional baggage.

Since the day I saw that “Hot Rod Anderson” got a contract worth 5 million dollars which was more than Michael Jordan at the time, it told me that basketball was not basketball anymore, it was becoming about holding out to get “Yours”. I think the NBA has learned that they can get more bang for their buck with a player that is not bitching or whining about not getting their respect because of a $$ amount that somebody else has told them that they are worth.

1) The player does not count towards the luxury tax because he does not sign and join the team. This works well for teams with high salaries with decent talent already on their rosters and are not in “rebuilding mode” (see Cavaliers, Portland, Lakers)
2) If the player is a bust, you only lose the opportunity cost of another player lower in the draft (yes, sometimes you miss out on gems). But if you take a flyer on the foreign player and he develops over the next couple of years into a semi-stud, you still own his rights and can sign him over when he’s ready.

Usually drafting a NCAA guys means he’s on your books if you want to hold on to his rights.

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