Printable View
Listening to Kenny Atkinson on The Vertical with Woj, there was a ton of talk about how he and Marks will be looking heavily into the European leagues to find some talent, due to their lack of draft picks and belief in the player development staff. Who could be some potential fits for Brooklyn, knowing that their roster is pretty rough right now and they could probably use help at pretty much every position.
[QUOTE=Silenttristo]Listening to Kenny Atkinson on The Vertical with Woj, there was a ton of talk about how he and Marks will be looking heavily into the European leagues to find some talent, due to their lack of draft picks and belief in the player development staff. Who could be some potential fits for Brooklyn, knowing that their roster is pretty rough right now and they could probably use help at pretty much every position.[/QUOTE]
First of all, free agent works just like in the NBA. But in the USA, or NBA talk, they call every player in Europe, or every international player, a "free agent".
The only ones that are actually free agents, are the ones who have an expiring contract. So 90% of the names NBA fans mention in these kinds of threads are not even eligible to be signed by NBA teams.
With that said.......the best current 5 free agents from Euroleague [B](just Euroleague, and not any of the other leagues in Europe)[/B] are probably something like:
[B]1. Vassilis Spanoulis[/B] - free agent (2nd best player is not even close to his level). There are rumors he is returning to the NBA this summer.
[B]2. Ioannis Bourousis[/B] - free agent (best center in Europe). He already said he will try to come to the NBA this summer.
[B]3. Nando De Colo[/B] - free agent (but he is being offered $8 million a year by CSKA). He said he would only play on an NBA team that is a contender, and where he had a major role.
[B]4. Gustavo Ayon[/B] - free agent (supposedly he want to return to the NBA this summer).
[B]5. Malcom Delaney[/B] - free agent (he's not a real PG though, even though he is advertised as that).
There are rumors that Sergio Rodriguez and Jan Vesely want to come back to the NBA this summer, but I doubt they are true rumors. Both are still under contract with their teams, and would have to get really huge NBA salaries to match their buyouts and salaries in Europe.
Supposedly Ekpe Udoh and Anthony Randolph also want to return to the NBA this summer from Europe. They are decent players, but Udoh is raw as hell on offense, and Randolph is soft as hell.
There are also rumors that NBA teams are interested in Georgios Printezis, but he's under contract, and the Spurs own his draft rights anyway. So I doubt he would be available.
Other than that, all I have heard about players in Europe connected to the NBA this summer in rumors is the same one as every summer. That the Rockets still want Sergio Llull, but that he supposedly already turned them down again. If that's true, I am sure the Nets could trade for his draft rights. However, there is almost a zero percent chance that he will play in the NBA, as he has been refusing offers from the Rockets for years.
Rodriguez, Llull, and Printezis would be above Ayon and around De Colo level (maybe a bit better than him) in terms of how good they are, if they were actually available, which I don't think they are.
[B]I didn't get into free agents from European leagues other than Euroleague.[/B]
Beyond that, as every other year, numerous average European players will actually sign with NBA teams this summer. That's basically how it works now. The NBA will get like 15-20 average role players from Europe every summer. Guys that are role players in Europe and fill a certain need in a team, and that can do the same as a role player in the NBA. That's pretty much by far the type of players in Europe that the NBA targets. For the most part, NBA teams are not interested in the top players in Europe, because they will expect playing time, and will leave if they don't get it.
It's impossible to come up with the names of these types of players, because they are just random guys in various European leagues, that are often nobodies in Europe, and then the NBA signs them for a specific role. [B]That's probably the types of players he is referring to.[/B] Guys like, for example, Elliot Williams. An average Euroleague player (and probably not even that good honestly), but a guy that can make an NBA team, playing a certain role, and will be happy about just being there.
Those kinds of American guys like Williams, that go back and forth from NBA and D-League every year, and that play every year in NBA summer league, and just happen to be in Europe at the time. Usually every summer, the NBA signs a whole bunch of those guys, even though they are nothing special at all in Europe.
[QUOTE=Euroleague]
[B]1. Vassilis Spanoulis[/B] - free agent (2nd best player is not even close to his level). There are rumors he is returning to the NBA this summer.
[B]2. Ioannis Bourousis[/B] - free agent (best center in Europe). He already said he will try to come to the NBA this summer.
[B]3. Nando De Colo[/B] - free agent (but he is being offered $8 million a year by CSKA). He said he would only play on an NBA team that is a contender, and where he had a major role.
[B]4. Gustavo Ayon[/B] - free agent (supposedly he want to return to the NBA this summer).
[B]5. Malcom Delaney[/B] - free agent (he's not a real PG though, even though he is advertised as that).
[/QUOTE]
1. Not playing in the NBA again. Even if some NBA team wanted to sign a 33 year old, they wouldn't be offering him competitive money.
2. Can't see anyone offering him competitive money. Only the nets would take that gamble and C is the one position where they actually have a talented player or two.
3. Stunk it up on the Spurs and Raptors, so the chances of a contender offering him a salary anywhere near 8mil is slim to none
4. I think he signs a 1yr/team option for mini-mle for a 6-10 seed type team. Maybe Dallas.
5. Think he'll get offered too good of a contract. I imagine there'd be some NBA interest, score first combo-guards are a dime a dozen, can get a similar player for very cheap.
[QUOTE=Cactus-Sack]1. Not playing in the NBA again. Even if some NBA team wanted to sign a 33 year old, they wouldn't be offering him competitive money.
2. Can't see anyone offering him competitive money. Only the nets would take that gamble and C is the one position where they actually have a talented player or two.
3. Stunk it up on the Spurs and Raptors, so the chances of a contender offering him a salary anywhere near 8mil is slim to none
4. I think he signs a 1yr/team option for mini-mle for a 6-10 seed type team. Maybe Dallas.
5. Think he'll get offered too good of a contract. I imagine there'd be some NBA interest, score first combo-guards are a dime a dozen, can get a similar player for very cheap.[/QUOTE]
The Spurs and Grizzlies have already offered Spanoulis a contract. The Spurs have already offered Bourousis a contract. That does not mean they will accept them.
But yeah, they already got offers from NBA teams.
Spanoulis? the best pick? isn't that the scrub who barely saw minutes for the Rockets in 06?
dudes gotta be 34-35 by now lol