Dario Saric… the next Fran Vazquez

That’s a great point, I think there should be some sort of special clauze for players that don’t come over right away, teams should be allowed to pay them something other than their rookie contracts suggest.

I think Fran Vasquez turned out to be not as good as some expected him to be. If Dario Saric plays extremely well in Europe, I think he eventually comes over just for the sake of playing in the NBA, which is something most players want to do.

That’s a great point, I think there should be some sort of special clauze for players that don’t come over right away, teams should be allowed to pay them something other than their rookie contracts suggest.

I think Fran Vasquez turned out to be not as good as some expected him to be. If Dario Saric plays extremely well in Europe, I think he eventually comes over just for the sake of playing in the NBA, which is something most players want to do.

This really should not be a big deal. His father has mapped things out for a long time, and as a former pro himself, knows about the risk of young players jumping levels. The Adriatic League is not just a step below the NBA, and the history of players who have gone directly from the Adriatic League to the NBA is not especially good (Jan Vesely, Jiri Welsch, Slavko Vranes, Goran Dragic [took a number of years to develop], and Kosta Perovic come to mind. Guys who have been drafted out of an Adriatic League team who moved onto bigger European clubs have not always had seemless transitions (Milan Macvan and Ante Tomic stand out as does Aleks Maric eventhough he first played at Nebraska. To be fair, Nikola Pekovic transitioned to Panathinaikos quickly),  Playing in Turkey and the Euroleague is a much better route for his long-term development as a future NBA player. I fail to see what can possibly be wrong about a guy committing to playing as a 20 and 21 year old in Turkey with a club that will be in the Euroleague. The only downside can come if he gets hurt, but that can happen with him if he is in the NBA. Going from Europe to the NBA is a jump under the best of cirmcumstances, and for European and South American players who have not played in the US before also comes with the off-court culture adjustment and on-court stylistic adjustment. How is it not the best option to see a guy control everything he can in the leadup to that jump before trying to do so?

Now, I do think some players coming through Europe have made a point of trying to manipulate the draft process so as not to go to one of the league’s dregs. I can understand why there is little to no appeal to heading to Philadelphia over the next four years. The light they think they see at the end of the tunnel might just be an illusion. Teams can be bad in the NBA for a decade with ease. Would it surprise me if the Saric family prefers to see Dario drop to a more stable team? No. I think any player would look at Denver at #11, Chicago at #16 and #19, and OKC at #21 and think dropping is not the worst thing in the world. Even the Suns and Hawks aren’t terrible landing spots.

This really should not be a big deal. His father has mapped things out for a long time, and as a former pro himself, knows about the risk of young players jumping levels. The Adriatic League is not just a step below the NBA, and the history of players who have gone directly from the Adriatic League to the NBA is not especially good (Jan Vesely, Jiri Welsch, Slavko Vranes, Goran Dragic [took a number of years to develop], and Kosta Perovic come to mind. Guys who have been drafted out of an Adriatic League team who moved onto bigger European clubs have not always had seemless transitions (Milan Macvan and Ante Tomic stand out as does Aleks Maric eventhough he first played at Nebraska. To be fair, Nikola Pekovic transitioned to Panathinaikos quickly),  Playing in Turkey and the Euroleague is a much better route for his long-term development as a future NBA player. I fail to see what can possibly be wrong about a guy committing to playing as a 20 and 21 year old in Turkey with a club that will be in the Euroleague. The only downside can come if he gets hurt, but that can happen with him if he is in the NBA. Going from Europe to the NBA is a jump under the best of cirmcumstances, and for European and South American players who have not played in the US before also comes with the off-court culture adjustment and on-court stylistic adjustment. How is it not the best option to see a guy control everything he can in the leadup to that jump before trying to do so?

Now, I do think some players coming through Europe have made a point of trying to manipulate the draft process so as not to go to one of the league’s dregs. I can understand why there is little to no appeal to heading to Philadelphia over the next four years. The light they think they see at the end of the tunnel might just be an illusion. Teams can be bad in the NBA for a decade with ease. Would it surprise me if the Saric family prefers to see Dario drop to a more stable team? No. I think any player would look at Denver at #11, Chicago at #16 and #19, and OKC at #21 and think dropping is not the worst thing in the world. Even the Suns and Hawks aren’t terrible landing spots.

it seems like Boston would bite at 17 and bring him over in a couple years after they’ve added a few lottery players to the roster.  I don’t see Sullinger or Olynyk blocking his path.   

it seems like Boston would bite at 17 and bring him over in a couple years after they’ve added a few lottery players to the roster.  I don’t see Sullinger or Olynyk blocking his path.