[thunderbear82Participant]

 I have looked at some drafts that people on this board make and I was wondering why a lot of people have the good Euro players drafted so low? Is it because no one wants them on there teams?

[Lotto StudParticipant]

We really don’t know much about these prospects versus the American prospects. We see tid bits & highlights, but that’s not enough for us to rate them as high until we really see them in game situations or workouts. Thing’s will change in a few months with our views on these players. No one on this forum really has a problem with Kanter at all. Quite a few of us would love to take him if we were in position to.

[thunderbear82Participant]

 I know we haven’t seen much of them but I also think there is a certain stygma that goes with Euros wether it’s fair or not.

[cheesepillowParticipant]

It’s also not as straight forward to get them to the NBA with buyouts and such for their current Euro teams. College -> NBA is much smoother road although negotiations can sometimes get funky.

[JBrace19Participant]

Because who would you rather have; Derrick Williams, or Donatas Motiejunas? …exactly Derrick Williams, because Euro’s aren’t gonna be superstars.

[delfamParticipant]

 ^ why would you say there not going to be superstars. I’d consider guys like Gasol and Nowitzki superstars.

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

Nikola Mirotic is playing at an exceptional level for Real Madrid, but he has two years left on his contract with steep buyouts. Real has money and is not going to look for some quick cash by dumping one of their best players. I think even with a two-year wait that a team like Chicago with two first rounders and not a whole lot of minutes for rookies next year could do worse than take him, but most teams actually need to bring over first round picks.

Milan Macvan signed a contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv through 2015 in December. Similar deal about waiting period, not every team would want to wait four years.

Evan Fournier signed a contract thru 2013 with Poitiers and still early in his development.

Bojan Bogdanovic signed a four-year contract with Cibona before the 2009 season. Last summer, he asked the FIBA for the termination of his contract with Cibona because they were late in paying him, but he has played for them this past year so I guess that was a no-go. That means he has two more years abroad, though if Cibona has money issues there might be real buyout possibilities.

Jonas Valanciunas has three more years on his contract, so there could be buyout issues and a debate over whether his draft situation is worth putting up the money this year. As a player, he is very young and thin. He is doing well against the lesser clubs of the Lithuanian league, but is limited in the Euroleague. In an LKL game with national giant Zalgiris, he had 2 points and 3 fouls in 17 minutes. A player cannot be effective if he cannot stay on the floor, and everyone likes to talk about what translates to the NCAA from college or Europe and most assuredly being foul prone is one. The issue of fouling is a major problem for him, and it is something that is also a concern for people who are excited about Thomas Robinson or Patric Young. None of them are bad prospects, but they all have a ton of work to do before they can help an NBA team next year in a meaningful way.

Lucas Nogueira is even younger and thinner. Plus, he is playing in what is generally a junior-level league in Spain. He would not see the floor if he came over next year.

Similar story for Rudy Gobert, though change junior-level ball with essentially practice squad of Cholet.

Joffrey Lauvergne is also very young and getting a little time with Chalon so he is another guy who is a ways off.

Donatas Motiejunas has gotten noticeably larger this year and is quite skilled, but he has not been all that impressive against the better clubs. Against Montepaschi, Bennet Cantu, A.J. Milano, and Air Avellino, he has had numerous less than impressive games. He has owned relegation-ready Banca Tercas, but what does that mean? But that is just me.

Bismack Biyombo is under contract with Fuenlabrada through the 2014 season at which time Aran might be under the belief that he will be 75 years old.

Kidding, though Fuenlabrada did have a doctor perform bone age exam on him when he arrived in Spain. The doctor who performed the exam said he was no older than 17 in 2009.

http://www.mundodeportivo.com/gen/20110116/54101530835/noticia/tras-los-pasos-de-biyombo.html

In all seriousness, he has a ton of learning to do. Like a lot of young leapers, he does not conceptualize team defense well. He tries to dunk everything, no range, bad hands, and is foul prone. That said, he is a highlight reel with the dunks and blocked shots so people who think basketball is all dunks and blocked shots are going to love him.

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