Last year, we took a look at players coming to the NBA after playing at least as season overseas. This year we are going to be doing the same thing, and with Bismack Biyombo being drafted in the first round and a manageable buyout, he is definitely going to be in the NBA next season, which is why we are taking a look at him.

Past Editions: Ricky Rubio | Jan Vesely

Bismack Biyombo took the world by storm by posting a triple double in the annual Hoop Summit game featuring the best prospects in the world.  Despite playing just 13 games in the ACB (the Spanish Pro league and maybe the second best league in teh world), Biyombo found himself as the #7 pick to the Charlotte Bobcats.

Strengths

Pick And Roll Offense

Everything that you have read or heard about Biyombo tells us that he is extremely raw on the offensive end.  While that is true, there is one area where Biyombo is slightly better than average, and that is in the pick and roll game.  As the roll man on pick and rolls, Biyombo shot 64.7% and posted a PPP of 1.091 (top 50% of all international players) while drawing a foul 31.8% of the time.

The way that Biyombo sets screens is straight out of the Amar’e Stoudemire/David Lee/Daivd West mold of not really setting a screen, but showing it and then quickly rolling to the rim.  My guess is that Biyombo or his coaching staff had him doing this for a couple reasons.  First, it lets him avoid setting moving screens, and second, it allows him to get to an area where he can catch and go right up with it easily:

Read more…

Last year, we took a look at players coming to the NBA after playing at least as season overseas.  When an international guy gets drafted, I usually wait on his buyout news before assuming a player is coming, but when someone as smart as Jonathan Givony (the man behind Draft Express – he called a guy from Qatar being drafted) tells you that it’s “100 %” he’s coming over, then you take that as fact.  That’s why we are looking at Jan Vesely the day after the draft.

Past Editions: Ricky Rubio

Vesley comes to the Washington Wizards with a reputation as a high flyer, calling Blake Griffin “the American Jan Vesely” but outside the big dunk highlights, nobody really knows much about him.  In this scouting report, we are going to look at a few strengths and weaknesses outside the big dunks.

Strengths

Post Offense

Vesely is a player who offensively is very comfortable posting up with his back to the basket.  In the 92 post up possessions that Vesely had over the course of the season, he posted a PPP of 1.022 (good for a top 14% finish among international basketball players) on 65.4% shooting.

One of the biggest reasons for his success in the post is his ability to establish very good position down low:

Jan Vesely does a fantastic job of using his body and his butt as a tool that lets him be physical with his defender and get his body on the block.  Position is so important when posting up, if you start too far away, you aren’t going to be efficient as a post player.  When Vesely gets the ball so deep in the post, it makes all of his moves so much easier.

Read more…

Last year, we took a look at players coming to the NBA after playing at least as season overseas.  With Ricky Rubio’s announcement that he is joining the Minnesota Timberwolves and coming to the NBA this upcoming season, I thought it was a perfect time to start up the overseas scouting report again.

Ricky Rubio is the much talked about 20 year old, drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves two seasons ago when he was 18 years old.  Despite his stock being very high when he was drafted, a combination of a buyout and his lack of excitement about the Timberwolves resulted in Rubio staying in Spain (but switching teams) for the past two seasons.  During that time, Rubio’s stock has taken a pretty big hit, mainly because of his “play” with Regal Barcelona.

Before we get started with the scouting report, I do want to discuss the drop in Rubio’s assists and everybody’s reaction to it.  With Rubio being more of a true point guard than a scoring point guard, everyone seems to be pointing at the drop in assists/40 minutes from his final season with DKV Joventut to this past season with Regal Barcelona and it causes Rubio’s critics to say, “Obviously, this is a sign Rubio is getting worse.  He peaked at 18!”  However, if you look at how Rubio is used, instead of looking at just the numbers, you notice there were other reasons for his his drop in assists:

Note:  This numbers are coming from Rubio’s ACB play over the past three seasons.  2008-2009 with DKV Joventut and 2009-2011 with Regal Barcelona

Read more…

Over the past six days, I was able to take a look at six of the ten (the number keeps changing, but I am pretty sure it is set at 10 right now) players that are coming to the NBA from overseas. Here is the list of them in case you missed any:

• Nikola Pekovic
• Timofey Mozgov
• Tiago Splitter
• Pooh Jeter
• Omer Asik
• Kevin Seraphin

I hope you guys enjoyed learning about the players coming over as I did writing these reports.  In addition to learning about some of the new guys coming to the NBA, I think I developed a respect for European/International basketball that I didn’t have before.  From the games that I have seen in a few different leagues shows me that the quality of basketball has gotten very good, so if you get a chance to watch some international basketball, don’t pass it up.

I seriously had a blast doing these scouting reports, but it is probably time to move on and look at some other NBA-related topics.  Check back later today for some new content.

By my count, there are eight players coming to the NBA after spending at least a year playing overseas. Throughout the week we are going to look at each player’s individual game one by one, to see what we can expect from them this year in the NBA.

Past Editions: Nikola Pekovic | Timofey Mozgov | Tiago Splitter | Pooh Jeter | Omer Asik

Kevin Seraphin was drafted by the Chicago Bulls with the 17th pick in the 2010 NBA Draft.  His rights were immediately traded to the Washington Wizards.  The 20 year old Seraphin is making the jump to the NBA this year as the Wizards and his French League team Cholet came to a buyout agreement.

This is a surprising move in my opinion, because I was expecting to see the somewhat raw Seraphin get another year of seasoning with Cholet Basket (Seraphin was starting to see more minutes with the French League winners, even starting a few games towards the end of the season).  To me, the reason seems to be that the Wizards want to be the ones developing Seraphin, rather than hoping that he gets minutes with Cholet.

Strengths

Athleticism

Kevin Seraphin is a very athletic big man for his size, and he uses that athleticism pretty well.  The two instances where you really see Seraphin’s athleticism stand out is when he runs the floor and when he rebounds.  When rebounding, Seraphin covers a lot of ground from when the shot goes up to when the rebound is available.  He is usually out of position when the shot goes up, but his athletic ability allows him to “go get it.”

Read more…

By my count, there are eight players coming to the NBA after spending at least a year playing overseas.  Throughout the week we are going to look at each player’s individual game one by one, to see what we can expect from them this year in the NBA.

Past Editions: Nikola Pekovic | Timofey Mozgov | Tiago Splitter | Pooh Jeter

The Chicago Bulls have held Omer Asik’s rights since the 2008 NBA Draft.  Asik was originally taken with the 36th overall pick by the Portland Trailblazers, but his rights were immediately traded to the Bulls.  Now at 24, the Chicago Bulls have finally signed the 6’11″ 230 pound (according to DraftExpress.com) Asik to a 2 year deal at about $1.7 million per year (according to the salary listed on ESPN’s trade machine).

In my opinion, Asik isn’t as NBA-ready as Pekovic, Mozgov, or Splitter but he does have some skills that could help in year one, and if he is developed properly he could become a productive member of the Bulls in year two.

Note:  In the clip, Asik is playing for Fenerbahçe Ülker and is #24 in white.

Strengths

Runs The Floor/Finds Open Spaces In Transition

Omer Asik isn’t overly athletic (even by a center’s standards), and he isn’t going to run by anyone, but Asik still is pretty good in transition.  The reason is because he seems to understand floor spacing really well, and he knows what to do when running up and down the court:

Here, Asik gets his defender on his back when running out, and once he gets that position, he doesn’t have to create separation with his man. Asik understands that, and once he gets to the lane he pauses, keeping his defender on his back, and allowing for the middle of the lane to open up. He then makes the catch and finishes.

Read more…

By my count, there are eight players coming to the NBA after spending at least a year playing overseas.  Throughout the week we are going to look at each player’s individual game one by one, to see what we can expect from them this year in the NBA.

Past Editions: Nikola Pekovic | Timofey Mozgov | Tiago Splitter

After coming out of Portland and playing one season in the D-League, Pooh Jeter headed to Europe.  After three seasons overseas (the final stretch was a 22 game stint with Hapoel Jerusalem) and numerous Summer League invites, the 5’11″ Jeter has finally got himself a NBA contract.

For this scouting report, I am looking at Jeter’s games overseas.  The reason I prefer to use this rather than his Summer League performance because I think it will give us a better look into his game.  With Hapoel Jerusalem, Jeter was playing with guys who he was comfortable with, rather than a group of guys assembled almost at random with each trying to prove themselves.

Note:  Jeter wears #15 for Hapoel Jerusalem.  Their colors are red and white.

Strengths

Ball Pressure

Pooh Jeter is small and quick, and this makes for the perfect on ball defender in my opinion.  He is able to get low and disrupt a point guard’s dribble and his speed allows for him to force the ballhandler to change directions a number of times:

Here, Jeter’s speed and ability to stay in front of his man forces him to change directions twice.  The second time, the ballhandler is worried about Jeter reaching in and stealing the ball, so he turns his back to Jeter.  This allows for the double team to come and force the turnover.

Now, the ball handlers are better in the NBA, but I think Jeter’s speed is enough for him to be able to stay in front of his man.

Read more…

By my count, there are eight players coming to the NBA after spending at least a year playing overseas.  Throughout the week we are going to look at each player’s individual game one by one, to see what we can expect from them this year in the NBA.

Past Editions: Nikola Pekovic | Timofey Mozgov

Out of the eight players coming over to the NBA from overseas, Tiago Splitter is probably the most well known name (Not counting guys like Josh Childress and Linas Kleiza, who have already played in the NBA).  Splitter’s name has been out there since 2006 when he was supposed to enter the NBA draft, but eventually declined.  The Spurs took him the next year after, since his age made him eligible.  Spurs’ fans have been waiting for him ever since.  After agreeing to an $11 million deal over three years, Splitter is finally coming over to the NBA.

The reason that there has been so much hype (and so much talk about how good Splitter’s deal is for the Spurs), and it is because he is a very talented.  At 6’11″ and 245 pounds, Splitter’s polished post game is what really makes him special in my opinion.

Quick Note:  In the clips, Splitter is wearing #21 for his team in the white jerseys.  He is wearing an arm sleeve which makes identification easier.

Strengths

Polished Post Game

I briefly mentioned this in the intro, but in my opinion Tiago Splitter’s polished post game is his best attribute.  In the post, Splitter really makes it tough for defenders because he really knows how to counter what the defense does to him:

Here, Splitter’s defender has his hand on his back and is trying to be physical with him.  Splitter counters this by feeling for the defender and quickly pivoting to the inside.  As he does this, he throws his off hand up (if he keeps his hand close to his body, it isn’t a foul) creating separation between himself and his defender.  This gives him the lane and the only reason he misses is because he is fouled (it doesn’t get called).

Read more…

By my count, there are eight players coming to the NBA after spending at least a year playing overseas.  Throughout the week we are going to look at each player’s individual game one by one, to see what we can expect from them this year in the NBA.

Past Editions: Nikola Pekovic

Timofey Mozgov is a 24 year old center signed as a international free agent by the New York Knicks for $10 million over the course of three years.  Mozgov is a big boy at 7’1″ and 270 pounds, but he isn’t a stiff.  Mozgov has bounce to his step, and he is pretty mobile for his size.  Mozgov has spent the last four years playing for the Russian club Khimki Moscow Region.

Note:  Mozgov wears #25 for his team, Khimki.  You will recognize him in the clips by his high socks.

Strengths

He Can Run The Floor

Some Knicks fans are probably wondering why the Knicks signed a 270 pound big man to play in their run and gun style offense.  Despite his size, Mozgov doesn’t lumber up and down the court:

Mozgov doesn’t get the ball on this fast break, but you can see he can keep up with his point guard in transition.  He isn’t going to run by anybody on the break, but he can fill the lane in transition, making himself available to his PG in the middle of the paint on fast breaks.

Read more…

By my count, there are eight players coming to the NBA after spending at least a year playing overseas.  Throughout the week we are going to look at each player’s individual game one by one, to see what we can expect from them this year in the NBA.

Nikola Pekovic is a 24 year old 6’11″ center who was taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the first pick in the second round in 2008.  After playing two seasons for the Greek club Panathinaikos Pekovic signed a 3 year deal with the Timberwolves, guaranteeing that he will be taking his talents to the NBA.

Quick Note:  In the following clips, Nikola Pekovic is #14 playing for Panathinaikos, who are wearing green.

Strengths:

Work In The Post

The first thing that you notice when watching Nikola Pekovic play is that he absolutely loves throwing his body around when working in the post:

Pekovic is willing to bang bodies with his defender whenever he thinks he can improve his position by doing so. Pekovic has good but not great post moves and a good but not great ability to dribble in the post, but what makes him so good is that he gets such good position that all he needs to do is take one dribble or make one move to get a shot off:

Read more…