Originally posted on July 30, 2010 | Last Updated: July 30, 2010
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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.
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.
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.
The reason that there has been so much hype (and so much talk abouthow 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).
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:
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.
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 abouthow 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).
