Truth, lies and videotape By Chad Ford NBA Insider Send an Email to Chad Ford Friday, May 9 BARCELONA, Spain -- Do you want to know the truth about Darko Milicic, Sofaklis Schortsianitis and Maciej Lampe? On The Road Again NBA Insider Chad Ford has hopped across the pond once more for an up-close look at some of the top European prospects in the 2003 NBA Draft. Follow Ford's trip in his daily journal: Monday: Beyond Darko Tuesday: Pavel Podkolzin Wednesday: The Odyssey Late Wed: Maciej Lampe Friday: A coach's dream Weekend: Ultimate sleeper Monday: The Final Four You can't handle the truth. At this stage in the scouting process for the international kids, no one seems to be able to. Sitting in a packed gym at Palau Sant Jordi to watch some of the top 15- and 16-year-olds in Europe play in an elite tournament, I get a great chance to catch up with around 15 of the NBA's top scouts and executives. Here's what I've learned: One scout who saw Sofaklis in Crete last weekend swears to me the guys called "Baby Shaq" is no taller than 6-foot-7. He's willing to bet me a steak dinner. Another scout who saw Sofaklis in the same game swears he's 6-10. And he's willing to make the same bet. Just when scouts seemed to agree on Sofoklis Shortsianitis, the disinformation began to fly. One league executive swears Darko Milicic has slipped to the fourth or fifth pick in the draft. He claims a string of poor performances under the ever-growing spotlight has exposed Darko as a fraud. Another, who actually saw Darko disappoint in Greece last weekend, is more convinced than ever the Yugoslavian teenager deserves to be the No. 1 pick in the draft -- even ahead of LeBron. The first guy has seen Darko play once. The other guy? Twice. Don't get too excited over Lampe, another scout warns. He's seen Lampe play twice and feels he's a second-round pick. Another team, which has seen him four times, confides the fear Lampe won't be available when the team picks in the late lottery. And by the way, Lampe is either a great athlete or he isn't. And he's either a solid defender or he's awful. I just wanted to clear that up. One lottery team is absolutely in love with Mickael Pietrus. But his decision not to perform individual workouts before the draft is worrisome. See, they've never actually seen him play in person. Another scout tells me he loves Pietrus' ability to get to the basket but that Pietrus can't shoot a lick. The next scout tells me Pietrus is one of the better shooters in the draft. But he doesn't know how to get to the basket. A little research reveals the first scout saw Pietrus once. On that night he couldn't' hit a jumper to save his life, so he began taking the ball to the basket. The other scout also saw Pietrus once. On that night he was sinking everything and never needed to put it on the floor. So, who do you believe? I could go on. Anderson Varejao doesn't have a position, according to half the scouts I talked to. The other half believe he's the second-best international prospect in the draft behind Darko. Here's the kicker: Both sides admit they've never seen him do anything to really wow them. At 7-foot-4, Podkolzin has size and mobility, but he lacks game experience. Wow! And just to get this out in the open, no one believes Pavel Podkolzin is worthy of a first-round pick. But as we speak, about 15 teams are trying to get over to Varese to see him play. Welcome to the world of international scouting, where first impressions, anecdotal reports and urban legends still hold unusual sway. Don't be ashamed if you're confused. With a few notable exceptions, you're in the same boat as many NBA teams. This year, an unusual number of international prospects are in play for the first round. It's hard enough getting over here to check out the occasional Pau Gasol or Nikoloz Tskitishvili, but when you start looking at more than 20 NBA draft prospects, it can get downright maddening. The problem lies in the nature of the beast. Most NBA teams are latecomers to the international scouting game. As we chronicled Wednesday, the travel alone is daunting enough to scare off many scouts. But even the scouts who do get here face some major obstacles. The most obvious is that players get stuck with first impressions. If a guy plays terrible in front of a gaggle of scouts, he could be screwed for a while. Lampe is a good example. Lampe could be this year's Nikoloz Tskitishvili One Western Conference scout came to see him last month and saw an uninspiring performance (one rebound). The scout came back to the states claiming the kid was all hype, couldn't rebound and wasn't worth the trip. Word like that gets around fast. Before you knew it, that was the line: Lampe couldn't rebound, couldn't play. The Insider report of Lampe's game on Wednesday left everyone scrambling. The few NBA scouts who were there started confirming everyone's worst fear. What if he can play? Over the past 24 hours I've been grilled by almost every team in the league. Is he aggressive? How's his footwork? Can he go to his left? Teams are running out of time, and they need answers. The answers are easier if teams can get solid videotape on a player. With certain European staples like Victor Khryapa and Carlos Delfino, that isn't an issue. But if you want tape on Pavel or Lampe, good luck. It does exist, but when a guy rarely plays, how much can it tell you? If you do secure a copy, it's likely to be of the kid's best performance. Most everyone can look good on one given night. Of course, it's not like scouts are always honest with the media in the first place. When a scout goes out of his way to badmouth a player, it's usually a pretty good sign the team is in love. Scouting the Euroleague Final Four Lest we forget, all of the NBA types have descended upon Barcelona to get a good look at several players who could be first-round picks in this year's draft. The problem is, it looks like we won't actually see any of them play, according to several scouts. Varejao has been getting only limited minutes for F.C. Barcelona. CSKA Moscow's Khryapa still starts, but lately he's been averaging only about 14 minutes a game. Two other young stars, Benetton's Manuchar Markoishvili and Moscow's Sergei Monya, won't be in the draft this year, and it's a good thing. Neither is expected to play major minutes here either. That means that if you want to get a good look at any of these kids, your best bet is to watch them practice. Good luck. NBA scouts aren't allowed. Luckily, reporters are ... or were. I got to see about five minutes of Monya warming up and 10 minutes of Varejao running the floor before being kicked out by secretive coaches. Oh well, there's always that videotape. Just wait until 2006 It's too bad there's so much confusion. As scouts debated Lampe, Pavel and Pietrus, some amazing young kids were trying to win their hearts. Want a sneak preview of who will be generating the buzz in 2005 or 2006? Start with Lithuanian big man Andriuskeuicius Martynas, a 7-foot-2, 16-year-old center who several European scouts swear will be a lottery pick in a couple of years. Martynas, like so many of the new breed of Europeans, runs the floor like a guard, can step out and hit the 3 and does all of the other important stuff in between. Right behind him is Greek big man Aleksandar Melnicks, a 15-year-old 7-footer who would be a high-school phenom if he played in the U.S. And then there was Russian Sergey Borodin, a 16-year-old, 6-foot-9 small forward with nice hands, a silky smooth shot from the perimeter and a certain toughness in the paint many young Euros lack.
Your wish is my command: Top 15 international NBA prospects Chad Ford NBA Insider Send an Email to Chad Ford Wednesday, May 14 On The Road Again NBA Insider Chad Ford has hopped across the pond once more for an up-close look at some of the top European prospects in the 2003 NBA Draft. Follow Ford's trip in his daily journal: Monday: Beyond Darko Tuesday: Pavel Podkolzin Wednesday: The Odyssey Late Wed: Maciej Lampe Friday: A coach's dream Late Fri: Scouts' wisdom Saturday: International dud Monday: Euro Final Four Tues: The Euro Jordan, Pt. 2 NBA scouts claim that this year's crop of international players may end up dominating the lottery and the early part of the first round of the 2003 draft. Currently, Insider is projecting as many as 13 international players could be selected in the first round this year. NBA Insider Chad Ford has already traveled to Germany, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Spain, Italy and France along with NBA international scouting guru Tony Ronzone to get a first-hand look at 13 top international prospects: Darko Milicic, Mickael Pietrus, Florent Pietrus, Boris Diaw, Pavel Podkolzin, Anderson Varejao, Maciej Lampe, Zarko Carbakapa, Alexsandar Pavlovic, Victor Khryapa, Zoran Planinic, Kresmir Loncar and Slavko Vranjes. After returing from the Euroleague Final Four, here's Ford's latest take on the guys teams are buzzing about: 1. Darko Milicic, PF/C, Yugoslavia The line: 7-0, 245, 17 years old The skinny: He struggled two weeks ago in front a packed house of NBA talent scouts in Greece. It won't matter. Darko has the luxury of being one of the best scouted international players ever. Most teams have a great feel for what he can do. Like Dirk Nowitzki, he has the full complement of skills. He can handle, shoot the 3 and play in the paint. Unlike Nowitzki, he's tough as nails. A strong defender who gets aggressive in the post. He's going to be a top-three pick in this year's draft. 2. Mickael Pietrus, SG, France The line: 6-6, 210, 20 years old The skinny: Pietrus has been working on his jumper since we saw him in December. Some teams felt that was his only weakness. Actually, his ability to shoot the 3 consistently is really one of his strengths. He's got a great stroke. Pietrus has a very American game. He loves to take it to the basket and use his athleticism and leaping ability to fly past his opponents. He's also a superb defender. He's aggressive on both ends of the court. He's very strong for his size. Think a mixture of Desmond Mason and Ray Allen. The Bulls have already been making numerous inquiries. He could go as high as No.7. I doubt he slips past the Grizzlies at No. 13. 3. Maciej Lampe, F, Poland The line: 7-0, 255, 18 years old The skinny: Lampe was getting mixed reviews before we finally tracked him down in Menorca, Spain last week. He was huge. With the team's center and MVP, Jaime Peterson, out of the game, Lampe went off for 27 points and nine boards in just over 23 minutes. Lampe's combination of size, shooting touch, ball-handling skills and an advanced inside-outside games have drawn comparisons to Dirk Nowitzki. His shooting stroke is one of the smoothest I've ever seen in a big kid. He's got a nice body, has a very fluid game, and despite reports to the contrary, looked very good with his back to the basket. He's needs to become a better rebounder, defender and get stronger, but he's probably secured a place in the lottery. Look for the Bucks and Sonics to give him a long look. 4. Pavel Podkolzin, C, Russia The line: 7-4, 300, 18 years old The skinny: He's going to be the toughest kid in the draft to get an accurate read on. I saw him practice in Verase, Italy last Monday. He'd be the biggest guy in the NBA (height and weight) since Shaquille O'Neal. He's just huge. His best attribute is his athleticism for someone that size. He's not a lumbering center by any means. He runs the floor well, has a pretty good handle and can really shoot the ball. The problem is he's very raw. He doesn't know how to take advantage of his size in the post, is just an adequate defender and lacks game smarts. That's understandable because of his age and lack of experience. It will probably take three years for him to be a contributor in the NBA. Major buyout issues with the team (right now they're asking for a boat load of cash) may also sink his chances at getting drafted in the lottery. But at the end of the day, don't be shocked if a team takes the chance on him in the late lottery. His upside is second only to LeBron, Darko and Carmelo. 5. Boris Diaw, SG, France The line: 6-9, 220, 21 years old The skinny: A big-time prospect who's been overshadowed by the emergence of Pietrus. I finally caught up with him in practice on Monday. He's very smooth and one of the best passers I've seen in the draft. He has a real point guard mentality and is very unselfish. He has a nice body and is a good athlete. Diaw is more skilled than Pietrus, but Pietrus is the better athlete and scorer. The only question with Diaw is aggressiveness. He can be too passive at times. Some scouts believe that will change when Diaw gets out of the system he's playing in and gets more familiar with the NBA. The comparisons to Scottie Pippen aren't too far off, but I doubt he'll ever average more than 12 to 15 ppg in the league. He's probably a mid-first-rounder. Phoenix (at No. 17) and Utah (at No. 19) both have interest. 6. Leandrinho Barbosa, PG, Brazil The line: 6-4, 185, 21 years old The skinny: How quickly can Barbosa learn English? That's the biggest question in most scout's minds. One Western Conference coach told me he loves Barbosa, but he's afraid to draft him early because of the language barrier. Your point guard must be able to communicate with the coach and his teammates. His agent has him in English lessons for two hours a day; he better make it four. Barbosa is considered the best player in Brazil. He's very long and an explosive athlete. The thing that has scouts buzzing is the speed at which Barbosa plays for someone his size. He's constantly attacking the basket on offense, and aggressively harassing his man on defense. With his long arms (6-foot-10 wingspan) he gets an unusual amount of steals and blocks for a point guard. Only a few teams have actually been to Brazil to see Barbosa play. He averaged 29.6 ppg, 7.8 apg, 4.2 rpg, 2.6 spg and 0.8 bpg while shooting 57 percent from the field, 47 percent from beyond the arc and 85 percent from the free-throw line. Several NBA scouts who have seen him feel that he could move his way into the late lottery with strong workouts. 7. Alexsandar Pavlovic, SG/SF, Yugoslavia The line: 6-7, 210, 20 years old The skinny: Pavlovic is a 6-foot-7 athletic swingman who some scouts are comparing to Peja Stojakovic. While scouts say that he struggles as a defender and doesn't have a great long-range game, other teams feel he could be a kid who could come in and make an impact in year one. The rumor is that he already has a promise between 14 and 19. 8. Anderson Varejao, PF, Brazil The line: 6-10, 230, 20 years old The skinny: He's slipping. Few teams have a good handle on him and his play at the Euroleague Final 4 didn't help him. If you're an optimist, you say that the fact that he got playing time in two key games is evidence that he's a legit player. If you're a pessimist, you look at the stat line and ask, what's the big deal? Teams get excited about his rebounding, shot blocking and aggressive play. Others claim he's a tweener. He's not physical enough to thrive in the post in the NBA, and his game isn't developed enough on the offensive end to play small forward. If he could work out with teams, he'd probably move back into the lottery. But because of Barcelona's playoff schedule, he won't be able to go through private workouts. That's likely to push him out of the lottery and into the mid-to-late first round. 9. Zaur Pachulia, PF/C, Georgia The line: 6-11, 250, 19 years old The skinny: A former teammate of Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Pachulia is more of a classic low-post banger. He's strong, likes to mix it up down low and is an excellent rebounder. Pachulia actually threw his name into the draft last season and wowed several teams, including the Pacers. He was considered a late-first-round pick last year. Pachulia's agent felt that he'd be better off waiting a year to get Pachulia more exposure. After a slow season in Turkey playing behind the Euroleague MVP, Joe Blair, Pachulia finally got his chance a month ago when Blair went down with an injury. He responded with 26 points on 10 of 13 shooting and added eight rebounds, three assists and three steals in a huge win over defending Euroleague champ Panathinaikos. The game wasn't a fluke. He followed it up with a 13-point, 17-rebound performance against Skipper Bologna. He's probably a late-first-rounder. 10. Sofaklis Schortsianides, C, Greece The line: 6-10, 287, 17 years old The skinny: Nicknamed Baby Shaq by his teammates in Greece, he's very strong and capable of playing with his back to the basket. His stock has dropped lately as teams question his size. His agent, Marc Fleisher, claims that he was recently measured at 6-10, 287 with shoes. Will that stop the slippage? It's tough to call. The international field is getting more crowded by the day and Sofaklis' skills aren't that unique. He's a big bruiser in the paint. But after watching some tape on him, I'm not sure what he does that Michael Sweetney and Mario Austin don't do better. There's only so much demand for physical, undersized power forwards in the league. Workouts will be big for him. If he projects to be like Elton Brand, he'll move way up this chart. If he's closer to Danny Fortson, then the mid-to-late first round is just about right. 11. Victor Khryapa, SF, Russia The line: 6-9, 200, 20 years old The skinny: Helped himself tremendously at the Euroleague Final 4. His defense on Dejan Bodiroga (the Euroleague Final 4 MVP) was impressive. He's very long and an excellent rebounder and shot blocker. Khryapa gets a lot of comparisons to Andrei Kirilenko. Both players are long and mutli-dimensional. Khryapa's a good shooter with NBA 3 range. However, he's not quite the athlete that Kirilenko is nor is he quite as polished as his European counterparts. He also has to get stronger to compete at the next level and won't be able to come to the NBA this year because of contract issues. That's a minus for some teams and a big plus for others. With all that said, most teams still consider him a great prospect. He'll likely be a late-first-rounder. 12. Carlos Delfino, SG/SF, Argentina The line: 6-7, 215, 21 years old The skinny: Several teams like Delfino, but a serious ankle injury a month ago really hurt his stock. I had planned to go to Bologna to see Delfino play, but his ankle still was still hurting. His agent, David Bauman, claims that there was no ligament damage and plans to bring him to the U.S. for private workouts. He'll have to prove that there isn't any reoccurring problems with the ankle. Teams love his toughness, shooting ability and how he can get to the basket. Can he slip into the first round? He has the talent, but his workouts will be key. 13. Zarko Carbakapa, PF, Yugoslavia The line: 6-11, 230, 22 years old The skinny: NBA scouts were out in force last week to get a better look at Carbakapa. He's another versatile athlete who plays three positions in Europe. He's an excellent outside shooter. He just needs to get stronger. Teams are also concerned that he's a little one dimensional. He's not nearly as comfortable putting the ball on the floor and taking it to the hole. He's represented by super agent Bill Duffy, which won't hurt his stock come draft day. Given a string of recent strong performances, it's not out of the question that Carbakapa could be the 13th international player selected in the first round this year. 14. Zoran Planinic, PG/SG, Croatia The line: 6-6, 215, 20 years old The skinny: Gets a lot of comparisons to Jiri Welsch. He plays both guard positions, but his NBA future is at the point. Unlike Welsch, he's more of a one than two. An early season injury really wrecked his season. He never really rebounded and his stock has really dropped. But, remember, teams will always take a risk on a 6-6 point guard. Should be an early second rounder. 15. Malick Badiane, PF/C, Senegal The line: 6-11, 225, 19 years old The skinny: Badiane, a native of Senegal, has long arms (7-foot-4 wing span) and a solid NBA body. He already has the shot blocking and rebounding down, but scouts say he's very raw (think Olumide Oyedeji) on the offensive end. But unlike Oyedeji, he's bigger, stronger, more athletic and has decent pro instincts. NBA scouts think he's probably a second-rounder, but don't be surprised if Dallas takes a look at him with the last pick of the first round. Others to watch: Slavko Vranes, C, Yugoslavia; Kristaps Voltars, PG, Latvia; Paccelis Morlende, PG, France; Alexsandar Vujacic, PG/SG, Slovenia; Boyko Mladenov, PF, Bulgaria; Szymon Szewczyk, PF, Poland; Blagota Sekulic, SF, Yugoslavia; Florent Pietrus, SF/PF, France; Mican Nikabase, PG, Germany
This is a joke, he makes it sound like most of the lotto and half of the first round will be Euros. If that really does happen, I don't know how much more of a wake-up call can be made to HS basketball, AAU circuits, lack of fundamental teaching and the coddling of blue-chips.
