It's a year Later.... Europlayers = Fad....

[Diesel]

Like I said last year, I reiterate now...

Euro players are fads... Just like 6'9" PGs and Point Forwards. I think that as we see now with Darko and the host of Euro players, it's accepted that they have ability but they will NEVER have the potential that American stars have. In essence, what you see in the Euro player is the finished product. Like Dirk who is the best Euro player playing... he will always play 2nd/3rd fiddle to American ballers like KG/Kobe/Tmac who never went to College and started off with mere potential.

So when you see the Toni Parkers, Pejas, and Darkos... realize that there's a TJ Ford, Carmello Anthony, and Labron James who is on the way.

[Guest Walter]

Why then is the projected 2nd pick a foreigner (17 year old no less) and the 1st and 2nd rd projected board full of foreign players?

I don't think the American players have done anything as "unfinished" products that would suggest you not take a hard look at a "finished" one, whatever that means.

It's odd Diesel that the same players you said could never adjust to the US game just a matter of 2 years ago are now the "finished players" (even 17 year old ones I guess). Hmm, maybe they aren't "finished" but just starting. Even Dirk is still getting better. Scary, huh?

[Traceman]

draft are foreigners. Doesn't sound like much of a fad to me!

[beav]

I just want to take a second and say just how d&mn awesome it is to see Walter and Diesel arguing again. It does a heart proud.

BTW, Diesel that is a ridiculous statement.

A much more likely one (and ain't gonna happen either) is that the NBA will stop drafting Duke players in the lottery since they are busts or on their way: Langdon, Dunleavy, Hurley, Williams.

Draft all Dukies in the second round and you get the Boozers.

For crying out loud man, put down the crack pipe!

[mrhonline]

I've been wondering where you've been! How's the ghetto?

[cynic]

Dirk may not be a top 5 player in the NBA, but he IS a top 10 player, and he's better than anyone on our team.

He's a really bad example to use to argue that European players are finished products, too. He has improved every year, and even gets MVP consideration this year.

You know, that Gasol is terrible to, and I think that, at the age of 21, he's peaked. It's only downhill from here.

*By the way, don't argue with me that Dirk shouldn't be the MVP. I don't think he should, and I clearly didn't say that he should. I'm only reporting that he is getting consideration, and that much is true. I have to anticipate now how you're going to put words in my mouth. You were thinking about it, weren't you?

[beav]

I've been putting together a Sidney Lowe shrine...

[Guest]

That's why the american basketball team has become

a joke.Most the american players have sloppy games

and they can't shoot a lick.Wesley Person a role player

is considered amoung the top shooters.That is a

joke.

Americans=Sloppy games

[Zarathustra]

I can’t see euro-players (here I mean argentinians, chinese, brazilians too) beeing just a fad. That 10 euro players could go in the top 25 is just a sign of the game getting more and more international. You see,basketball has always been a quite small sport in Europe, I think the only countries where you could call basketball a big sport were Lithuania and Jugoslavia. And I think even in Jugoslavia football (I don’t mean the padded version of rugby here, I’m talking about the thing you call soccer) was the sport to talk about. Anyway, now basketball is getting more and more popular. Yao has made China follow the NBA, Dirk is getting Germany to watch the game and so on…

I think basketball meant two different things in Europe and America not too long ago. Influenced by american players and coaches the european game has become more like basketball in america, but still holding on to some european characteristics. Now it’s in a way time for Europe to give something back. It’s a bit like it was with icehockey some years ago. A canadian game ”went” abroad, evolved into a perhaps more skillfull (now only talking about hockey) variant compared to the more tough canadian game and then returned and has now made the NHL to a hybrid between these two styles. I hope the same will happen to the NBA in a way. Take the best parts of the both styles and make it an even better game in the end.

It is true that european players have been less athletic until now, but I think that has been more because of the fact that the best athletes have gone to play football or some other more popular sport than a gene thing. Basketball has been a sport for tall guys who aren’t athletic enough to guard a football goal. The more popular basketball gets, the better overall athletes it will attract. I can see this euro-drafting calm down a bit though. For the last two years teams have been drafting from many age groups, soon it will be from just one. I mean, this years draftees are born 1982-1985, next year perhaps 84-86, then 86-87 and then just 88. The flood after the gates were opened will in time form a nice even flow, or something, I’m not so good with explaining these things in english. But hey, you try and write something in finnish if you don’t like my english

Globalisation reaches the NBA too…

[Diesel]

When I said Euro players a fad, I'm talking about the RUSH to get one.

Last yr, with Ming, there was a thought that more experienced Euro players would be the way to go..

However, I believe the Gambling Nature of the GM will make it so that the Player with Potential (mostly HSers) will supersede the Europlayer in priority for most teams.

Look at this year.

Stoudamire is Rookie of the year.

KG, Kobe, and Tmac are all MVP candidates.

LaBron James is the most highly tauted draft pick since.... Pat Ewing.

These are all people who came straight from HS. These are all players who live off of Potential.