Will Ainge Cut A Deal With A Foreign Hoopster's Agent?

[wayray@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Chad Ford analyses the Hoop Summit prospects and suggests a team like the Celtics
cutting a deal with one of the Euros.  Sure why not. When you have a bunch of
young players as it is and the 23 and 24 picks, that's the type of move
or moves you make. Ainge could draft two Euros with those picks and let them
develop overseas.

View hazy from atop the Hoop Summit
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
SAN ANTONIO -- Dirk Nowitzki was discovered here. So was Tony Parker 
and Vladimir Radmanovic. 

Minutes after the international team got clobbered by the Team USA 
at the Nike Hoop Summit here in San Antonio, GMs were quick to point 
out the obvious. There were no Nowitzkis or Parkers here. 

Despite a nice 20-point shooting clinic by Serbian forward Luka 
Bogdanovic and some stifling defense on much-hyped U.S. point guard 
Sebastian Telfair by Croatian point guard Roko Leni Ukic, GMs 
expressed an overwhelming sense of . . . well being under whelmed at 
this year's crop of foreign talent. 

They had every reason to be. None of the top-10 ranked 
draft-eligible international players were here. Some, like Andris 
Biedrins, Pavel Podkolzine, Kosta Perovic, Nemanja Aleksandrov and 
Tiago Splitter, were delayed for legitimate team reasons. Others, 
like Russia's Ivan Chiriaev, claimed that "visa problems" killed his 
ability to play in the game. 

One scout was furious at the lack of no-shows. "They must think 
we're stupid," the scout told Insider. "We can get a visa for a kid 
in 48 hours, they can't secure a 30 day visa for a month? They're 
hiding. It makes it tough to do our job." 

What was left was a hodge podge of players, many of whom will never 
have a shot playing in the NBA, against a squad featuring a host of 
McDonald's All-Americans and future first-rounders like Josh Smith, 
J.R. Smith, Telfair, Al Jefferson and Rudy Gay. 

The American players overcame a slow start and quickly realized in 
the second half that their superior athleticism and quickness 
allowed them to get to the basket at will. 
Josh Smith"I knew I could take my man off the dribble and to the 
rack whenever I chose," Josh Smith told Insider. "It was a lot of 
fun." 

GMs walked away scratching their heads. 

"I think we're all a little bit disappointed," he said. "There may 
have been a couple of late-first-rounders here, but I don't know. 
Bogdanovic is a great shooter, but he's a little soft and doesn't 
put the ball on the floor. Ukic's defense was great, but he wasn't 
able to beat his man off the dribble and get to the basket. Those 
are real issues." 

USA basketball estimated that they'd given out over 100 credentials 
to NBA teams for the event. The event played like a who's who of the 
NBA. Jerry West, Kiki Vandeweghe, Danny Ainge and Chris Mullin were 
among the headliners in attendance. Many of them skipped the Final 
Four and flew in just to see these kids play. 

While they may have been disappointed by the international squad, 
several of them walked away impressed by the performances of Josh 
and J.R. Smith. 

Josh Smith had a great shooting night, going 12-for-18 from the 
field and hitting 3-for-6 from beyond the arc for a game-high 27 
points. The international players had no answers for his 
athleticism. 

"You've got to be kidding me," Bogdanovic said after the game. "I've 
never seen a player jump like that in my life. He's unbelievable. 
And he's not even in the NBA. I can only imagine what those guys 
must be like." 

J.R. Smith was impressive for his third consecutive postseason game. 
Even though his outside jumper was off, Smith took his defenders off 
the dribble and scored several spectacular dunks. 

Rudy Gay (13 points) and Al Jefferson (14 points) also had great 
games for Team USA. Telfair posted another disappointing shooting 
game, going just 1-for-10 from the field. He was hounded by Ukic all 
game and could never penetrate into the lane. Telfair did, however, 
have a game-high seven assists. 

Churchill Odia, a 6-foot-5 point guard from Nigeria committed to 
play at Xavier in the fall, and Juan Diego Palacios, a 6-foot-7 
small forward from Columbia, also had good games for the 
international squad. Highly regarded Chinese forward Yi Jian Lian 
was fairly disappointing. Scouts reported that he looked very 
mechanical in practices and he was pretty overmatched throughout 
most of the game. 

International head coach Alessandro Gamba said he was upset with how 
his team responded to the more physical, more athletic USA team. 
"I told them that you have to play like a tiger -- a mean tiger -- 
to beat the U.S.," Gamba said. "Our team was too soft." 

Assistant international coach, Marin Sedlacek, who coached Nowitzki, 
Parker and Radmanovic in previous Hoop Summits, was even more blunt. 
"I think that these young players are making a mistake, talking 
about the NBA," Sedlacek told Insider. "It is a fashion right now. 
They have potential, yes. But they miss too much by leaving Europe 
so soon. He have hard practices two times a day. Two games a week. 
They play, they get better. They give all this up to be in the NBA. 
But if they are not ready, they do not play and they do not develop. 
I think some of them are throwing away their careers. Not everyone 
can be Dirk Nowitzki or LeBron. These type of players come along 
once in a decade." 

GMs were disappointed that they still didn't have a good handle on 
the huge incoming class of international teenagers. "I've been to 
Europe twice this year," one GM said. "But for most of the best 
prospects, I've only seen them work out in a gym. I haven't seen 
them play. It's very tough to make decisions based just on that. 
Very tough." 

Who's Going Pro? 

The real question on everyone's mind was who is going pro and who's 
headed to college or returning to Europe. As of Sunday, there were 
very few clear answers. Insider talked to six prospects who are all 
mulling a leap to the NBA. Here's what they, and NBA scouts, are 
saying about their prospects. 

Josh Smith, F, Oak Hill Academy: Smith had, by far, his most 
impressive postseason performance. He was aggressive on both ends of 
the floor and did a nice job of hitting his jumpers (a big question 
mark). He ended the game with three 3-pointers. For those of you who 
like the Smith-Darius Miles comparisons, that's three more 3s than 
Miles hit for the entire season last year. 

In other words, Smith is a better shooter. The 27 points, however, 
may be a bit deceiving. There was no one on the international team 
athletic enough to stay with Smith. In the NBA, that will change. 
Smith also took several terrible shots, including one three that 
must of missed the basket by five feet. 

Smith sounded like a kid ready to come into the NBA. In fact, he 
many not even be eligible for college this year. Smith may have 
already played in too many postseason all-star games, putting in 
jeopardy his freshman eligibility. 

"It's tough to pass the league up," he told Insider. "College is 
great, but when your family has bills and stuff, it's tough to say 
no to the money. I'm not saying it's all about the money, but you've 
got to talk care of your family, you know what I'm saying?" 
Smith said he'll make his announcement around mid-April, but with 
most NBA scouts claiming he's a lock for the top 10 (and could go as 
high as top 5), it looks like he's in for sure. 

Sebastian Telfair, PG, Brooklyn: For the second straight game, 
Telfair played good defense and showed an ability to run his team, 
but his shooting was awful. Ukic held Telfair to 1-for-10 shooting 
from the field. Scouts who have watched him practice the last week 
in Oklahoma City and San Antonio think that Telfair isn't ready to 
go pro. 

"He's just no ready, period," one GM said. "He's not even the best 
point guard in his high school class. I think he's talented but he's 
still got a lot he's got to learn. How many coaches in the league 
are going to be willing to turn their team over to him right now? I 
can't think of any." 

That fact may end up weighing heavily in Telfair's mind. The 
speculation for weeks has been that he's in the draft. He's gotten a 
big-time shoe offer and even the scouts who don't like him concede 
that he'll be taken somewhere in the first 20 picks. 

However, Telfair told Insider that he won't enter the draft unless 
he's drafted high and only if he's assured that he'll be drafted by 
a team that will play him his rookie year. 

"I don't want to go to the NBA and sit on the bench," Telfair told 
Insider. "I want to play. The most important question for me, is 
who's going to take me? Are they going to play me? If I can't get 
comfortable with that, or get the right assurances, I'd rather go to 
college. I know I'll play in Louisville and improve my game." 

If Telfair really believes that, he better go back to school. 

J.R. Smith, SG, Newark, NJ: He's been the best high school player in 
the country over the past two weeks and did little to hurt his 
status in San Antonio. While he shot only 3-for-11 from 3 on Sunday, 
scouts claim that he shot the lights out the past two days in 
practice. Smith told Insider that he gets his shooting touch from 
shooting 500 jumpers a day. As we reported on Friday, there is a 
growing consensus among NBA scouts that Smith would be a lottery 
pick if he declares. Here's how one Western Conference GM described 
him to me on Sunday: 

"He's Vince Carter with a jump shot. He has a great body, great 
athleticism. He needs to play better defense and work on his ball 
handling a bit, but we can teach those things. The shooting and the 
athleticism, you can't teach that. Unlike most of these big kids who 
are flirting with the draft, he could come in and contribute right 
now." 

Another scout compared Smith to the next Paul Pierce. Another to a 
taller version of Fred Jones. It was tough to find anyone in the 
place who didn't like him. Is that weighing on Smith's mind? 

"It don't know what it does, honestly," Smith told Insider. "I've 
got to go home and try to get some information and talk it over with 
my parents. If you're a lottery pick, you can't turn that down." 

Al Jefferson, PF, Prentiss (MS): Jefferson had the dunk of the 
night, slamming a power jam over the head of 7-footer Yi Jian Lian. 
One scout in attendance who knows the high school players better 
than most said he believes that Jefferson would go in the late 
lottery if he stayed in the draft. Others, concerned about 
conditioning issues and his so-so athleticism, claim that the late 
first round is more like it. Jefferson claims that he's still 
deciding what to do. "I'm going to make a decision soon," Jefferson 
told Insider. "I just got to figure out what's going to be best for 
me." 

Luka Bogdanovic, SF, Red Star (Serbia) "My agent (David Bauman) told 
me that if I play well here I go first round this year," Bogdanovic 
told Insider. "If I don't play well then I must wait until next 
year. No pressure." 

Bogdanovic had the most impressive performance of any of the 
international players. In addition to going 3-for-5 from behind the 
arc in the game, scouts claim that Bogdanovic made virtually every 
shot he took in practice on Saturday. "He's a special, special 
shooter," one GM said. "He's got a beautiful stroke." 

However, questions about Bogdanovic abound. He clearly needs to add 
another 20 pounds of muscle to play small forward in the league, and 
by his own admission, he's a little soft. He also doesn't put the 
ball on the floor much. Scouts right now think he's closer to 
Bostjan Nachbar than Peja Stojakovic. 

In other words, his status in the first round, despite his stellar 
play in San Antonio, still isn't assured. Like Telfair, Bogdanovic 
doesn't want to go to the NBA and sit at the end of the bench. He's 
getting good minutes in Serbia and doesn't want to take a step 
backward. 

"I don't want to go to the league and just sit," Bogdanovic said. 
"My dream is to go to the NBA and play. There aren't very many good 
shooters in the NBA. I like to work. I like to practice. I think 
these things will help me in the NBA." 

Bauman will likely keep Bogdanovic in the draft looking for a 
promise from a team. If he can't get one, he'll pull him out and put 
him in the draft next year. 

Roko Ukic, PG, Split (Croatia): Ukic answered a major question in 
scouts' minds on Sunday when he came out and stopped the quicker 
Telfair from penetrating. Ukic is known as a very good athlete 
overseas, but he'd never played against a player like Telfair 
before. 

"I really wanted to show that I am quick enough," he said. "I know 
what people say and all I can do is come out and show them." 
Ukic's long arms helped extend the floor for them. Despite so-so 
numbers (7 points, 2 assists), the international team fared much 
better when Ukic was in the game. While it's clear that Ukic could 
use more experience and needs to get strength, it's also pretty 
clear that he's got the head to lead a team. He's the youngest 
player on Split this year, but also serves as a team captain. 

Like Telfair and Bogdanovic, Ukic wants to be in the NBA only if it 
means that he'll play. "I've played many minutes since I was 16," he 
said. "I don't want to come to the NBA and just practice. I think 
maybe I will not come to the NBA right away until I know this." 

Ukic helped his stock at the tournament, but probably does need 
another year or two in Europe. Look for Bauman to try and broker a 
deal with a club in the second half of the first round. A team with 
multiple picks like the Celtics or Jazz may be willing to draft him 
and leave him in Europe for another season or two to continue his 
development there.