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Wilt Chamberlain
I mentioned before that after the success OF Porzingis and the relative success of guys like Mirotic and Bjelica, Euro players are back in style. Here are my top non-draft eligible players.
1. Bojan Dubjlevic - 24 years old and dominating in Europe right now. 30 points per 40 minutes. At 6'10 shoots well above 40% from 3 on good volume. Perfect fit in the stretch 4 era, although defense will certainly be a weakness. Another question mark is while the Wolves own his rights, he is supposedly signed for the next 3-4 years with a pretty large buy out. That would take up a large chunk of his prime and he'd be too old and set in his ways to fully adjust to the NBA style.
2. Justin Hamilton - he is Dub's teammate at Valencia. They are undefeated in Eurocup and have only one loss in ACB play, which is considered the toughest domestic league outside the NBA. He has improved so much since his LSU days. Def deserves to have a spot on an NBA roster.
3. Dario Saric - everyone know about him. He is the next Toni Kukoc, but still working on increasing his range out to the NBA 3. Not quite as good of a player as the first 2 but has more potential. The Sixers have several talented bigs and I'm not sure Saric is quick enough to guard 3s in the NBA, so will be interesting to see how he fits in Philly.
4. Alen Omic - 23 year old, 7 footer has really come on the last couple years since his break out performance in the FIBA world championships a few years ago. Great hands and touch around the hoop. If he can prove himself as a viable rim protector in the NBA, he can be a useful player.
5. Alessandro Gentile - was drafted by the Wolves in 2014 but I'm basketballreference says they no longer have his draft rights. Not much of a shooter but is a high IQ player with a sweet post game and a set of hesitation moves and pump fakes that allow him to get to the hoop. Sort of an Italian Shaun Livingston. Ball movement becoming emphasized more and more can make him a useful player with good shooters around him.
6. Tarnike Shengelia - had a short NBA stint with the Bulls and Nets. Probably the best defender on this list, he can guard multiple positions and brings grit and toughness
7. Janis Timma - a true NBA SF, he won't wow anyone but he is very solid. Shooting is a little streaky but he has NBA range and just athletic enough to keep up with the NBA pace.
8. Jan Vesely - was marketed as a big 3/Stretch 4 coming into the draft but he is really big man. Excellent at cutting of pick n rolls and is an NBA level playmaker defensively. After the terrible experience he had with the Wizards and because he is the star of one of the best European teams, i don't see him coming over anytime soon, that's why I got him ranked a bit lower.
1. Bojan Dubjlevic - 24 years old and dominating in Europe right now. 30 points per 40 minutes. At 6'10 shoots well above 40% from 3 on good volume. Perfect fit in the stretch 4 era, although defense will certainly be a weakness. Another question mark is while the Wolves own his rights, he is supposedly signed for the next 3-4 years with a pretty large buy out. That would take up a large chunk of his prime and he'd be too old and set in his ways to fully adjust to the NBA style.
2. Justin Hamilton - he is Dub's teammate at Valencia. They are undefeated in Eurocup and have only one loss in ACB play, which is considered the toughest domestic league outside the NBA. He has improved so much since his LSU days. Def deserves to have a spot on an NBA roster.
3. Dario Saric - everyone know about him. He is the next Toni Kukoc, but still working on increasing his range out to the NBA 3. Not quite as good of a player as the first 2 but has more potential. The Sixers have several talented bigs and I'm not sure Saric is quick enough to guard 3s in the NBA, so will be interesting to see how he fits in Philly.
4. Alen Omic - 23 year old, 7 footer has really come on the last couple years since his break out performance in the FIBA world championships a few years ago. Great hands and touch around the hoop. If he can prove himself as a viable rim protector in the NBA, he can be a useful player.
5. Alessandro Gentile - was drafted by the Wolves in 2014 but I'm basketballreference says they no longer have his draft rights. Not much of a shooter but is a high IQ player with a sweet post game and a set of hesitation moves and pump fakes that allow him to get to the hoop. Sort of an Italian Shaun Livingston. Ball movement becoming emphasized more and more can make him a useful player with good shooters around him.
6. Tarnike Shengelia - had a short NBA stint with the Bulls and Nets. Probably the best defender on this list, he can guard multiple positions and brings grit and toughness
7. Janis Timma - a true NBA SF, he won't wow anyone but he is very solid. Shooting is a little streaky but he has NBA range and just athletic enough to keep up with the NBA pace.
8. Jan Vesely - was marketed as a big 3/Stretch 4 coming into the draft but he is really big man. Excellent at cutting of pick n rolls and is an NBA level playmaker defensively. After the terrible experience he had with the Wizards and because he is the star of one of the best European teams, i don't see him coming over anytime soon, that's why I got him ranked a bit lower.
