bajaden
Hall of Famer
As some of these pertain to players or coaches of interest, I decided to just post this portion instead of the whole article.
Reebok Eurocamp, Day Twoby: Jonathan Givony - PresidentJune 8, 2009Day two of the Reebok Eurocamp saw Benetton Treviso’s La Ghirada practice facility packed absolutely to the brim with European agents, scouts and general managers, while all 30 NBA
teams sat courtside taking all the action in. An hour and fifteen minutes of drills was followed by four competitive five-on-five games, allowing some of the prospects to really separate themselves from each other in the eyes of the talent evaluators on hand.
The gym was buzzing all day long with talk of the remaining playoff series’ still yet to be resolved—primarily the NBA, Spanish and Italian leagues, while those executives who aren’t fortunate enough to be still playing made the rounds of the basketball industry trying to figure out what they can do this summer to change their team’s fate. NBA draft talk, the coaching carousels in the various countries and the very active free agent markets dominated the discussions, while the Eurocamp games served as the day’s backdrop.
Some of the more interesting topics included:
-Talk of the Sacramento Kings making Los Angeles Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis the primary target in their head coaching hunt, with the only remaining obstacle being a contract figure that satisfies both parties.
-Ron Artest as a willing and interested free agent target for both Greek powerhouses this summer, Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, granted he does not find a superior NBA offer on the free agent market.
-The medicals of various NBA draft prospects, including Missouri’s DeMarre Carroll, who may need a liver transplant in the near or long-term future, DeJuan Blair, whose knees and arthritic condition are a major concern to certain teams, and A.J. Price, who reportedly still has an aneurysm in an artery of his brain that could become a serious issue later in his career.
-Next week’s early-entry deadline, which will likely see players such as Jodie Meeks and Tyler Smith return to school, while others remain on the fence. One NBA team mentioned being told quite confidently by Damion James that he is most certainly staying in the draft, and most assume that Gonzaga’s Austin Daye is a lock to stay in. Another executive discussed Jeff Teague telling them that he will not pull his name out if he receives any type of guarantee that he will be drafted in the first round, which is probably not what Wake Forest fans want to hear.
-Jordan Hill potentially slipping into the bottom of the top-10 or even possibly slightly beyond. The talk is that the Washington Wizards’ 5th pick could very well end up being claimed by Stephen Curry (whether for them or another team trading up), and that since Minnesota, Golden State, New York and maybe even Toronto appear to be looking at other positional needs, Hill could be on the short end of the stick come draft night.
-Plenty of chatter about the Ricky Rubio situation, with the most interesting commentary coming from the many members of the Spanish basketball industry, which are out here in full force. The news this morning about a lawsuit being planned by Rubio’s camp is apparently very true, and there was plenty of spirited discussion regarding whether his exorbitant buyout relative to his proportional contract will hold up in a Spanish court.
Some cited the fact that similar cases in soccer (for example in England) had sided in favor of the players in the past, while others mentioned that Rubio’s willing acceptance of a large pay raise a few months back had nullified his ability to dispute the validity of the deal. The main questions here are—how long will such a case take to play out? How much does Joventut need the money for this upcoming season? And how much will the negative publicity from such a bombastic story hurt them down the road in terms of signing young players? Can all this be resolved in satisfactory fashion in time for the draft? This move likely ends any chance Rubio has of pulling his name out of the draft, as the damage caused by such a lawsuit would likely be too great of a rift to heal this upcoming summer.
-High school junior Jeremy Tyler—who reportedly has offers from two teams in Greece (Marrousi and Panellinios) and Italy’s Armani Jeans Milano, but may opt to sign with a relatively unknown franchise in Israel—Maccabi Heat Haifa—backed by quite an ambitious American owner by the name of Jeff Rosen. Tyler is now being represented by well-known basketball agency Wasserman Media Group, who had a very positive experience sending then-USC freshman Davon Jefferson to Haifa, where he had a breakthrough season. The offer is reportedly somewhere in the 200k range.
-Mike D’Antoni’s New York Knicks apparently taking a strong liking to senior Jack McClinton, to the point that they could try to buy a pick in the late first round to ensure they land his services.
http://www.draftexpress.com/blog/International-Blog/#Reebok-Eurocamp-Day-Two-3251
Reebok Eurocamp, Day Twoby: Jonathan Givony - PresidentJune 8, 2009Day two of the Reebok Eurocamp saw Benetton Treviso’s La Ghirada practice facility packed absolutely to the brim with European agents, scouts and general managers, while all 30 NBA
teams sat courtside taking all the action in. An hour and fifteen minutes of drills was followed by four competitive five-on-five games, allowing some of the prospects to really separate themselves from each other in the eyes of the talent evaluators on hand. The gym was buzzing all day long with talk of the remaining playoff series’ still yet to be resolved—primarily the NBA, Spanish and Italian leagues, while those executives who aren’t fortunate enough to be still playing made the rounds of the basketball industry trying to figure out what they can do this summer to change their team’s fate. NBA draft talk, the coaching carousels in the various countries and the very active free agent markets dominated the discussions, while the Eurocamp games served as the day’s backdrop.
Some of the more interesting topics included:
-Talk of the Sacramento Kings making Los Angeles Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis the primary target in their head coaching hunt, with the only remaining obstacle being a contract figure that satisfies both parties.
-Ron Artest as a willing and interested free agent target for both Greek powerhouses this summer, Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, granted he does not find a superior NBA offer on the free agent market.
-The medicals of various NBA draft prospects, including Missouri’s DeMarre Carroll, who may need a liver transplant in the near or long-term future, DeJuan Blair, whose knees and arthritic condition are a major concern to certain teams, and A.J. Price, who reportedly still has an aneurysm in an artery of his brain that could become a serious issue later in his career.
-Next week’s early-entry deadline, which will likely see players such as Jodie Meeks and Tyler Smith return to school, while others remain on the fence. One NBA team mentioned being told quite confidently by Damion James that he is most certainly staying in the draft, and most assume that Gonzaga’s Austin Daye is a lock to stay in. Another executive discussed Jeff Teague telling them that he will not pull his name out if he receives any type of guarantee that he will be drafted in the first round, which is probably not what Wake Forest fans want to hear.
-Jordan Hill potentially slipping into the bottom of the top-10 or even possibly slightly beyond. The talk is that the Washington Wizards’ 5th pick could very well end up being claimed by Stephen Curry (whether for them or another team trading up), and that since Minnesota, Golden State, New York and maybe even Toronto appear to be looking at other positional needs, Hill could be on the short end of the stick come draft night.
-Plenty of chatter about the Ricky Rubio situation, with the most interesting commentary coming from the many members of the Spanish basketball industry, which are out here in full force. The news this morning about a lawsuit being planned by Rubio’s camp is apparently very true, and there was plenty of spirited discussion regarding whether his exorbitant buyout relative to his proportional contract will hold up in a Spanish court.
Some cited the fact that similar cases in soccer (for example in England) had sided in favor of the players in the past, while others mentioned that Rubio’s willing acceptance of a large pay raise a few months back had nullified his ability to dispute the validity of the deal. The main questions here are—how long will such a case take to play out? How much does Joventut need the money for this upcoming season? And how much will the negative publicity from such a bombastic story hurt them down the road in terms of signing young players? Can all this be resolved in satisfactory fashion in time for the draft? This move likely ends any chance Rubio has of pulling his name out of the draft, as the damage caused by such a lawsuit would likely be too great of a rift to heal this upcoming summer.
-High school junior Jeremy Tyler—who reportedly has offers from two teams in Greece (Marrousi and Panellinios) and Italy’s Armani Jeans Milano, but may opt to sign with a relatively unknown franchise in Israel—Maccabi Heat Haifa—backed by quite an ambitious American owner by the name of Jeff Rosen. Tyler is now being represented by well-known basketball agency Wasserman Media Group, who had a very positive experience sending then-USC freshman Davon Jefferson to Haifa, where he had a breakthrough season. The offer is reportedly somewhere in the 200k range.
-Mike D’Antoni’s New York Knicks
apparently taking a strong liking to senior Jack McClinton, to the point that they could try to buy a pick in the late first round to ensure they land his services. http://www.draftexpress.com/blog/International-Blog/#Reebok-Eurocamp-Day-Two-3251
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